Neuropathy in feet after completing Chemotherapy

Too late for my husband, but I understand that some chemo centers put cold gloves and cold sock like things on hands and feet during chemo to prevent neuropathy. Heads too-to minimize hair loss. Does anyone know about this? The scientists who come up with something to really aid neuropathy should win a Nobel.

I saw some people using the cold for the hair loss at the chemo center but do not know how much it helped her. I must say that the woman had hair to her waist or longer but the cap needs to be up on the scalp. I also talked with a woman who wore those things on her hands & feet. She brought them in a cooler type thing already frozen & the nurse helped her fasten the 2nd hand one on. The patient got them from a friend. She thought they might have helped.

Thank you.

My partner started using thc based oil from a licensed and legal dispensary after her colon cancer surgery and it was a life changer for her. Hth

Here are additional discussions about chemo-induced neuropathy found in the Cancer: Managing Symptoms support group: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/cancer-managing-symptoms/

- Neuropathy discussions https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/cancer-managing-symptoms/?search=neuropathy&index=discussions

You can use the group Search to find additional topics of interest.

Cold therapy has been around for awhile getting its start in the colon cancer space. It was first mentioned on social media in the Colontown FaceBook group. A common drug regimen for colon cancer is Folfox. Anecdotal reports were favorable and it led to a study by GI cancer oncologists with psitive results. There is now a large phase III study. The technique is used at many comprehensive cancer centers for various solid tumor cancers including pancreatic. When started with the first cycle, it is most effective leading to a better quality of life and increasing the likelihood of a patient being able to complete all 12 cycles of Folfirinox.

Here are links related to the cold therapy technique and its application:
https://letswinpc.org/disease-management/ice-prevent-neuropathy/
https://learn.colontown.org/topic/managing-neuropathy-and-cold-sensitivity/
https://fightcolorectalcancer.org/blog/chemo-oxaliplatin-cold-sensitivity/
https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/ice-chips-prevent-hyperalgesia-with-oxaliplatin

I'm not medically trained at all, just echoing some thoughts from discussions I've read here and elsewhere.

The hypersensitivity to cold one gets from oxaliplatin MIGHT result from a different mechanism than the generalized, temperature-independent numbness and tingling (Chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy) patients often get from other chemo drugs.

I mainly mention this because I just heard a second patient say her oncologist considered icing CONTRAINDICATED with oxaliplatin, although no supporting data was provided for that position.

My uneducated guess is that once you're already in a hypersensitive state, overexposure to what you're already sensitive to might cause further damage -- like what coming out of a dark cave and staring at the sun could do to your optic nerves, or coming out of a sound proof booth and then firing a cannon could do to your auditory nerves.

IMHO it seems there is more supporting evidence out there for icing (including when on oxaliplatin) than not, and if anyone finds reputable sources to the contrary, I ask that you please post them here!!! With sincere thanks in advance.

FWIW#1: Now that my regimen includes cisplatin instead of oxaliplatin, I don't experience the hypersensitivity to cold touch (especially to foods) that I used to, although I do still experience some generalized feelings of being cold more often, perhaps due to the anemia that's going along with a year of chemo.

FWIW#2: Compression as well as icing have been reported to help with CIPN, but it's hard to tell if they're really helping you or not. You'll probably experience some degree of increasing CIPN the longer you're on chemo (oxaliplatin or abraxane, maybe cisplatin), but not know if the increase would be more or less with/without icing. In the one study I read, the way they discerned the difference was to just treat one hand as the experimental variable and leave the other one untreated as a control.

This might leave you feeling a little lopsided, but something you consider tolerating if you want to assess the effectiveness on your own self. I haven't tried it that way... But I have used surgical gloves (both hands) a size too small for compression, allowing me to play with my phone and turn book pages during chemo. I've found the compression socks and ice pads for my feet a little bit more inconvenient and don't use them regularly, but my feet are paying a bigger price in terms of neuropathy. Correlation doesn't imply causation, but the correlation is there... 🙁

Can you clarify what you mean by based oil, to help with neuropathy? Is that the actual name of it?
Thank you.

I also had this happen. I completed 6 infusions of Tivdak and in the three weeks following, my neuropathy got much worse. In the 10 months since then, it has not improved. I went to a physical therapist to learn exercises to help my balance and the numb feeling in my feet. I am going to restart the Tivdak soon and I am very worried about how much worse it will get.

Has anyone tried the EMS food massager? Is it effective in treating neuropathy?