How do you manage walking with neuropathy?

Nerve Pain & Neuropathy
1

My peripheral neuropathy has become quite severe. I can hardly walk for ten minutes before the tingling ‘pins and needles’ sensation gets to be too much. I’ve been tying ice packs to my feet, which offers a bit of relief, but I feel very isolated and worried about my ability to move. Has anyone else dealt with this?

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2

I dealt with the same thing for a while. It was especially tough in my hands; I couldn’t even tie my own shoes and it would make me cry. I spoke to my medical team about it, and they gave me a one-week break from chemo and put me on gabapentin. Definitely reach out to your doctor!

3

Have you been using ice on your hands and feet while getting your chemo treatments?

4

Did you mention this to your doctors? They gave me a prescription for gabapentin when I was struggling with it.

5

I’m just about to begin chemo, so I don’t have personal experience yet, but I’ve been researching options. Two suggestions I’ve seen are using hand and foot ice packs during infusions—buying two sets is smart so you can swap them when they warm up—and using compression gloves and socks. I’m a piano player, so I’ve already stocked up on these items hoping they’ll help. You can find plenty of compression gear on Amazon, and it might be worth trying regardless of where you are in your treatment.

6

Gabapentin was a lifesaver for me. I was already on a small dose for a neck issue, but my oncologist tripled it during my treatment, and I’m still taking it now. It also really helped with the nerve pain I had after my surgery.

7

Here is what has been helping me: I take pregabalin twice a day and use toe separators when I’m at home. I try to keep walking even when it hurts because movement seems to help, and I apply Vicks to my feet at night with loose socks. I’ve also added Nervala (got mine here)to my routine for extra nerve support. I also make sure to keep wiggling my toes whenever I’m sitting still. My condition is slowly getting better, though I still worry it might be permanent. Even though I was very consistent with icing, I still developed neuropathy in my feet and right hand, which they think was caused by some extreme swelling I had during a hospital stay.