This is going to be one of those factual posts. I've learned something new this week about side effects from chemo. They can appear AFTER CHEMO ENDS. During my taxol treatment I had some really annoying tingling in my toes. It was REALLY, REALLY annoying but somewhat tolerable. It certainly wasn't bad enough to delay treatment. Fast forward to a couple of weeks after treatment ended. The tingling started to change. It became less tingly and more like mild pain. I went through a phase where I had painful arches, too. Late this week I've transitioned to real pain. It is not pleasant. My best description is that it feels as if the soles of my feet are deeply bruised. Every step is painful. I reached a new level of pain yesterday. I've mentioned before that I soak in a hot bath each night to help with the joint and foot discomfort - well that ended last night. With the new neuropathy in my feet, I was in tears after my bath. I'm assuming the increased circulation from the bath caused the pain but a few minutes after I got out of the tub, the soles of my feet felt like I was being stabbed with thousands of needles. I usually have a good pain tolerance but this was too much. My dear husband held my hand until it eased a little and then I had to walk it off...literally. Though I was still in pain, I also had a restless feeling in my feet...I had to move. Needless to say, I will be taking quick showers for a while. I see my medical oncologist this week so we'll be discussing this turn of events. As always, i've found the upside. At least it didn't happen during treatment because I may have allowed a delay...maybe. Lol
If you are a patient, my advice is to be ready for anything. Don't let things get you down. Just deal with things as they come and keep your doctors informed. My hope is that this is just temporary and I'll get my normal back. One day at a time.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/expert-blog/chemotherapy-neuropathy/bgp-20056305
Love to all,
Andee