Peripheral Neuropathy after Chemo

by Jennifer | Aug 8, 2018

UPDATE 11/5/18

Praise God!  I found something that works!  Woohoo!!  I have no idea if it will help forever, but it is now and I am so thankful!

I kept seeing an ad for Protalus insoles in my Instagram feed.  I read the comments and testimonials, but wondered if they would actually help with the pain I was having.   

If you decide to order, Email me first and I can send you a code to get $20 off your first order.

One night when I was super discouraged and in pain, I decided to order a pair, since they have a 90 day money back guarantee.  I received them a few days later and wore them in gradually as they recommended.  The majority of the time, I am in slippers and socks around the house, so I got the T75 insoles so I could wear them in all of my shoes and slippers.

When I went to order a couple other pairs last week, I did try the M100 and T100, but they were not as comfortable and my feet started to hurt.  Protalus customer service was AMAZING and got them switched out for me very quickly!!  If you are interested, you can go to their website and search for the type of insole that would be best for you.

It’s been 5 1/2 weeks and I rarely have any neuropathy.  The only time I am not using them is in the shower and for the 25 min. a day I do yoga.  Other than that, I have slippers or shoes on.  (The other night, I had friends over and was dressed up.  I walked barefoot for a few hours and regretted it.  I won’t do that again.)

So for now, I have a solution and I am very thankful.  I can’t wait to tell my oncologist about it at my appointment on Wednesday!

UPDATE 8/23/2020 – Still working 🙂

Chemo is the “gift” that keeps on giving.

I’m very thankful that chemo did it’s job and I survived it fairly well.  For over a year, I was doing really well.  I was working with the Dr. to manage side effects from the hormone blocking pill, but as far as chemo…my hair grew back, my energy came back and the horrible peripheral neuropathy went away.

Then came May 20, 2018.  (My last chemo was March 2, 2016.)  The neuropathy in my feet was back and very painful.  There was no reason for it except that something had caused those nerves to flare up and the pain was back.  Since then I have been trying everything I could find to try and ease the pain.  I know Gabapentin will work, and there are other drugs to try that will probably work.  But that usually means some other side effect.  So I’m trying hard to not down that road…but I’m getting close…

I think the hardest thing about the neuropathy is that it reminds me of cancer.  I used to not think about it much, but this neuropathy is making me hate it even more (if that’s possible).

Here’s what I’ve tried that HAS NOT worked.  I list them because while they did not work for me, they might work for someone else!

• Wearing shoes all the time
• Tylenol
• Ibuprofen
• Alleve
• Ice
• Physical Therapy Exercises
• Massage Therapy
• Keto diet
• Life, Vibe and Balance supplements by Tranont Health (although I did sleep better with these)
• Vitamin B Complex (helped in the beginning after chemo, but no longer helps)
• Alpha-lipoic acid
• Tumeric
• Coconut Oil
• Rest – getting off my feet
• Pennsaid
• Biofreeze
• Nervana (Money back guarantee)
• Penetrex (Money back guarantee)
• Capsaicin Cream
• Tens machine
• Lyrica (this made it hard to focus and made me very depressed)
• Gabapentin (I have gone up to 200 mg at night this round of neuropathy and it has not helped)

Here’s what I’m still going to try…it get expensive, fast!!  (I will update this page as I try new things.)

• Towel wet with apple cider vinegar and then sprinkled with cayanne pepper – wrap around feet
• Nervex CF
• Absorbine Jr. pain relieving gel
• Soaking feet in Epsom salt
• Activated charcoal
• Magnesium
• Peppermint, chamomile and lavender essential oils
• Acupuncture
• Meds:
  • Cymbalta
  • Baclofen 2% diclofenac 5% gabapentin6% tetracaine 3 % – compound – need to be sent to a pharmacy

Here’s what HAS worked in the past when I was on chemo and one time since, but I’m not willing to do these long term…yet.

• Tramadol (narcotic….not long term option…narcotic and addictive)
• Gabapentin  (makes my brain crazy…hard time processing things….very forgetful)

AND HERE’S WHAT I’M DOING THAT WORKS….IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ABOVE….Protalus insoles!!  Woohoo!

If you have found something that works for you, please tell me about it in the comments below!!