Numbness, how long does it last

classicman
classicman Member Posts: 34
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I have been having alot of numbness and tingling in my fingers and toes and i havent been on Chemo since Janurary 2010. I know its a side effect of the Xeloda and i really had ir bad while taking the meds, but dos it ever go away??

Comments

  • chicoturner
    chicoturner Member Posts: 282
    #2
    Hi, I was not on Xeloda, but
    Hi, I was not on Xeloda, but was on Oxy. I finished it in 9/08 and continue to have a small amount of numbness in my hands and much more in my feet. I have read on this site of many who have had the affects of their chemo go away. It is seems like everything else about this crazy disease and treatment that it will be different for all of us. My hands have improved a lot and I can use them so much easier. My feet feel like frozen blocks. I still have hope that the nerves will heal some as time goes on. I wish you well and encourage you to keep those feet and hands moving!! Best to you. Jean
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #3
    I was told up to 2 years
    I was told it can take up to 2 years post-chemo for neuropathy to resolve, if it's going to do so. In most cases, it resolves sooner than that. For a very few people, it will not completely get better (and I'm one of those few - 26 months post chemo, still having moderate issues.)

    Hang in there - the important thing is that you are here and healthy to complain about it!
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    #4
    chicoturner said:

    Hi, I was not on Xeloda, but
    Hi, I was not on Xeloda, but was on Oxy. I finished it in 9/08 and continue to have a small amount of numbness in my hands and much more in my feet. I have read on this site of many who have had the affects of their chemo go away. It is seems like everything else about this crazy disease and treatment that it will be different for all of us. My hands have improved a lot and I can use them so much easier. My feet feel like frozen blocks. I still have hope that the nerves will heal some as time goes on. I wish you well and encourage you to keep those feet and hands moving!! Best to you. Jean

    From what I've read and experienced, neuropathy,like reaction
    to chemo itself, varies by individual. I didn't notice tingling/numbness in toes/feet bottoms til after preop Tx and after surgery. It got worse with postop chemo tho mostly confined to feet;minor in left hand, a hint in right hand. Chemo stopped mid April. Sometimes I think its subsiding, other times it feels the same or a little worse after a lengthy walk.If its any consolation,its easier to live with this than the tumor .

    My calloses bother me every now and then now, which they didn't when numbness was more intense so I'm hoping in my case that feet are slowly returning to normal. Hope the same happens in your case. Again, while I'd prefer to have old feelings back, I can live with this and other, some more some less serious, side effects as I couldn't live much longer with my tumor.....steve
  • Lifeisajourney
    Lifeisajourney Member Posts: 216
    #5
    numbness
    I took 7 sessions folfox when they took me off and said no more. I was having lots of reactions, falls, speech, walking which I thought was somewhat normal because of chemo and it did not start to get bad till after about 5 treatments. That being said, I still have and I think it might be a little worse then when I stopped, feet that feel like blocks and tingle, up ankles. Hands tingle and are clumsy. I had my last treatment 5/09. They said it can usually go away up to year. Till I found this discussion group, I thought it was only me, but it seems others react to chemo this way. I wondered if my senior age was part of it, but it is doable for me, since I am retired, but I am sure if I were younger I would be researching for a better quality of life. Give it time and may you be a lucky one and probably a majority one that do get better. When I went off chemo, they said I would have a recovery period before feeling better and other than the the neuro, it took about 6 months till feeling"normal". Christmas 09 was a blessing of running around like "normal". Hopefully normal will continue....Pat

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