Pain from touch

kristasplace
kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hello! I need to post a question to the board. I have a lot of pain, or sensitivity to touch since chemo ended in August. If i bump up against something, or if something rubs harshly against my skin it's owie time. The other thing i've noticed is that blood draws hurt BADLY! Like most everyone else with cancer, i've been poked a million times. I don't remember hurting this badly EVER. I also have neuropathy worse than when i was doing the chemo. Now that it's getting colder, i can barely move my fingers and feet from the numbness and tingling. Is this normal for those of you who've been off chemo for a while?

Thank you!
Krista

Comments

  • ldot123
    ldot123 Member Posts: 272
    #2
    Ouch
    Hey Krista,

    Not that I am an expert but it could be that your body is still in recovery mode from the chemo. August is not so long ago and we all know the havoc it can cause. I would ask the oncologist about this though so your mind is at ease. Hope it gets better real soon.

    Cheers, Lance
  • pamness
    pamness Member Posts: 524 Member
    #3
    Hurt to touch
    I did not experience that at all. The neuropathy in my feet got worse after a finished chemo but is gone now. Talk to your oncologist. This stuff takes time. I finished chemo, etc. in early Sept. 2007 and I just getting back to feeling fairly normal.

    Pam
  • kristasplace
    kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
    #4
    Neuropathy pain
    Lance, I did tell my oncologist, and all he said was, "probably a good thing we didn't do that last treatment." I love my oncologist, but when he doesn't know the answer to a question, he either makes something up, or blows it off like that. I've gotten used to the fact that i chose a young, inexperienced doctor because he was caring and compassionate over an oncologist who has all the answers, but doesn't give a bleep about me!

    Pam, did your neuropathy last all this time? It's just now getting better? I guess that's better than it never getting better. The only thing that worries me, is that it got so much worse after the chemo ended! Oh well, it's better than being dead!

    Thanks you guys!
    Krista
  • kmygil
    kmygil Member Posts: 876 Member
    #5
    Sensitivity
    Hi Krista,

    I'm sorry to hear about your sensitivity. Unfortunately, for some of us the chemo is the gift that keeps giving.... I have sensitivity and numb feet 20 months out from my last chemo treatment.

    I had to stop after the 9th treatment due to side effects, including severe neuropathy. My legs were numb-tingly-walking on glass up to my knees, and my fingers and palms had no feeling. It actually got worse the first 4 months after my last treatment, but then it gradually got better. I am on neurontin, which sort of keeps it at this level, but I don't expect any further improvement.

    My fingers are back to normal except for a very small spot on each pad, and my feet are numb on the balls and heels, as well as the toes. I do have skin sensitivity, but that also has abated with time--it was really bad the first 4 months after chemo.

    So the upshot is, give it time; it should improve. Keep yourself warm and keep using gloves etc. when dealing with cold objects. I am up to being able to take things out of the freezer without trouble, but I cannot hold frozen objects for more than 6 or 7 seconds; then the old familiar feelings set in and I just drop whatever I'm holding.

    When we get this diagnosis, we know that our lives will never be the same, but generally we are thinking about things like recurrences and metastasis. We really don't think about the long-term aftereffects from treatment. Chemo is such a mixed blessing--it saves our lives, but sometimes irrevocably changes our lives, not for the better. However, it is still a blessing, because we are here to complain about it!:)

    Give it some time. Things should get a lot better. Some people feel better quickly but it is a slower, gradual process for others. You are probably a gradual person. Keep the faith and look forward to improvement!

    Hugs,
    Kirsten
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #6
    kmygil said:

    Sensitivity
    Hi Krista,

    I'm sorry to hear about your sensitivity. Unfortunately, for some of us the chemo is the gift that keeps giving.... I have sensitivity and numb feet 20 months out from my last chemo treatment.

    I had to stop after the 9th treatment due to side effects, including severe neuropathy. My legs were numb-tingly-walking on glass up to my knees, and my fingers and palms had no feeling. It actually got worse the first 4 months after my last treatment, but then it gradually got better. I am on neurontin, which sort of keeps it at this level, but I don't expect any further improvement.

    My fingers are back to normal except for a very small spot on each pad, and my feet are numb on the balls and heels, as well as the toes. I do have skin sensitivity, but that also has abated with time--it was really bad the first 4 months after chemo.

    So the upshot is, give it time; it should improve. Keep yourself warm and keep using gloves etc. when dealing with cold objects. I am up to being able to take things out of the freezer without trouble, but I cannot hold frozen objects for more than 6 or 7 seconds; then the old familiar feelings set in and I just drop whatever I'm holding.

    When we get this diagnosis, we know that our lives will never be the same, but generally we are thinking about things like recurrences and metastasis. We really don't think about the long-term aftereffects from treatment. Chemo is such a mixed blessing--it saves our lives, but sometimes irrevocably changes our lives, not for the better. However, it is still a blessing, because we are here to complain about it!:)

    Give it some time. Things should get a lot better. Some people feel better quickly but it is a slower, gradual process for others. You are probably a gradual person. Keep the faith and look forward to improvement!

    Hugs,
    Kirsten

    Sensitivity
    My Onc told me that the effects could last up to 6 months then recede. He also said that the chemo would remain in my system up to 6 months after the last treatment so the side effects would diminish as it does......
  • jams67
    jams67 Member Posts: 925 Member
    #7
    chemo
    My GP told me that after chemo you are still on chemo for about a year. So even though your finished with it, it's not finished with you. If the neuropathy persists after 6 mo. to a year, it is probably permanent. I still have it, and I've been off of chemo for almost 3 years now so I'm trying to get used to the "new normal".
    Jo Ann
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375 Member
    #8
    jams67 said:

    chemo
    My GP told me that after chemo you are still on chemo for about a year. So even though your finished with it, it's not finished with you. If the neuropathy persists after 6 mo. to a year, it is probably permanent. I still have it, and I've been off of chemo for almost 3 years now so I'm trying to get used to the "new normal".
    Jo Ann

    chemo
    That's what I was told too, Jo Ann! Although one stops chemo after a set period of time (and aren't we all excited when our end of chemo happens?)... but that our bodies are still reacting to it up to a year. I have also heard it takes 30-60 days for the chemo to completely leave your system... but then it takes up to the rest of a year for your body to regenerate cells that were killed, tissue damage, etc.

    This is good information to know because so many people feel that once they've stopped chemo, of course, all the appts. to the chemo nurses, etc. are stopped. Once all those regular visits are over, we just feel that we should be back to normal, physically and emotionally... and that's not necessarily true.

    But knowing that information ahead of time... then you can plan for it and not panic when you just don't feel quite like your old self :)

    Huggggggs,

    Cheryl
  • hannacat
    hannacat Member Posts: 101
    #9
    neuropathy
    Hi Krista, I finished chemo July '06 and then began to have neuropathy. It does get better with time. Cold makes it worse. I wear socks at nite and that helps. I knit alot and find my hands get numb first thing in the am but not later on. I take neurontin. There are many different doses and many different drugs you can try so don't give up. I keep on doing what I want to do and slowly but surely I feel better. My onco said that nerves regenerate very slowly and I believe that if you don't use it you'll "loose it". Be really careful if ypu have trouble feeling heat-as in hot water in the tub-burns can damage. You will feel better with time. Best wishes,Hanna
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #10
    hannacat said:

    neuropathy
    Hi Krista, I finished chemo July '06 and then began to have neuropathy. It does get better with time. Cold makes it worse. I wear socks at nite and that helps. I knit alot and find my hands get numb first thing in the am but not later on. I take neurontin. There are many different doses and many different drugs you can try so don't give up. I keep on doing what I want to do and slowly but surely I feel better. My onco said that nerves regenerate very slowly and I believe that if you don't use it you'll "loose it". Be really careful if ypu have trouble feeling heat-as in hot water in the tub-burns can damage. You will feel better with time. Best wishes,Hanna

    Tingling........
    Started my 5th post op treatment today and tonight when I went out my lips started tingling like I had gotten a shot at the dentist. Also my breath was making my throat start to hurt so I have to watch what I touch and breathing outside for now....The temp in the day is around 55 and the evening and night gets around 36 right now and I can really tell it ...Gloves on hands outside for everything now.....

    Anzemet for nausea also...it is way better than Compazine or zofran...No nausea at all today and usually I can't stand to smell anything and Im not having any trouble at all except it does make ya sleepy.....

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