Experiencing peripheral neuropathy

[lsaldy]

I know I have asked this before, but anyone please have some suggestions on any relief from this condition?  It seems to be a constant now and very irritating and sometimes a little painful.  Both my hands suffer from this.  I never really go to see the doc they just phone every few weeks and seems to think  that symptoms of tx are largely hypochondriacal in nature from a patient hahahahhaha

[newleaf09]

I envy your tiny town.  I got peripheral neuropathy 6 1/2 mos. inot a 7 mo. TX.  Symptoms are burning, tingling or pain.  I had the pain in both feet, felt like stone bruises.  Nurse researched it for me and said that if drug-induced, it should go away after offending drug was stopped.  If true nerve damage, it wouldn't.  Mine stopped 2 wks after TX ended, thank god.

So sorry you are experiencing this so early in TX.  I think I remember a poster here saying it came and went throughout TX, so maybe it will not always be with you.

[CoWriter]

This comes from a side effect handbook written by hepatologists.

See chapter on Peripheral neuropathies Page 96......

http://www.projectsinknowledge.com/Init/G/1628/1628-Handbook.pdf


Re your blood sugar being high.....

"no i am not diabetic but they tried to tell me i was on the verge of becoming a type 2 -  2 years ago"

You mean they told you you were "borderline diabetic"?

There's no such thing as a "borderline diabetic".  You're either a diabetic or you're not.  A fasting blood sugar of 126 on two separate occasions gives you a diagnosis of diabetes.  

A fasting blood sugar over 100 means you're "pre-diabetic".  Both insulin resistance and diabetes lower SVR.  So get your blood sugar checked as soon as you can.  

Co

[lsaldy]

hey guys thanks....I know I have seen a few spikes in blood sugars lately never thought to keep checking them...no i am not diabetic but they tried to tell me i was on the verge of becoming a type 2 -  2 years ago....so I bought a monitor and have been watching and the glucose levels have been well in the normal ranges till I started with tx...still not tragic yet but are a little higher than normal.  I am pretty well versed in Diabetes as my brother is a type one and it took me years to get him regulated and healthy......so will watch it and decide what to do about the doc.....I am in a very small rural community (195 people) and the city is 2 hrs away so most communication is done by phone....boy I sure miss living in the big city under these circumstances ahhahhaha

[desrt]

What Merry said re: getting your blood sugar checked. Also, if you're seeing a neurologist, ask what he thinks about off-label use of this stuff:
http://www.pamlab.com/Products,Cerefolin

[merryBe]

>>>>>>>>I never really go to see the doc they just phone every few weeks and seems to think  that symptoms of tx are largely hypochondriacal


?????????????????????????????????

1. get another doctor
2. go see them

I'm so sick of doc who assume patients make things up, or have a symptom because they read about it on the internet!!!

first consider the meds. Interferon is KNOWN to cause both simple neuopathy AND to induce both type 1 AND type 2 diebetes which both also cause nerve damage.

secondly not all nerve damage is reversible. First you get the tingling, asleep, or pins and needles stuff, later you get the dull and not so dull aching, and finally you get the mind numbing "who took a hammer to my feet and elbows" "please just cut the dang things off feelings".
So the question is, where in this process do you want to get off?

It is true that some neuropathy may occur and clear up again after tx.
Yet it is equally true that you could be sustaining permanent damage.

Make sure you get your blood sugar tested, and do a HOMA formula (requiring both a fasting glucose AND a fasting insulin test)  and do NOT rely on an A1C test only since if you have anemia due to the chemo that test will not be accurate and you may read well within normal range while actually being in advanced type 2 status.
If your chemo has created insulin resistance not addressing this can have far reaching implications.
PM me if you need more info.

mb

[sturmond_drang]

I started to develop PN symptoms about 4 months into tx, and still have it 3 months post tx. It got worse after tx, I suppose because the Riba is still present, with a half life of 12 days.

It seemed to peak about 5-6 weeks ago with numbness in the feet, pins and needles moving up into the calf, then the hands got it, pins & needles and fine little lines of pain flashing on and off.

I've heard that it can take from a few months to a couple of years to get back to normal, if ever. You've got to avoid alcohol. I was advised in this forum to see a Dr. if it got worse, and it did, so I did. I'll see a neurologist soon. If your Dr. is shrugging you off, it's time to get serious with him, take the initiative on being taken seriously, or dump him. It doesn't pay to take chances with this stuff. I read a comment from a cancer patient who said of developing PN as a result of chemo, "I'm ready to step in front of a truck. If I knew I would get this side effect, I would have taken my chances with cancer." Google the topic, there's a lot of commentary out there. And get your Dr. to take you seriously or, like I said, dump him.

Exercise seems to help cause a diminishing of symptoms. Poor nutrition and B deficiency are thought to exacerbate the condition.