Post-Chemo/RPLND question!

[MROSE]

Hello everyone!

I have a question on behalf of my boyfriend, John, 23yrs old. He had 4x EP from March to June 2006 and went for his RPLND on July 5th 2006. After his RPLND, he noticed his left foot, more so his toes, were extremely numb. In a few days, he also noticed his left leg/foot was a different temperature from the rest of his body and his left leg/foot does not sweat (and we all know how hot it's been!). The doctors aren't sure at this point what it is, most are attributing it to chemo but he did not feel this before surgery at all. Also, it is possible he has a pinched nerve from laying on the surgery table in a particular position. However, it's concerning - it hasn't gotten any better and his foot has completely dryed out. Has this ever happened to anyone, or has anyone ever heard of similar symptoms? Any help is greatly appreciated, as always.

Thanks!
Melissa

[dadmo]

Melissa:
It's not that uncommon to have numbness from the positioning on the table or from the simple fact that they may have touched a nerve. If they happened to touch a nerve it may take several weeks for the effects to subside. The guys who have retrograde problems, because of the RPLND, can take months to get better.

[rlhawk]

I was numb in the left thigh for about six months after my RPLND, but it slowly got better and now it's back to normal.

[drom]

My son gets numb in the fingers and they turn purple, it happened more often after the RPLND. Dr. Scheinfeld and Motzer both said it was the chemo and he could have that for awhile. It has been 5 months since he stopped chemo and he still is sensitive to cold and the fingers still turn purple just not as often.

Domenic

[indiana9]

MROSE,
It sounds like your son is experiencing classic peripheral neuropathy as a result of his chemo regimen. This can occur in hands, feet or both. You can google "peripheral neuropathy chemotherapy" and get a lot more information. This is a common side affect of several chemo regimens including the BEP used for treating TC. My chemo ended 11/30 and while there has been some improvement, my feet are still a little numb. I also had this weird thing where if I bent my chin down to my chest, my feet would tingle. I don't think there is a lot that can be done for it except to be patient. My oncologist said three things could happen: the numbness could stay the same, get better, or get worse. The numbness will usually peak about 6 months following chemotherapy and then start to decline. Whatever numbness is still there after about 18 months is probably going to stay. For what its worth both of my feet have also stopped sweating since chemo (this is a good thing!) and I no longer need my blood pressure medicine as it has normalized.
Hope this is helpful! Good luck to you and your son!
Brian

[MROSE]

Thank you ALL for responding - it was so nice to come back from vacation with your support and thoughts. Brian, you hit the nail on the head. My boyfriend, John, is believed to have this total numbness in a left toe and no temperature regulation in the left leg/foot due to the cisplatin/etoposide. And I can't believe what you said about the neck bending. John has that too, he just discovered it last night for the first time. I looked it up, it's called Lhermitte's sign. I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but definitely check out the info. You can try googling "Lhermitte's sign chemotherapy" and it comes right up. He called his Oncologist today and they have him on watch, but do not think anything is dangerous at all at this point.

Again I appreciate any other comments/thoughts you might have. This has been very helpful!

Melissa