WHAT IS CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY?
posted by: Sue: Feb 6th 2013
There was an article written in the “New York Times” on January 3, 2013, by Tara Parker-Pope, entitled “Living With Cancer: Chemo Feet” – this could have been written by me! Tara says: “Prickly, frozen, cramped, numb: my feet ache as if they were tightly bound in plastic wrap or affixed on cardboard, or I don’t feel them at all. Several years ago I was infused with a standard form of chemotherapy that causes what oncologists call peripheral neuropathies. Side effects have turned into permanent after-effects.”
Like Tara, I suffer from the same ailment called chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy. It’s hard to comprehend that I have one foot which is completely numb and that the numbness has crawled up my leg and created a lot of nerve damage. At the same time, the pain is excruciating. There are millions of people suffering from this ailment — there is NO cure – only drugs and homeopathic remedies. It took my pain doctor, a neurologist, 2 years to come up with the right ‘formula’ for me. That means I can function, however, it’s not easy. Last year I had a neuro-stimulator inserted at the base of my spine. There are many variations of the stimulator and the one I have works by intercepting pain signals before they reach the brain. To do this, a small system is implanted in the body (for me it is in my spine). When turned on, the implanted system sends mild electrical pulses to the nerves along the spinal cord. These pulses diminish the feeling of pain and provide what some describe as a more pleasant massaging sensation or, in some cases, simply the absence of pain. I am still on pain medication and get physical therapy in the pool two times a week.
As Tara did, I donated a whole lot of shoes to my daughter’s nanny, to my friends and to Good Will. Yes, I used to be a shoe maven and I’m still a bag maven, but very sad to have to buy shoes with a large toe box so that my hammer toes can fit into the shoe/sneaker.
In closing, I have another quoted paragraph from Tara Parker-Pope, however, I could have written this myself … “Only clunky old lady shoes hold out the promise of some modicum of balance, since I can’t really sense the ground. In lieu of a shaky foundation and painful steps, I prefer the horizontal to the vertical. When I do heave myself up from the blue couch, images of the mortal heel of a vulnerable Achilles or the wounded ankle of Oedipus come to mind. But my plodding plate gait has nothing to do with hobbled heroes or immortal feats, as I deliberately plunk one foot in front of the other to ascertain traction, to guard against tumbling.”
Do any of you suffer from peripheral neuropathy? There is a wonderful (private) site that offers support, recommendations and conversations. The site is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/supportforneuropathy/
posted by: Sue: Feb 6th 2013
There was an article written in the “New York Times” on January 3, 2013, by Tara Parker-Pope, entitled “Living With Cancer: Chemo Feet” – this could have been written by me! Tara says: “Prickly, frozen, cramped, numb: my feet ache as if they were tightly bound in plastic wrap or affixed on cardboard, or I don’t feel them at all. Several years ago I was infused with a standard form of chemotherapy that causes what oncologists call peripheral neuropathies. Side effects have turned into permanent after-effects.”
Like Tara, I suffer from the same ailment called chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy. It’s hard to comprehend that I have one foot which is completely numb and that the numbness has crawled up my leg and created a lot of nerve damage. At the same time, the pain is excruciating. There are millions of people suffering from this ailment — there is NO cure – only drugs and homeopathic remedies. It took my pain doctor, a neurologist, 2 years to come up with the right ‘formula’ for me. That means I can function, however, it’s not easy. Last year I had a neuro-stimulator inserted at the base of my spine. There are many variations of the stimulator and the one I have works by intercepting pain signals before they reach the brain. To do this, a small system is implanted in the body (for me it is in my spine). When turned on, the implanted system sends mild electrical pulses to the nerves along the spinal cord. These pulses diminish the feeling of pain and provide what some describe as a more pleasant massaging sensation or, in some cases, simply the absence of pain. I am still on pain medication and get physical therapy in the pool two times a week.
As Tara did, I donated a whole lot of shoes to my daughter’s nanny, to my friends and to Good Will. Yes, I used to be a shoe maven and I’m still a bag maven, but very sad to have to buy shoes with a large toe box so that my hammer toes can fit into the shoe/sneaker.
In closing, I have another quoted paragraph from Tara Parker-Pope, however, I could have written this myself … “Only clunky old lady shoes hold out the promise of some modicum of balance, since I can’t really sense the ground. In lieu of a shaky foundation and painful steps, I prefer the horizontal to the vertical. When I do heave myself up from the blue couch, images of the mortal heel of a vulnerable Achilles or the wounded ankle of Oedipus come to mind. But my plodding plate gait has nothing to do with hobbled heroes or immortal feats, as I deliberately plunk one foot in front of the other to ascertain traction, to guard against tumbling.”
Do any of you suffer from peripheral neuropathy? There is a wonderful (private) site that offers support, recommendations and conversations. The site is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/supportforneuropathy/
http://site.pinkribbongift.com/blog/2013/02/06/what-is-chemotherapy-induced-peripheral-neuropathy/
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