Detached Nails

Hi there,
First... congrats on your 2 years survivorship!! That is awesome news! Secondly, I know that the chemo can kill the good, fast growing cells which include nails and hair. I lost my nails too. They fell off... but eventually, your body will return to normal. I also had severe, deep-layer chunks of skin seem to just rip, peel, and fall off leaving raw, moist, deep tissue skin... is this also a problem? If it happens, rest assured, there are good pain meds to take, and the skin eventually grows back. Unfortunately some side effects are a bit *out-there* with chemo and rads. How about wearing those white, cotton gloves during your day? Is that an option? Take care and God bless..
-Michael (leukemia survivor)

My damage from the taxotere does not seem as severe as yours, but I had not heard of anyone else who had lost her nails. Even some of my other doctors said they had never seen this happen! I lost 18 of my 20 nails, and the two that remained are really not healthy at all and probably are dead. They are not growing. As for the other 18, they are growing back now and beginning to look very promising. It will be so wonderful at some point in the future to be able to scratch where it itches!

I finished my chemo in Jan 2005, so I have not been without nails "too" long! They changed color very soon after beginning the taxotere, became very dark purple and then kind of yellowish. They did loosen after that, and then were kind of "hinged" at the base. You could kind of look under them and see underneath. Then they just fell off, one at a time. I tried to keep a bandaid wrapped around those that were loose until they came off, because if a loose one got "caught" on my clothes or anything, it really hurt! One of my toenails, though, kept getting caught in my socks and was so irritating to me that I took a plyers in my hand and just pulled it off! Having had the nerve damage, you will understand that I was unable to pull it off with my fingers or with any small nail-care utensil!

The feeling is beginning to return to my fingers and toes (more so the fingers than the toes, though), and I believe that a medication my oncologist put me on has really helped. It is called gabapentin, I think. It is regularly used with epileptics to prevent seizures, but it seems to work for me for the neuropathy. One thing I will say, though, is this. They warn that this drug will cause drowziness. For me it was just the opposite. I could not sleep at night until I realized that my taking this drug at bedtime was keeping me from falling asleep! I don't take it any less than 3 hours before bedtime now! That's just me, though. I guess normally, it really puts people to sleep!

just saw your msg--I also lost my two large toe nails and the middle nails on both fingers--my thumb nails amost went! But taxotere was not mild and noone prepared me for all the effects--Nerve damage is still here a year later. My lower legss are in pain if I don't take the gabapentin (same as neurontin) regularly--I take 1800 mgs in three doses each day. My hair has not returned (this is a year later!) and only fuzz has taken its place-this includes eybrows and even most of the lashes. the swelling right after the last two treatments caused me to gain 15 pounds in water--that is gone-but has left me with lymphodema in my left arm. I hope no one mentions chemo to me again--with Femara-my current treatment (the tamoxifen didn't work after a year and so I was given taxotere-then put on femara out of pity no doubt) I am doing much better--I was wondering where the drowsiness came from- I thought it was the femara-but may be the gavapentin instead! I am three years away froom surgery and the worst news ever given me was the recurence found last January. My original treatment with chemo (epiribicin+CMF) didn't give me anywhere near the trouble that taxotere did. My nails are doing better though a bit wood-like. I take vitamins esp. vit E and have used "podiatrist secret" heel and total foot recovery creams for the cracking of the skin. I had many other problems--burnt skin on my hands and feet, and had to have a port put in since my veins couldn't handle the taxotere--I still have to maintain the port-just in case. Good luck and may the symptoms ease soon--Glorylane