Dear Pickle:
My last Infusion was two years ago and I still have chronic
peripheral neuropathy affecting both my fingertips and feet.
The affect has lessened in the fingertips to a degree. I have a
base sensation but minimal sensitivity to texture. Hot and cold
sensations are present. No "pain."
In my feet, the neuropathy is evolving, lessening a little but not
symmetrically. For example, I have less sensation on the
outsides than on the insides of my feet. The big toes and index
toes seem more functional than the three remaining toes. A
heating pad at the bottom of the bed at night lessens
discomfort. The bottoms of my feet are very sensitive to
sharps, so socks are imperative. Shoes must be loose with no
pressure on the nerve junctions on the top of each foot.
My worry is atrophy of the muscles in the calf that move the
toes for affecting balance corrections.
I will be exploring a light therapy (near infrared- red)
treatment that has achieved some recognition as being
successful for diabetics afflicted with peripheral neuropathy in
the feet and legs. [See
http://www.infraredtherapy.com/ index.html or Google "neuropathy near infrared light therapy."]
Notwithstanding, I am of the opinion that alleviation of chronic
peripheral neuropathy caused by one of the Oxaliplatin
metabolites is a function of entropy, i.e. the inevitable
breakdown or randomization of the structural conditions
causing the problem (oxalate-Calcium/Magnesium crystals in
nerve cell channels) over time, perhaps a long, long time. [See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalate_poisoning ]