On 9/30/2009 skpete wrote:
I appreciate your stories of neuropathy from oxaliplatin treatments. I finished chemo in Nov. of 2006 and have had constant pain especially in my feet. I have tried all the health aids and bought a tens type of electronic shock nerve builder that gave temporary relief, but no healing. I even tried surgery with a podiatrist that did the Delle method of nerve repair which is like carpel tunnel surgery in your feet, called tarsel tunnel surgery. My nerves were so damaged that they did not respond to the surgery. I thought I would share this to save others additional pain. Most of my rectum was removed with the cancer, but my surgen was able to reverse my ostomy after 9 months of chemo and radiation. Sometimes I wonder if that was wise since I struggle with control daily and have to use an enema for a bowel movement. I know this is all to graphic but cancer is not nice. We become guiney pigs to further the study for a cure. If we complain we are told to be grateful to be alive. Believe me I am . I'm 55 years old with 6 grandchildren and 2 more on the way. We have 5 children. So far no more cancer, I go in for another colonoscopy next month so we cross our fingers. The only drug that has helped with th nueropothy pain is oxycodone a few times a day to take the edge off. I know, not a good solution, so if you find something better please post it. Thanks for letting me vent. Sincerely, skpete
wow, dont know that anyone will see this since it was posted awhile back, but finally, someone who feels my pain. i mean, im sorry you do, but know one else understands; even the doctors. oxycodone is the only thing i have found to give me any kind of solution to my pain, although, as you say, it just takes the edge off. i went back to work three months ago and my feet have gotten worse and i had one very severe round of dehydration. no one at work knows of my situation, and the only reason i went back was to alleviate some of the burdon from my parents wallet and because everyone else i know thinks or thought it was time. im sorry, but know one knows what pain im in every minute of every day. i cant breath half the time because of the oxycodone but i cant function without it either. ive tried everything else non narcotic but the doctors are reluctant to give me hi doses of narcotics. even they are clueless to the severity of our issues.
i wish you luck my friend and am glad youre glad youre still here. i hope to find that some day. the rest of my message is related to my colon cancer and maybe a pity party for myself, but i need to vent every once in awhile and all my people are tired of hearing about it. so, at least the people that stumble across it here can simply push delete and it doesnt hurt my feelings like people walking out of my life seems to do.
i was diagnosed with colon cancer in 07 with all of the requisite surgeries and chemo and radiation. since then my life has been hell. the main reason i got on here today was mainly to vent. my live-in girlfriend left me a month after surgery, it seems if i try to see anyone new they are frightened of my past life, although, i must admit that maybe my lack of zest for life has severely diminished since my first surgery. the original surgery went nothing like as planned and i ended up with an ostomy, which my doctor, going in knew severly that i did not want. i swore i would never have one, but with the woman in my life i thought i had found a reason to live which i had lost for quite some time. every since then i have even had difficulty going through the motions and friends and family seem to think its simply time for me to move on; as they have. id say my mother is the only one left for me and thats probably because she feels guilty. my dad seems to be having sympathetic pains in his hips which have caused him to repeatedly go to a pain management doctor in their tiny town that i think is simply bilking him of his money. but anyway, upon reading something in a cancer journal recently, and something that kind of occured to me way after the fact of all my surgeries and treatments, i wonder how long i could have gone on with no surgery, as was my original plan had i kept my head on straight. believe me, could i go back and do it all again, i would go with my original plan and not do the surgery. and if i knew what the chemo would do i wouldnt have done it either. the only good thing that happened from all of this is that my hair simply thinned and i did not go bald. i would have been an ugly bald person. i am due to have another surgery next month to revise my revision that put everything back inside and left me with a stoma to use a catheter on instead of a bag. i have terrible gas problems (if anyone has any ideas other than charcoal or the gas-x stuff im all ears), and ive had to try to get my stoma to accept a bag for the last month as i finally got tired of things exploding uncontrollably and making a mess of things (sorry, but literally) for the last three months more so than the previous 9. although, i still had pretty dependable problems. ive finally got a bag to stay on a day or two but thats only happened twice. i have to plug my stoma when i change my setup because it leaks continually and quite regularly have gone through 4 bags in a 12 hour period. the one slightly good thing is im a welder in a shop, so unless people notice my trips to the bathroom the environment is better for my problems than say a nice clean office environ. it has been so bad ive had to change pants, walk around wet (after cleaning up the best i can) and walk around in pain.
well, i seem to have gone off on a tangent here for which i apologize, but i appreciate the message board for being here.
michael