8 wks A/C, now on 6th/12 wks Taxol.. Worried about neuropathy!

smileykylie615

Hello!

So, as the title suggests, I have already been doing chemo for about 14 weeks. I got through the first 8 weeks on A/C pretty easily (some GI upset here and there), but have recently been noticing quite a bit of neuropathy from the taxol portion of my chemo. My oncologist said that some neuropathy would be normal, but it should be coming and going between treatments... I'm having a hard time telling if it is coming and going. Last week, she lowered my dose of taxol by 10% in hopes that would help with the numbness and tingling in my fingers and feet. Best case scenario, I would be able to finish all 20 weeks of my chemo, but I do not want to suffer from any long-term effects of the neuropathy. I suppose what I am asking for is personal experiences of your time on taxol, both during and after. How long were you on it? Were you able to finish all of your weeks? Did your oncologist lessen your dose? How far out from chemo are you now? Do you have any permanent damage to your nerves? If not, how long did it take for the numbness and tingling to go away? And anything else you would like to share about your experience! Thank you very much in advance!

Kicks

I did 4 DD A/C neoadjuvant and 12 weekly Taxol adjuvant. For me A/C was easy - did not slow me down at all. Taxol was not as nice though. With Taxol, it was complete and utter EXHAUSTION the entire time (a week after last Taxol the exhaustion started lessening when I started rads that day and only got better daily). Also had a problem with keeping temperature up to close to normal/safe throughout. Also at week 6 of Taxol my K (potassium) levels plummeted. Had to go on mega doses of K to stay 'normal' range - 7 yrs later, I still have to take K to keep it up to normal.

Neuropathy was never/is not an issue.

kcat2013

My MO wanted my neuropathy to be gone, or at least almost gone by the next treatment. So for me, I had Taxol every 2 weeks and MO was okay with mild to moderate neuropathy the first week but it needed to by mostly gone by the end of the 2nd week or she wouldn't administer the next round. I had quite a bit of neuropathy in my hands and feet and ended up having to delay treatment by 1 week because my neuropathy was persisting and not lessening. After that week off , MO decreased my dose by 15% for my last 2 treatments. That helped quite a bit, so that the neuropathy was still there but lessened somewhat before the next treatments. Anyway, I dealt with neuropathy for about 1 year post treatment, but thankfully it gradually got better and went away. MO said that 1 year is about normal in her patients' experiences.

muska

My dose was reduced by 10% starting from taxol #3 because of elevated liver enzymes. I got some mild neuropathy despite reduced dosage that wasn't going away between treatments. What I recall, buttoning the shirt would require some focus but I was still able to button it. Starting from #10 they gave me the option to stop or continue if I wanted. I got all 12 done. I remember reading somewhere that elevating your hands and feet might ease the neuropathy, so I tried doing that during the last two or three infusions. The rationale is, the blood doesn't flow as quickly to you hands and feet if they are elevated.

In my case, all neuropathy was completely gone within the first month after the tx completion. However, I do have a slight edema in one foot as a result of taxol.

bravepoint

My experience was the opposite. AC was awful, nausea for 5 days, super tired. I have had almost no side effects from the Taxol and have done 5 of 12. I get a little achy 48 hours post treatment but that's about it, no neuropathy. Hope things improve for you!

mnichols

I was on TCHP BUT I ices my hands and feet throughout all my treatments and have ZERO neuropathy. Finished at very end of December. I took four oblong tupperware containers and put on socks and the gloves the nurses wear. I half filled them with water and added ice until I started to get uncomfortable. Start this 15 mins before infusion of chemo drugs start and continue for 15 minutes after chemo is done. It really works. I also bought a heated throw and wore a fleece. Hope this helps and good luck