Finger and Toe Nails

Not necessarily @crafty! We're all different. K xox

thanks for your answer. Thank goodness I am not going mad. I put nail polish on to protect my nails and thought heck thats cold - since when do we notice that. I don't think my nails have hardly grown since starting chemo. I keep looking at my big toe nails in the shower and they look darker, abit grey but I haven't noticed any tenderness there yet.
 Another side effect to look forward to.

Ah @crafty! You are the only person I can recall who's had this problem since I had it during my chemo earlier this year.

What chemo are you having? I had TC. First round for a few days my finger and toe nails were tender when you pushed them. Second round a little more painful and for a few days longer. I could see brown semi circles appearing under the nails, half way up. Third round, way more painful, nails started to lift and my hands were sore. It hurt to clap and touch things. I found some white cotton gloves at the chemist to wear to protect my skin when I was driving. Where the pain had lifted before the next round, it didn't this time and the fourth round the pain intensified. I had to use a haptic pen to type on my phone and couldn't fold laundry; the fabric was too rough on my skin! Using a towel was difficult. I wore the gloves to push the supermarket trolley. I was useless at doing pretty much anything with my hands.

Once chemo finished it slowly receded, though one by one all my fingernails lifted after each one got the brown semi-circle. My toes also discoloured, some quite badly and I ended up losing three toenails, including both the big ones. I didn't lose any fingernails, though it was months before I could use them with confidence.

My hands stopped hurting, though I've been left with the slightest lack of feeling in my right fingertips. My oncologist said that it was probably the same in my left hand but as my right is the dominant hand it's more sensitive and noticeable.

I had a series of ridges appear in each fingernail. Eventually I realised that each ridge (there were four) corresponded with each chemo infusion. It was with great joy that I saw the last one grow out a couple of months ago but my nails haven't returned to their former glory. I've always haf really strong, hard nails. Only the pinkie finger on my left hand has recovered. All the others break in a weird way the moment they get beyond the end of the finger. They're soft and flaky and it's really irritating! And a constant reminder of chemo... My last infusion was on 8th March this year.

I hope they get better soon. My big toenails are slowly growing back. The right one has a really big lumpy ridge. A few more months and I should be able to cut it off. Can't wait! K xox

I have just had my 3rd cycle of chemo and my fingernails are sooo sore. It now hurts to do most things with my hands because of this. Any ideas what might happen with them? They look the same to me, but I am giving up on trying to work out whats happening with things now.

@LIttleBlueWren
I also use a Sally Hansen nail hardener which I refresh weekly! 

Good luck!

@kmakm. Do you take calcium tablets with viamin D? Do you always wear gloves when handwashing and washing up and when gardening? My nails are so hard and, like the hair on my head, grow very fast.
I had strange fingernails for ages after Paclitaxel. Only one still looks weird. My big toe nails still look weird but they are growing out.

@Flaneuse Annoying rather than ghastly! Gets me down a bit though. My nails were one of the things about myself that I liked and wouldn't change. Typical!

@kmakm ooh that sounds ghastly

It's eight months since I finished TC and one fingernail has recovered to how they were before cancer. Strong and hard. All the rest get a tad longer than my fingers and instantly break. Not like they used to, at the sides, but giving way in the middle, bending in and breaking, leaving my fingernails with concave scoops out of them. Chemo hit my hands really hard. I hope the nails all recover one day.