“Chemo induced neuropathy of the feet?”
Male | 78 years old
Complaint duration: Nine years
Medications: Sulfasalazine, eliquis, lopressor, gabapentin, mirapex, omeprazole, levothyroxin
Conditions: Rheumatoid, pulmonary fibrosis, atrial flutter, high blood pressure
1 Answer
Peripheral neuropathies are unfortunately a common disorder that can be quite troubling to effected patients. Your history of treatment with chemotherapy for the lymphoma is certainly suggestive that a chemotherapeutic agent may be responsible for your symptoms. According to your history your chemotherapy included vincristine which is a common cause of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathies.
However, there are multiple other causes of peripheral neuropathies. It is uncommon that symptoms should occur several years following treatment. It usually occurs while on or shortly after completing chemotherapy. One main illness is diabetes which can cause chronic ongoing peripheral neuropathies. An excellent source of information regarding causes of peripheral neuropathies is found online at www.mayoclinic.org. Then one must search on peripheral neuropathy.
There have also been multiple drugs approved in the past years to help alleviate these symptoms which doesn’t necessarily depend on the specific cause. Your intake of neurontin is an excellent choice which should be continued. My suggestion would be to obtain a second opinion from a neurologist who is an expert in the field. Any academic institution or cancer hospital should be able to provide this service. Mayo Clinic is an excellent referral hospital to consider.
Good luck in further investigating the etiology of your neuropathy.
