Anxiety and neuropathy

Hi Tangogirl.... 
I had severe neuropathy of my feet and hands.... 
relaxation mediation helped a bit and so did Revitive (Dawn Frazer machine for circulation) you can hire or buy from the chemist usually our chemist had a free trial  they put me on it in the chemist to see if I could tolerate it .... I find it helps to settle the pain and sensations that come with neuropathy. 
I had the machine on trial for 7 days  I returned and bought it after 4 days I still use it now 6+yrs later... 

Do you have a good Breast Care Nurse - she might be able to get you into see psychologist at the Hospital or Cancer Unit depending on where you now reside.... I found knowing that others had this helped to relax me a little abit also. 

Soldiercrab

I had quite bad neuropathy in my feet (and mild in my fingers), nothing in my calves thank heavens. It's hard to describe to anyone who hasn't had it that your feet can be both numb and burning painful simultaneously! I also completely understand the anxiety. Losing hair, OK. Chemo, bring it on. 5 or 10 years on tablets, can be done. But no-one told me I may not be able to walk!! Of course that didn't happen - but I did worry about it for a while. You are wise to ask about treatment, which may help. It's also likely that symptoms will abate in time. But if you feel that anxiety is serious and it's impacting your recovery, it may well be worth asking for advice. Not all medication works effectively straight away, so you may also want to consider other options (relaxation therapies, or anxiety management techniques) as alternative treatments. At the height of my anxiety, with no other treatment than taking Vitamin B (may be worth checking too), my feet started to improve. The minute the improvement started, my anxiety melted away. Fear feeds on fear. Once you know things are improving, you will find it easier to deal with the discomfort. Best wishes, I hope you get some relief (either way) soon.

Hi @Tangogirl I developed neuropathy in my legs three weeks post chemo. I didn’t know what it was! The pain was so excruciating I couldn’t lay down, sit or stand. I would pace the floor in the middle of the night for three hours until exhaustion took over. None of my doctors or BC nurse knew what was causing the pain. I started taking Ibuprofen which helped a lot. They refused to let me see my own onco on my next visit but I knew I needed to speak to her about the pain. I simply told my BC nurse I would wait a fortnight until my onco could fit me in and in the meantime I would continue taking regular three hourly Ibuprofen. After she had a fit and said I wasn’t allowed Ibuprofen, I simply smiled and told her I would take whatever eases the pain. I surprisingly got into my own onco that afternoon who then diagnosed the neuropathy and put me on Endone.