1. < Colorectal Cancer

Struggling with tingling, painful sensation on my hands

Posted by gugun @gugun, Jul 9, 2022

Hi All. I am a new joiner in this community. Diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer in April 2022. My treatment started with colon resection surgery and remove affected lymph nodes. I'm now on chemo, and I am struggling with tingling sensation on my hands (to the point where I can't use the hands), fatigue and nausea. I am only on cycle 2 of 8, and I am trying to find out if any one of you had to deal with severe tingling (peripheral neuropathy), and how they dealt with it. I am generally positive and strong, and have tried to remain so, but this is so hard.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Colorectal Cancer Support Group.

Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Oct 28, 2022
In reply to @gugun "Thank you for the positive response and for sharing your own experience @beth123. It has been..." + (show)
@gugun

Thank you for the positive response and for sharing your own experience @beth123. It has been a very rough ride in the last few weeks. It got a lot worse. I couldn't type or write. I couldn't touch stainless steel or anything naturally cold. My oncologist put me on Nurica. It relieved the pain somewhat, but the tingling seems to be progressive. I'm starting cycle 7 of 8 tomorrow, and I just am going to grin and bear it until end of my cycles.

Jump to this post

How did cycle 7 go @gugun?

REPLY
1 reply
gugun | @gugun | Oct 30, 2022
In reply to @colleenyoung "How did cycle 7 go @gugun?" + (show)
@colleenyoung

How did cycle 7 go @gugun?

Jump to this post

It was a mixed bag. Difficult for the first six to seven days because of neuropathy and nausea. My doctor increased dosage of Nurica because the tingling and ins and needles were only less in severity but relentless because they lasted throughout the 21 days of the previous cycle. Unfortunately increased dosage created a new problem of extreme fatigue. I was sleeping 16 to 18 hours a day for the first 4 days. My doctor had warned about this and had said we would reduce the dosage during the day, and maintain it at night. So we did that, and it worked.

The good thing is, since about day 9 of cycle 7, I have been able to take walks of about an hour, and can do some strength training.

At this point I'm learning to live with the good, the bad and the ugly - on the hope that come I will have no cancer left in me by this time next month. I hope I am not fooling myself.

Thanks for checking on me 🙂

REPLY
gugun | @gugun | Oct 30, 2022
In reply to @fiona007 "Hi, sounds like you are on a platinum based chemo which causes harsh neuropathy in hands..." + (show)
@fiona007

Hi, sounds like you are on a platinum based chemo which causes harsh neuropathy in hands and feet, but mostly hands first. You can ask for ice gloves to wear during chemo that can reduce the effect and take the supplement ALA (Alpha Lipoid Acid) is recommended to help with neuropathy . My hands got so bad after 7 treatments so I switched to a different chemo which did just fine and I got the use of my hands back after a period of time. One thing to be aware of is that the neuropathy from platinum based chemo is cumulative, so if you were to just keep doing a platinum based chemo, you may not get all the feeling back in your hands.

Jump to this post

Thanks for the feedback @fiona007. I tried the icing route but my oncology treatment team almost had a collective fit, and I couldn't insist. I'm on oxaliplatin, definitely platinum based chemo. My doctor reduced the dosage in cycle 3 when it became clear that the side effects I was experiencing were extreme. The idea of not getting feeling back in my hands is scary. It is even more scary because the numbness that started with my feet, has spread all the way the right leg to my bum. I just can't wait for this to end - and hopefully, it will end when I complete cycle 8 next month.

REPLY
1 reply
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Oct 31, 2022
In reply to @gugun "Thanks for the feedback @fiona007. I tried the icing route but my oncology treatment team almost..." + (show)
@gugun

Thanks for the feedback @fiona007. I tried the icing route but my oncology treatment team almost had a collective fit, and I couldn't insist. I'm on oxaliplatin, definitely platinum based chemo. My doctor reduced the dosage in cycle 3 when it became clear that the side effects I was experiencing were extreme. The idea of not getting feeling back in my hands is scary. It is even more scary because the numbness that started with my feet, has spread all the way the right leg to my bum. I just can't wait for this to end - and hopefully, it will end when I complete cycle 8 next month.

Jump to this post

@gugun, I'm neither advocating for or against cooling or ice gloves to help reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). I have seen articles such as this study suggesting it could be helpful:
- The Impact of Peripheral Cooling on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: An Integrative Review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7810270/

@muradangie might have more information.

Did your oncology team provide any education about CIPN or why they didn't like cooling gloves?

REPLY
1 reply
Angie Murad, Patient Educator | @muradangie | Nov 2, 2022
In reply to @colleenyoung "@gugun, I'm neither advocating for or against cooling or ice gloves to help reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@gugun, I'm neither advocating for or against cooling or ice gloves to help reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). I have seen articles such as this study suggesting it could be helpful:
- The Impact of Peripheral Cooling on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: An Integrative Review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7810270/

@muradangie might have more information.

Did your oncology team provide any education about CIPN or why they didn't like cooling gloves?

Jump to this post

@gugun- I would agree with Colleen's comment. The only thing I would have to add is to make sure you communicate with your care team and treating physician about these symptoms you are experiencing. I also am curious why your oncology treatment team didn't like the cooling gloves too?

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.