Neuropathy
This is not a big deal, but I figured I should mention it for folks looking for info about side effects. I am finally getting some tingling in my hands. My left hand feels “stupid” when I try to pick up small objects.
I was expecting this around week 4/12 of Taxol/Herceptin. It didn’t start until about week 10/12. It just feels… weird. Not bad.
Hey, Amanda – got it here too. Sometimes hands and feet do “stupid” things. Some days way worse than others. Very nasty stuff!
**Editor’s note: I am not a doctor but please see **UPDATE ON EVENING PRIMROSE below.
Hi Amanda, I am a Dr. who has Breast Ca and I read a fair amount about what WE can do to spare ourselves from side effects of these ” sweet poisons ” as I call. Evening primrose has been demonstrate to be useful for diabetic neuropathy both in animal and human studies. It also provides a very good mood stabiliser effect , which can be quite handy in these times for us … It has also been suggested for chemotherapy induced Neuropathy. You can take 6 tabs ( large ones … 1000 mg) daily , all in one go or 3 twice daily.
I am enclosing something for you to read ( Good luck ) :
1: J Nutr. 2003 Nov;133(11 Suppl 1):3785S-3793S.
Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
Nutritional approaches to late toxicities of adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer survivors.
Rock E, DeMichele A.
Division of Hematology Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Adjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer reduces recurrence rates and prolongs survival at the cost of both acute and chronic toxicities. Breast cancer survivors who have received adjuvant chemotherapy may suffer from late effects of chemotherapy including congestive heart failure, neuropathy, premature menopause, and osteoporosis. Nutritional approaches to these problems are distinct in their orientation and success. Study of free radical scavengers for anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy was born from known pathogenetic mechanisms of cardiotoxicity but has been universally disappointing thus far in clinical trials. Application of agents used for diabetic neuropathy suggests that evening primrose oil, alpha-lipoic acid, and capsaicin may all play a role in the empiric options available to patients with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Plant-derived preparations including black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), dong quai (Angelica sinensis), evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), and red clover (Trifolium pretense) are used by patients experiencing hot flashes due to premature menopause despite a paucity of clinical trial data demonstrating either safety or efficacy. Calcium and vitamin D are widely accepted as an effective means to retard bone loss leading to osteoporosis. Nutritional approaches to late effects of breast cancer chemotherapy offer the prospect of preventing or ameliorating these sequelae of treatment. However, except for vitamin D and calcium for prevention of bone loss, current clinical evidence supporting use of nutritional agents remains sparse.
Thank you all.
Doctor, I’ll look into Evening Primrose, thank you.
***UPDATE ON EVENING PRIMROSE
from
http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsInteractions/0,3926,4010|Evening%2BPrimrose,00.html
“In studies and case reports, GLA has been shown to increase the time blood needs to clot. Due to the high percentage of GLA in evening primrose oil, blood-thinning effects may be increased if evening primrose oil is taken at the same time as an antiplatelet or anticoagulant drug, possibly resulting in uncontrolled bleeding.”
So since they told me not to take aspirin, I think I’ll stop taking it til I talk to my doctor. My chemo nurse never heard of it but a friend just found the above for me.
Also, from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/eveningprimrose/
“# Evening primrose oil is well tolerated by most people. Mild side effects include gastrointestinal upset and headache.”
well… I threw up this morning and had the runs worse than usual and didn’t know why…
Maybe I can use this stuff after chemo to combat any lingering effects.
Hi Amanda! Glad you are nearing the end of the “sweet poisons.”
On a definitely more joyous note, I noticed a password protected entry about all your ex-boyfriends and totally intriguing tags such as “raised by wolves.” I think it is highly unfair to post such alluring tags and not let bloggers access the post. So there! I am hereby lodging a formal complaint.
Thanks, Nathalie. I’m really ready for it to be over.
Heheh it’s a trick, actually. The password is in the comments on another blog entry:
http://amandalinn.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/sanitized-for-your-protection/
This way, people can’t say they didn’t know what they were getting into
Plus I don’t want to gross out people who have enough trouble with their sweet poisons…