WHAT TO DO FOR SEVERE NEUROPATHY???

GinaDexter1982

Hey ladies,

I just have a quick question. My mom finished her chemo a month ago, she did 9 rounds of Taxol for her stage 1 breast cancer. Since then she has been having severe neuropathy in her feet and we understand that was one of the lasting side effects for Taxol. Now she's been doing small doses of B6 and we upped them yesterday. She had neuropathy before, after surgeries on both feet but now it's agonizing for her. Whenever she feels like she's getting a bit of relief, something happens and it jumps right back into action. Is there anything else we can do besides B6 to help relieve the pain?

And a side note, she also has sciatica - she had it before the chemo and now it's taking forever to heal. Her usual flare ups were usually about two weeks long and it's been a little over a month. Any advice on what to do with that? She started acupuncture but has only had one treatment and she goes to physical therapy on Wednesday. Her doctor had to delay her radiation because she cannot lay still on the table because of the sciatica and the neuropathy.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

xxyzed

There is medication that can be taken for nerve pain. I take lyrica/pregabalin but there are other medications as well

KrissyJ

I am going through the numbness and tingling in my feet now, I started Taxol and it started the day after the first dose! My doctor gave me nerve pain meds, it helped a little with pain but not much. I nown have to see a nerve doctor and get a nerve test done. My doctor said he would lower the dosage on my Taxol, until the nerve test is done. This is really effecting my mobility. I can't stand or walk after a while, the numbness and pain starts kicking in.

Elizabethannb

Even small amounts of b6 can cause toxicity and neuropathy. I don't know why they recommend taking it in addition to Chemo. New research has shown pyridoxine to actually block receptors and cause a deficiency in b6 making neuropathy much worse or causing it. Maybe she shouldn't be taking even small amounts because she may become toxic in it easily. Many do

Outfield

A word of encouragement: at 1 month out, my neuropathy was still agonizing. It's very minor now. She still may heal some.

There is no great treatment for neuropathy, but there are some medications that help some people. If her oncologist isn't comfortable prescribing something, that would be weird, but if that's the case try her primary care provider. Neuropathy is really, really common, although chemo is by far not the most common cause.

Anonymous

I had sciatica before BC that got worse during treatment. I was taking Lyrica and developed neuropathy in my feet near the end of Taxol. I started 1000 mcg of vitamin B12 and a daily antihistamine, and the neuropathy would go away for a day. About a month after chemo, I was able to stop the antihistamine without the neuropathy returning. I still take B12.

After I finished radiation, I increased my Lyrica dosage and found exercises that helped relieve my sciatic pain. I found postural alignment exercises, silk reeling from Tai Chi, and sciatic nerve flossing helped the most. Hopefully, her PT can show her things to do. I feel well enough that I'm weaning myself off of Lyrica now.

yoga_girl

GinaDexter1982

See post on the topic; What is Peripheral Neuropathy

Hope this helps with finding some quality of life suggestions and answers.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/136/topics/844633?page=2#idx_45

Toughcookie

My neuropathy is mild but annoying, especially at night when I want to sleep. I started microdosing with Phoenix Tears, half CBD and half THC. My dose is about the size of a rice grain, so small that it doesn’t make me high but it does relax my feet and the muscle pain I’m still enduring from taxol.