Re: [CH] Strange Question but not really O/T

Paul Wilson (wilsonster@gmail.com)
Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:19:41 -0700 

            Hi all,
            I am verey familiar with Peripheral Neuropathy, caused by
            cancer treatrment using, among others, cisplatin. In my
            latest battle and hopewfully my last.
            I was in the hospital for six days of 24 hr infusion. On the
            last day I was given 21 hours of cisplatin and then sent
            home for two weeks and then start all over.
            This program went on for six months. On the last day of
            treatment, my Oncologist came into my room and asked me if I
            was feeling any numbness in my hands.
            I said no and she said good. I was discharged. Sure as the
            devil, by the trime I got home I had very little feeling in
            my hands. No pain involved just no feeling.
            A week later I found out I had no feeling in my legs from
            the knees down, when I fell and injured my back.
            There does not seem to be any real treatment for the
            numbness. The Doc put me on (Neurontin but it did no good.
            So for the last three months I have been re-training my
            muscles and joints to function as close to normal as
            possible. I never realized how much your balance
            depends on the feeling in your legs. I still have to be
            cautious when I turn sharply, I will lose my balance, and I
            can never go barefooted even in the pool.
            Hand and finger exercise has returned to me the ability to
            use a keyboard again, just at a reduced speed and accuracy.
            A good spell checker is a must.
            Since I an retired, I now have four blogs to maintain and I
            am having a great time wqith my pepper garden.
            Just tro make this a little on topic: This year I am the
            proud papa of twelve lovely Thai Dragons and twelve unknown
            peppers, The plants have fruit and they
            are fat and about 2 1/2 inches. The truck driver that sent
            me the seeds said they are very hot. I will know soon.
            No one will ever convince me that hot peppers are bad for
            you, with the exception of allergies. Every time I go to see
            one of my doctors, I take a bag of dried
            peppers from last year. They even love the Bhuts.

            Enough of my rambling, Paul

            Jim Graham wrote:
>             On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 01:56:18AM -0400, Linda Hutchinson wrote:
>
>               
>>             Has anyone on this group developed peripheral neuropathy? "Neuropathic
>>             pain is pain caused by a condition affecting the nervous system
>>             (nerves, spinal cord or brain)."
>>                 
>
>             Peripheral neuropathy goes way beyond just pain.  It can appear as pain,
>             burning, tingling, numbness, and/or problems with coordination (ref:
>             CancerCare link shown below)....all caused by damage to nerves.
>
>             See the following for some good information on it:
>
>                http://www.cancercare.org/pdf/booklets/ccc_neuropathy.pdf
>                (CancerCare - Understanding Peripheral Neuropathy)
>
>             You may also be interested in the following, from the American Cancer
>             Society:
>
>                http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MBC/content/MBC_2_3x_Peripheral_Neuropathy_Caused_by_Chemotherapy.asp?sitearea=MBC
>
>             which says:
>
>             ---------------------------  CUT HERE  ---------------------------
>
>                What else can cause these symptoms?
>
>                Peripheral neuropathy (PN) can also have other causes, such as:
>
>                   * other cancer treatments, such as surgery or radiation
>                   * tumors pressing on nerves
>                   * infections that affect the nerves
>                   * diabetes
>                   * shingles
>                   * low vitamin B levels
>                   * some autoimmune disorders
>
>                It's very important to understand the cause of PN so that the right
>                treatment can be given. [....]
>
>             ---------------------------  CUT HERE  ---------------------------
>
>             After my chemotherapy, brain surgeries and radiation therapy, and
>             another round of chemo, I feel all of the symptoms above (mostly random
>             nerve firings that often toss my whole body around) AND another, from the
>             second document (the ACS doc):  "increased sensitivity to temperature
>             (usually cold) or pressure, so that things hurt more than usual."
>             In my case, the increased sensitivity is to both cold and hot
>             (apparently this is fairly common among cancer survivors, at least,
>             it's true for nearly 100% of those I've talked to).  And the increased
>             sensitivity to pressure applies x1000 for the three areas on my skull
>             where tumors were removed.
>
>             Anyways, that's my contribution.  Hope it helps.
>
>             Later,
>                --jim
>
>               

            -- 


                         


                    -- 
                    *Thanks Paul, *


                  *Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a
                  president by his age, only by his works.' And ever
                  since he told me that, I stopped worrying. - Ronald
                  Reagan *


        -- 
        *Thanks Paul, *


      *Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by
      his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I
      stopped worrying. - Ronald Reagan *