Scary Symptoms

SwtestGryl3

Hey there,

I’ve been enduring weekly taxol for 9 rounds now. This week has been really rough on me. My nail beds did turn purplish and discolored which was expected however my middle finger has swollen at the fingertip. In addition to that, my thumb and index finger has been draining a yellowish pus. My toes are numb, specifically my big toes, and a few fingers as well. All of this essentially started after my 8th dose.

I wasn’t able to get dose #10 because my wbc level has dropped to critical ... sigh* .... I had the neupogen shot last Thursday (0.7) went back Friday just to find out that it didn’t increase my count (0.9) Has this happened to anyone? Or anything similar? I’m worried ... my Onc did have me start doxycycline....and she told me to soak my nails in vinegar and blow dry them to ensure they’re dry afterwards.

TWills

I had nail issues on Taxol as well, ended up with an infection under one fingernail, I can not describe the pain it caused!! Antibiotics cleared it up pretty quickly, they wanted to remove the nail but luckily the meds started working fast. All of my nails turned purple/red and lifted but the one that got infected didn’t lift at the end of the nail so I think that’s what caused the infection. Anyway, they really improved when chemo ended and were pretty much back to normal within several months. They actually feel stronger now. My WBC counts were very low during taxol as well, had to skip one and did not do my 12th because neuropathy was getting pretty bad as well. I’m 11 months out from last treatment and neuropathy in my fingersas improved maybe 10%. No pain with neuropathy, just numbness. I also had some numbness and nail issues on my feet, just my big toenails but they resolved pretty quickly and I don’t really notice the numbness on them as much anymore so either it got better or I just got it used to it. Hope you find some relief and heal quickly!

SwtestGryl3

thank you so much! I hope I don’t have to lose my nails ... that’s sounds so scary! I’m glad everything worked for you