Have you considered trying. Physical therapy.
Or trepanning. There has never been an adequately powered study showing that it isn't effective at reducing finger tingling.
Honestly, physical therapy is a better idea to try first.
I don't know about the fingers, but when I get back pain, I sleep on the floor (on the nice rug, because it's thicker than the crappy rug) for a couple of nights. But that's more of a lower back pain than up by the neck.
Also, one thing I learned from my chronic ankle pain treatment is that chucking Advil at your body can make all kinds of issues go away at least briefly.
I agree with PT. I had the same symptoms once - culprit was a herniated disc. Home traction thing and ultrasound fixed it.
I'm debating whether to shell out for a few more PT sessions now that the foobs have settled in and the incisions look less painful. I need to develop at least some upper body strength, and I really need to release the overall torso pain and discomfort, even if I'm stuck with the numbness permanently.
Now that tomorrow is my last official day of treatment, I feel this whole jumble of...something. Happy and relieved. Pissed off. Survivors' guilty. Unattractive. Lucky-but-how-lucky? I feel like I should feel a lot happier.
The whole overriding focuse of the last year will now be gone, and I'll return to my pre-5/15 life, which...was already scarily challenging. I'm waiting to hear from the school whether they will add one more year to my tenure clock, or two (which I desparately need).
I'm also weighing my options in terms of switching up my now barely effective depression and ADHD meds. I might be able to get my insurance to cover transcranial magnetic stimulation treatments, but even then it's a steep time commitment for. a new therapy that might not work.
There's also a doctor nearby in PA who will prescribe Ketamine, which sounds much more promising for my situation, but would put me $400-$600 out of pocket.
I also have to figure out the when/where/what and how to pay for my nipple tattoos, but I don't think I'm supposed to have work done over my scar tissue until November.
[Don't mind me. Apparently I'm just working through some weird feelings with y'all tonight. Thanks.]
Thanks, teo! I this tomorrow will be a little weird.
Hugs to JR -- also, surely, that's a hell of a premium over street price for vitamin K?
Wow, that sucks. Honestly in your shoes I might panic. Don't though it doesn't improve your quality of life. I hope it gets better.
PT was my first suggestion. After that, reformer-based Pilates with a few private lessons to make sure that you have the form down before taking small (less than 5 people) group classes.
10: What a very practical suggestion.
nthing the PT suggestion. Peripheral tingling like that can come from the cervical spine. I had a nasty cervical radiculopathy with similar symptoms (but including radiating pain) that took over a year to get resolved, but went away with postural alignment, strengthening, and some trigger point therapy.
And everything I've ever heard about chemo is that it's surprisingly emotionally debilitating, for surprisingly long. Things are hard now, but you have to figure that the further away you are from when you were actually being poisoned on a regular basis, the more they'll improve.
Yep. Adding to the PT chorus. Sounds very similar to the back/neck/nerve-tingly thing I went to the PT for earlier this year.
I'm in week three(ish) of couch to 5k--right now it's a five minute walk, 6 repeats (2 minute jog, 1 minute walk), then a 5 minute cool down walk. The shortness of breath I expected due to asthma (though well controlled) and no real exercise beyond walking in years.
The part that's surprising me and making me reconsider is the knee pain. The first week it was a surprise, and I figured that it was my body throwing up "hey, I enjoy the couch" signals. Last week wasn't terrible; while I ran it was a constant painful distraction, but it went away petty quickly once I was done with the morning exercise.
Yesterday, though... I didn't finish my run, and certainly felt my knees all day, including walking stiffly and taking a few steps to get things working again each time I got up from sitting. Today's mostly fine so far, there was a little knee pain for my casual walk, but I'm really worrying about tomorrow. My first instinct was to abandon the program as written and substitute bicycling for tomorrow... but routine and a program is one of the few ways I think I'll stick to exercise, which I've always detested. (No runner's high for me, ever.) Alternately, I've been running on sidewalks--would shifting to an elementary school soccer field or the like make a significant difference?
I would try it on a softer surface before giving up, but I don't really know jack.
7: Glad you're so close to the end of the treatment! Getting the torso pain down sounds like it'd free your mind from its distraction by pain. When my brother went through chemo, he talked about the toll it took just making it through the day--plus sleep disruption, which just makes everything worse.
I was going to guess and hypothesize, but I've never undergone anything so drastic. I'll just wish you warmth and support from the internet's depths.
IANA person who knows anything about this topic, but when I started running regularly my knee started hurting in the way you describe. I found that when I started running a lot slower my knee pain subsided. I think it's because I was a pretty inexperienced runner and my form was not great, and I hit the ground with too much impact. Slowing down made me hit the ground softer, or something.
I agree with the softer surfaces. Also I've never had persistent knee pain, but don't they say to build up your quads as a first line of defense? Maybe do a couple lunges at each transition between walking and running?
I had stopped running altogether because of back and hip pain, but it turns out that if I stop and do squats intermittently, I don't get the back and hip pain.
That's not really persistent knee pain. If it keeps up, you might need to worry or get it looked it.
I played tennis yesterday in 105 degree weather. I didn't want to surrender my exercise time to this dumb heat wave, and anyway it felt kind of great at the time. I drank about a billion gallons of water but today I still feel like I have a terrible hangover.
even if I'm stuck with the numbness permanently.
Even though our numbness is the same as a footprint on our torsos, I imagine yours to be stranger and more noticeable, although it's probably just that normal is whatever you get used to.
The rest continues to sound rough, and I'm sorry about all that.
A knee is like a box of chocolates, you never know how much cartilage is inside.
A knee is unlike a box of chocolates in that you hope there is some cartilage inside.
26: The chest numbness always feels strange, but not necessarily bad. The numbness in my right armpit and around my right biceps (from removing my lymph nodes) is more annoying/bad.
I hope you're able to figure out the nerve situation!
18: Even asphalt is softer than concrete. I worry about twisted ankled on uneven surfaces like grass. Dirt trail might be good. Yes, go more slowly. Yes, strengthen quads. If you haven't been to a running store and spent a stupid amount of money on the ugliest shoes you can imagine, that might help, too.
J, Robot, I hope you find something better for the depression/ADHD. Not that you don't have a lot of other shit going on, but that seems like it would give you such a boost in general happiness. Everything I've read makes ketamine seem really promising, so I hope you're one who responds well.
Since this is the complaining thread, I can add that I blew up my ankle again. Last night I walked 3.5 miles with a 35 pound pack and I've been in limping all day (despite the Advil).
18: Definitely get fitted at a running store, and mention the problems you are having. They should be able to recommend an appropriate shoe and perhaps orthotic, and if you get the right one they will also recommend exercises. The first two and last one here are what the PT gave me when I started running: https://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/the-top-5-hip-strengthening-exercises-for-runners-to-prevent-injury-and-improve-hip-drive/ Also, foam roller to the IT band. Good luck!
I just wasted a bunch of tissues in and around my left shoulder (upper arm, neck, etc.) and the pain is up a level from the usual strain injuries. I trust it will heal itself, and I'm spoiled as fuck and can't imagine making time for something like PT, but man, it hurts. So all of you have my sympathy.
J, Robot, I just want to keep telling you that you'll keep getting better and better. Every few months, I look back and think "I thought I was back to normal then, but that was only 60% of how I feel now." That has happened again and again since my chemo ended. Be gentle and forgiving with yourself. You drew down a whole lot of inner resources to get to here and you might find yourself depleted for a while. I did. But the damage is healing, and rest is appropriate, and I keep faith that I'll get most of who I was eventually.
Thank you so much Megan, and everyone else. Being able to complain in comment threads here throughout the process has been really helpful. You guys really are the best.
Complain away. It's always good to hear how you're doing.
I don't worry about ankle sprains from running on grass because they're mostly caused by overstriding.
Overstriding results in a contact point far in front of your center of mass (where your body weight falls). An outstretched leg neutralizes any chance for correction, your front foot is toast-left in no mans land. Rolling it has become the only option. The knee is straight (a.k.a. helpless) and your weight is so far behind your foot that all the foot can do is roll outwards. Your opposite leg (a.k.a. useless) just finished push off and can't help. Afterall, it's trailing behind your center of mass and needs to stretch way out front to get back to the ground.A shorter, quicker, lighter stride is the way. Landing sooner equates to a more responsive ankle, knee, and hip. It allows corrections from above to save your ankle. The shorter stride also gives your trailing leg a chance to get to the ground sooner, off weighting the rolling ankle before it jumps off the deep end.
I would definitely not continue a program unchanged two days after having so much knee pain. I would spend the day Googling exercises to help with knee pain and doing stuff like push-ups and leg raises for my daily exercise. As a 15-year-old exercise was a matter of "do this program, get in shape", but as a 37-year-old, doing a program is something I usually have to earn with a lot of form practice, Googling, and self care. Once I figure out what I'm doing wrong, I can do the program and be proud.
Yes, J,R, please do complain!! I may be complainy about moving and so on (and it's a year this weekend since Lee went overseas and I broke up with her before she could come back) and it would help me to have someone else whining too, especially when your problems are so legitimate!