Nueropathy

[susie]

I have had bad nueropathy in my hands from various drugs I've used. Any ideas out there about what to do to make it better?

[Lolly]

Susie, I was told by my chemo nurses to take a good vitiman B complex supplement, you can find it in most drugstores or health food stores as
"B-100", which means that it has 100 mg's of most of the B vitamins. She was very adamant that I take it during any chemo as it would help prevent nerve damage, so I don't know if it will help repair the damaged nerves that are causing your neuropathy, but I don't believe it can hurt. I take 2 a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. I only have a tiny bit of nerurpathy left in a couple of fingertips from Taxol in 2000, but I wasn't taking the B then.

Love, Lolly

[Margaret]

Hi Susie
I found it very helpful to take a supplement called L-glutamine. It's an amino acid and it was really helpful for me. Take care, Margaret

[*_Sandy H._*]

I take the L-glutamine powder, B-6 200 mg. a day. and I still have neuropathy in my hands and feet. Maybe, I need B-100? Sandy

[al from canada]

Hi Susi,
Neuopathy is a potentially dose-limiting condition (in our case) where neurological damage occurs as a side effect of cyto-toxic drugs, ie chemo. The hands is one of the first places it shows itself because of the number of nerves in our hands and because out hands are so important to daily living. When joint pain, weakness and sometimes swellings occur, it is quite likely that the chemo is damaging the nerves. Vitamin and other suppliment therapies target the symptoms but are not a cure. The only thing I know of, have been told by oncs and have been ble to read is; the cure is to stop the chemo and let the nerves recover and they will to an extent regenerate. The reason I am so aware of this condition is that it just happened to my wife 3 weeks ago: no more chemo for a while. Keep in mind that herceptin is not chemo therefore doesn't have to be stopped.
Take care,
Al

[StephN]

My med onc also had me on a separate dose of FOLIC ACID, that I got from the pharmacy, to take with my B6.

He said (in 2000) that trial results had shown this this would help against the nerve damage from the Adriamycin, etc.
Nice to have a med onc who follows trial results, and recommends to his patients even for a small, inexpensive supplement