Advice on using ice water to prevent neuropathy

I don't know, I'm thinking, cold=bad circulation. If DURING the treatment you keep your fingers and toes cold, then the chemo drug will not get there. Keeping them warm would facilitate the drug getting tot he nails, right? I think that is the reason the cold caps for preserving hair are used too...

Hi, paxton ~  I did 4 rounds of Taxotere & Cytoxan in August-October of 2008, and many of us on the TC thread here used ice to save our nails because it prevents the chemo from getting to our nailbeds.  For that, you can use either an ice pack or a package of frozen veggies, which is what I did, because it's maleable and seemed less messy after it had  melted.  And it was never questioned by any of our oncs or onc nurses, although my onc wasn't convinced it really did anything, but I thought so.  But I would question if getting your hands and feet cold enough to prevent neuropathy might interfer with the drugs circulating properly. 

What does help with neuropathy though is the vitamin supplement B6.  And I'm sure you've been told or will be told that you need to drink massive amounts of water to wash out the chemo.  Hopefully, that will also help prevent it from settling in those extremeties too long. 

Good luck with your chemo!    Deanna

paxton ~ I've always taken B-Complex, but I added an additional B6 supplement because I felt I was especially low or needed more of it due to the chemo.  I'm not 100% sure of the strength, but it was Whole Foods own brand, and the smallest available amount -- maybe 50mg?  It made a noticeable difference in my neuropathy symptoms. 

When I was finished with chemo, I used a similar amount (lowest mgs. available) of Biotin, another B vitamin, for hair regrowth, and that also seemed to make a huge difference.    Deanna

I took acetyl carnitine, glutamine, b complex and iced my nails, all twenty, during DD taxol--12 weekly infusions.  The first three supplements are for neuropathy and the icing is to keep your nails from falling off.  I finished chemo nearly 8 weeks ago, no neuropathy, no nail issues.

The amounts for the supplements vary a bit.  If you search the discussion boards using the supplement names above, you'll find the suggested amounts to take daily.

Claire in AZ

I used ice pack mittens and slippers during taxol treatment (I think they were elasto-gel brand). I had no issues with neuropathy.  I had one toenail get slightly yellowed.  My hospital stocked these, kept them in the freezer, and switched them out during treatment to make sure they were always cold.  Not the most pleasant experience, but I really think they worked.  I didn't suck on ice chips, and I did get mouth sores, so maybe there's something to it.

Best of luck!

I brought in frozen, reusable gel packs from Ace Hardware and put two foot sized ones on the floor for my bare feet to rest on and folded another two frozen gel packs over the toes of each foot during the hour or so Taxotere treatment. I also used frozen peas in ziplock bags to plunge each of my hands into up to the first joints. I would take my hands out every so often to check them, before putting them back in. They were quite pink up to those joints.

My hospital had told me quite a few women used peas on their hands. I just felt I needed something for my feet too.

The following day when I went back for my Neulasta shot I was asked it I had had any tingling in my feet and I could truthfully answer, no. The nurse seemed both surprised and pleased.

I plan to do the same thing each time, although I will put a towel down next time to try to conserve the freeze of the gel packs longer. They were still cold after an hour, but had certainly warmed a bit probably due to heat loss to the warmer floor.

I do know that when I was at Memorial Sloan Kettering recently I was told that it was running a study to see if icing nails helped.