No answer also

I had left lung removed in August of 2004. After surgery I had 25 days of radiation and maybe 5 or 6 Chemo treatments for colon surgery in April of 2004. I had the last of 4] Taxol and carbo-whatever-stuff [or I suspect liquid Drano] on 5 January of 2005. My experience was much like yours, 5 or 6 months to fell human again. I didn’t have the hands/feet problems you described, but my toes were essentially numb for a couple of years and still have little feeling. The incision healed, but continued to hurt for a year or so. There is still some discomfort, but nothing of significance! Hang in there!

Greggriggs said:

Thank you Deb for takeing the time to lift my spirts. Yep I tried the Neurtion pills they didn't do much good an the side affects wern't worth the help they did.. sounds like you are doing pretty good . The people I have talked to haven't had lung sugery. But I have talked to a lot of them that had the chemo . One Lady kinda saved me . She came to vist me after the first chemo. I thought it was just me but she told me there was not a wrinkle that did not hurt.
Doctors don't tell you what you are in for. She told me the truth an then I knew what to expect. And it does help Deb
Thank you Greg

Hi! I found this on Medscape. It doesn't say that it works but you might want to discuss it with your oncologist to make sure it won't hurt if you try it. (I also noticed that diabetics who get neuropathy are sometimes having difficulty metabolizing vit B12.)

Response from Harold J. Burstein, MD PhD
Fellow in Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He received his MD and PhD in Immunology from Harvard and trained at Massachusetts General Hospital.





Peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect of paclitaxel therapy.[1] Typically, this is a "stocking-and-glove" type of peripheral neuropathy that may be associated with numbness, paresthesias, and loss of sensory function. A less common motor neuropathy has also been reported.[2] Mild symptoms (grade 1 or 2) are reported by many patients, especially with repetitive dosing. Up to two-thirds or more of treated patients may report some symptoms. Severe, disabling neuropathy is less common. Grade 3 or 4 peripheral neuropathy is reported in 5% to 10% of patients treated at 175 mg/m2 every 3 weeks,[3] and with greater frequency at higher treatment doses.[4] Weekly administration of "dose-dense" paclitaxel can also cause neurotoxicity, especially at doses in excess of 100 mg/m2 per week and with sustained treatment.[5] Patients with pre-existing neuropathy from diabetes, other medical conditions, or prior chemotherapy exposure are at greater risk for paclitaxel-related neuropathy.

There are no established treatments for paclitaxel-related neuropathy.[6] Cessation of therapy generally leads to symptom improvement over weeks to months. Most treatment protocols call for dose reduction of paclitaxel (typically, 25%) for mild neuropathy symptoms and interrupting paclitaxel therapy for more severe symptoms. If severe symptoms fail to resolve with temporary cessation of therapy, paclitaxel should be discontinued.

Recently, there has been interest in the use of the amino acid glutamine as a possible treatment for paclitaxel-related neuropathy. To my knowledge, based on a literature search using PUBMED and discussion with colleagues, there are no published data on the clinical efficacy of glutamine for this purpose in cancer patients. In an in vivo rat model, glutamine therapy has been shown to prevent paclitaxel-related neuropathy.[7] Anecdotal clinical evidence suggests that glutamine may ameliorate paclitaxel-related myalgias.[8] Glutamine is being prospectively evaluated as a treatment for paclitaxel-related neuropathy and paclitaxel-related arthralgias/myalgias at several cancer centers. The treatment dose in most human clinical trials is 10 g orally 3 times a day, starting the day of or the day after paclitaxel administration, for a duration of between 1 and 5 days. Glutamine is sold as a nutritional supplement, and most preparations are not subject to FDA approval. Some preparations may contain additional nutritional supplements or vitamins, including antioxidants. It is not known what effect, if any, these compounds might have on the clinical efficacy of paclitaxel.



Posted 11/09/2000