Any advice about nerve damage and deterioration in feet and hands?

[meandmygirl1]

Hi

My aunt had cancer 20 years and one of the side effects of the treatment is that the nerve endings in her hands and feet are now dying.

She is struggling to walk now and also her hand grip is deteriorating.

She is trying lots of treatments including steroids intravenously.

Understandably she is struggling to come to terms with this as it is only going to get worse.

I wondered if anyone had any advice in how to support her? I know there is no miracle cure but any advice or support to help her would be appreciated

Hi, I have nerve damage in my left hand and leg as a result of a cyst in my spinal cord and the operation to fix it. It is not an easy thing to deal with - my leg especially has a lot of neuropathic pain associated. Not sure if your aunt does, but if so, I would recommend a pain management specialist. I have lidocaine infusions and there are lots of medications to try for pain.

In terms of sensation, you can't repair nerve damage, but if you strengthen muscles, you can make the best of what function you have. I had physio (NHS) and a personal trainer to help with balance and leg strength, and the physio also gave me some exercises for improving hand grip. You can get loads of hand exercisers on Amazon for almost no money, and resistance bands are great for leg exercises too. It has worked pretty well - although I have neurological weakness, functionally I can do almost as much on the left side as the right now (apart from dropping things a lot!)

An occuptional therapist might help with suggestions for making life a bit easier. Sometimes you need a different perspective on a different way to do something, and there are lots of aids to help with specific tasks.

Finally (sorry for essay) I struggled a bit emotionally with everything, and my GP referred me for health psychology, which was a huge help. You sound like a lovely niece - your aunt is lucky to have you!

Thank you xx