Hi -just wondered if anyone had experienced this as i am a little bit worried about it. I have not had surgery and cancer was in left side, with secondaries to bones and liver. I had chemo (FEC) and radiotherapy. Numbness seems to be worse at night as well. I do see my onc on 25th of Jan, so i can mention it to him but hes not always the most informative of people so it would be nice to find out more if i can before i see him.
thanks for your time
Debbie
Hi Debbie, I wondered if you are on any hormonal treatment now? I often have pins and needles in both hands at night, on waking, which I understand to be a side effect from hormonal treatment.
I also have bone mets.
Belinda…x
I had numbness and tingling and lost use of my thumb, index finger and middle finger. This has been put down to rads damage. Apparently it come on about 2-3 yrs after rads. I’m still waiting the final results of my mri on my shoulder/armpit for this - done on 20th nOv - neurologists do not work quickly!!! Nothing showed on my CT so they are quite sure it is due to rads damage. It has improved from when it first started at the end of august.
I would def mention it to your onc and be firm about wanting investigations.
Otherwise, it might be as Belinda says a side effect of hormonal treatment or hopefully not a sign of further bone spread.
It is dificult with oncs - I think mine would have made a brill politician as he seems to be very good at never giving a complete answer!!!
Good luck and keep us informed
Kate
I have pins and needles at night and in morning on waking. Think it is down to hormone tratment. I don’t have secondaries to my knowledge.
Irene
Hi
I am on tamoxifen and also had radiotherapy which finished june 07 so hopefully could be either -thanks for the advice -i do need to be more pushy with my onc i think-its just really hard not to think the worst-tho i do tell myself off and try and maintain that positivity which gets me through!
Thanx to you for your advice/experience sharing- it has helped me to calm my mind a little as there could be more than one explanation, and its not necessarily the big C back to haunt me.
debbiex
Hi again, just to add I had lots of pins and needles plus very painful cramps whilst on Tamoxifen.
I’ve had less since being on Aromatase treatments.
Good Luck with your appointment…x
Hi
I’ve had no side effects from Tamoxifen and from Arimidex I am only recently getting joint pain in my fingers.
Concerning numbness then I finished chemo in Sep 06 and around Jul 06 I started getting numbness (no pain, tingling or needles and pins)in my feet and by Oct 06 they were around 90% numb! After that they started to get better but might never have full feeling in them again. I told my oncologist about it when it started and it is nerve damage caused by Taxotere, a known side effect but not too common. It has levelled out now (since about March 07) and is about 30% most of the time. It affects the foot muscles too as I cannot properly screw my toes up and if I’m on a flight anywhere the numbness increases badly temporarily so I am always last off the plane because by then I cannot bend my feet properly and have to walk flat footedly for about half an hour and then I’m fine.
The numbness - Neuropathy - doesn’t affect me in anyway expect that I mostly wear flat shoes. My feet are often cold so I have a hot water bottle at night and sometimes wear microwaveable slippers! I still cycle (did London to Brighton in a personal best time last June) and walk (with care). Neuropathy is mostly associated with diabetics and alcoholics!!! It is also known to occur in cancer patients. Some supplement suppliers e.g. Nature’s Best, recommended Veintein (sp?) to help with warmth/circulation - seems to be just a large dose of cinnamon, ginko and ginger.
Sorry, that’s a rambling reply but basically don’t worry and do make sure your oncologist knows just for the record, they won’t offer any treatment for it.
All the best
D
My numbness in my fingers and toes started on my 3rd dose of taxotere in jan 2006 and has really not got too much better. It has been a blessing in disguise rcently though as had ingrowing infected toenails so had nail surgery last week and it hasnt hurt at all. The finer neuopathy is a nuisance as I find it difficult to sew and often drop things.
The pins and needles numbness from the rads damage is completely different feeling.
I hope you all recover from this awful pins and needles/ numbness. I do find heat helps
Kate