Weekly Paclitaxel & 3 weekly Trastuzumab

Hi,  I was not told to wear cold socks BUT wish I had been and also black nail varnish. My toe nails were badly affected and I got neuropathy in my right foot . They monitored me carefully after hearing my foot symptoms because it can become very disabling. The nurse said it was not unheard of to end up in a wheelchair! I still have some numbness in the sole of my right foot. No problems with my hands during or after chemotherapy. Cold socks were never mentioned, in fact I wore fluffy socks to keep me cosy as I was cold capping, no one said otherwise. My treatment was 5 years ago but feet are still problematic. You can read my profile if you want. Good luckxxx

I suffer with my hands and feet and wasn’t told about cold gloves either. Also wear fluffy socks - will stop that! Thanks for the advice. 

Sorry not much help but just finished 12 weekly sessions of paco and feet and hands were an issue but just numbness now. Also gums bleed a lot randomly, had mouthwash and this helped. Best of luck x

Thank you, I appreciate your reply. I will wear the socks and gloves

I wore cold gloves and socks although my oncologist and nurse sniffed at the idea. I went ahead anyway and was very discrete.
I had 3 x 3 weekly EC followed by 9x weekly Paclitaxel.

I got very slight neuropathy in both feet - toes mainly. It was tingling - I was only aware of it when I was sitting still. When I was walking I didn't notice it.

My chemo finished 3 months ago and I have been taking VIT B12 - the neuropathy got a bit worse before it improved and now it has completely gone.

I also cold capped too.

I did contact a company offering cold gloves and socks to see if I could rent a machine but that didn't work out- they stopped responding to me.
So I searched the internet to see what other people had used and came up with my own combination of 'cold wear' .

I'm happy to share if you would like

sending you hugs and wishing you and uneventful and speedy treatment xxx

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Thank you for replying, it’s good to know it has helped . They have recommended Suzzipad so I’ll go with them.

You will need quite a few sets of these along with a cooler and some ice blocks to keep everything cold.

I had one set of suzzipad and realised that it was so much easier to insert the ice packs into the gloves and socks before going to the hospital as it was really tricky trying to insert /change them quickly. (Mind you I was on my own and maybe if you have someone with you they could do it for you)

I couldn't find the replacement ice packs for suzzipad.

It's good to know that you are being supported and encouraged by your team with the hand and feet cooling - that's brilliant.

I also used polybalm on my nails - my nails are great !

xx

Hi

Your treatment sounds very similar to mine - 12 x weekly paclitaxel, 18 x 3 weekly trastuzumab, 3 x 6 weekly zoledronic acid followed by a further 5 6 monthly ZA. 5 days of radio therapy after the paclitaxel

I’ve just had the 6th lot of Pacliaxel, and my side effects are much less now than when i started - even on a week when I’m having the Trastuzumab as well

I got off to a bit of a shaky start. I had both cold capping and the cold hands and feet, but I fainted and they struggled to get my blood pressure up so we’ve dispensed with all the cooling. I really felt the fatigue in the first couple of weeks. My sleep is not good for the first night or so after treatment but i catch up as soon as i can and am getting a walk in virtually every day

So far I’ve got no issues with my hands, and just a bit of tingling in my toes. My hair has started falling out in a fairly major way in the last week - I suspect most of it will be gone fairly soon but I’m fairly sanguine about that and have bought hats/caps and am in touch with someone about trying a wig

I’m aware my side effect might get worse again as I get further into the treatment, but my message would be one of encouragement. The whole experience is nowhere near as bad as I thought it might be

It sounds like you are smashing it, thank you for your reply it’s very reassuring

Thanks for the tips? That’s good to know as I wouldn’t have thought of that and I’ll be picking up some poly balm  xxx