I had my first infusion of weekly taxol/herceptin yesterday, and I'm already experiencing some numbness in my little finger on my right hand and my right foot. I understand it gets worse as you go along so I'm worried. Does anyone know if there is anything to take to slow its progression or prevent it? I've read glutamine supplements or whey protein can help. Also acupuncture I've heard can help.
Boy, that was quick reaction to new treatment! I did not feel anything for several treatments.
Stick with the Glutamine - it helped me out a lot as I was on a long regimen for my mets.
I try to avoid things with added whey as this can be hard to digest.
And don't forget to exercise your extremeties to keep the blood circulating. Lots of water is also good.
Hope this does not mean that you will have a bad case of neuropathy.
Make sure to let your clinic staff or onc's nurse know about any symptoms and see what they suggest.
Hi Monica: I reacted very quickly to the Taxol/ Herceptin, also. It seemed like almost immediately my fingers and toes were numb. My Onc. said that I must be super sensitive to the Taxol for it to have affected me that quickly. He said that most people take much longer to exhibit that level of reaction. Personally, I think the herceptin was making the Taxol work at optimum levels which is a GOOD thing...this is my own opinion. It got pretty bad to where I had difficulty buttoning clothes and I had to be very careful when carrying things or I would drop them. The numbness in my feet was just an inconvienience, it was the joint pain that was the worst for me. You should have seen me getting out of a car after a long drive or try to stand after working at my computer for an hour! It took me awhile to be able to walk standing straigt instead of all bent. LOL
It took about 6 months after my last Taxol/Herceptin treatment (I recieved 4 treatments over the space of 3 months...how long do you have to take it?) before I was completely back to normal...but I DID get back to normal, it just took some time. Hope this helps and feel free to e-mail me anytime. Take Care, Linda
It's good to know you actually got over the numbness. I'm experiencing numbness in my hands and feet and the feet feel like there's tape on the bottom holding in the rock in the ball of my foot. My toes are numb too and I expeienced pain. I do have fingernails lifting and some toenails. I've been off the taxotere for almost two months now and it doesn't seem significantly improved. I am still receiving radiation. The good thing is my energy is back and I praise God every day for that.
Yes, get a good brand of L-Glutamine powder, preferably from a knowledgeable health food store. When I take the recommended dosage, 1 or 2 tblsp., I think, my neuropathy problems are really minimal.
I've been taking a good vitamin B complex in pill form daily since first dx and tx, on the advice of my PC and my oncology nurses, as they said it would help mitigate the neuropathy. I experienced some numbness and tingling in fingers and toes with Taxol which eventually almost dissapeared, and now with Navelbine am still taking the B complex and have occasional numbness in thumbs, but expect it will eventually resolve after finishing tx.
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