Discoloured Nails

I lost three toenails, but not until the nail bed damage grew out some months after chemo. When they fell off I wore a bandaid for a few days until the skin grew less sensitive.

Wearing dark nail polish on them made no difference. They all got discoloured and had weird ridges. One of my big toenails still isn't quite at the end of my toe yet and has a bulbous ridge still. Can't wait until it's finally gone.

All my fingernails discoloured and lifted, but none fell off. They were ringbarked, a ridge for each chemo infusion. They've been tough as steel all my life but 10 months later, only two, the pinkies, have recovered. The rest are soft and bendy. I have to keep them very short as they split and flake so easily. I hope they recover one day.

My toenails were my only problem so I put a pillow down the bottom of the bed, on its side, underneath the sheet. This kept the weight off my feet.

I have diabetes so I need to be very careful. Just a question if my nails were to come off what happens because I was thinking of taking pain killers (maybe) but how do you sleep with sheet or doona touching or can you bandage on the off weeks from chemo?

No problem with finger nails or toe nails on AC T over here.  Used a gel coat polish (not black) as recommended by the chemo nurse (only fingernails though) .  They all stayed fine, intact and grew normally.

I was on a different chemo and had a lot of bother with all my nails. They still haven't recovered properly and I finished chemotherapy nine months ago. But others on the same chemo had no bother with their nails at all. We all react differently to the same drugs. While it's good to be prepared, try not to cross any bridges until you come to them! K xox

My finger nails developed four distinct lines, which corresponded to my first four cycles of chemo. They have also become more curved and I have to be careful to  not cut them too short at the sides, as they then grow into the soft skin, much like an ingrown toenail. My toenails first went dark, then a sort of chalky grey / white and the nail of the big toe on the right has come off and regrown twice. It is quite thick and a bit crumbly, but is finally looking as it it will stay. I don't have diabetes, but I do have very bad circulation due to scleroderma, and get terrible Reynaud's in hands and feet, so also have to maintain very strict foot and hand hygiene.

My nails got a bit weak (but they've always been that way inclined, anyway).  The only real issue that I've had is that both big toe nails discoloured a bit and lifted.  My chemo finished in early August (I think) and those toe nails are starting to grow out but don't bear looking at too closely.

I didn't lose any nails - I didn't use black nail polish either, didn't know about it. My fingernails were OK, a very slight tan tinge, hardly noticeable with a bit of ridging. My toenails not so good - went black, brown, grey and white, apart from the two nails quite unaffected! Also split and thickened. But did not come off. Best wishes. 

I start first round of chemo next Wednesday. 4 rounds @ 3 weeks of ACtT. Do the nails fall off for everyone? It scares me a little because of my diabetes but I’m sure with nurses around they’ll know what to do 😬

My eyebrows came back amazingly - better than they'd been for years...then thinned out again.