Perhaps go and see a Neurologist. If it was chemo induced neuropathy then it should slowly recover over time, as nerves do regenerate, be it ever so slow (1mm per day). For what it’s worth I am currently going through a Cisplatin induced periperal neuropathy which peaked at its worst probably around 4-5 months after completing my last course of chemo. It was quite distressing at the time as each week it was getting worse and worse with the numbness/tingling commencing at the toes and fingures and gradually working its way up until at its worst my arms and legs were numb, side of my face, loss of fine motor movement and balance! But it does get better over time. It is now almost 10-months since finishing chemo and there has been impovement as I am now able to type on the keyboard, write legibly (just a little) and the numbness is now just in my hands and feet. I am also able to handle cold items, which before I could not as it was shear agony and I don’t get shooting pains which were also part of the problem.

What did I do to overcome this? Well not much, I was initially taking a course of vitamin B6, B12 and multivitamin B supplements to supposedly assist in the nerve regeneration, but I only took these for a few weeks as they did not appear to be doing a great deal. In fact you need to be aware that B6 in high doses can in fact have the opposite effect and cause neuropathy! Basically I’ve maintained a healthy diet and underwent some rehab comprising of Occupational Therapy, Physical Eduaction and Phisio, along with regualr exercise (i.e walking). This all seemed to help and having someone massage hands and feet helps and feels great!
Hope this is of some help. I’m told that it will improve over time and in my case it has, but it appears that it does get worse before it gets better. Generally the symptomns peaked at around 3 – 5 months after the last session of chemo, before starting to improve. All the best….

Filed under: colon cancer treatment

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