waterstclay
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After 5 round of cisplatin/Alimta ,I moved to Alimta as maintenance. After three rounds of Alimta alone my neuropathy is unbearable. I am thinking of pausing the chemo for three cycles or so to give my body a chance to recover, blood numbers slightly low, neuropathy bad etc.
Please share your experiences with chemo breaks, and if on Alimta has neuropathy been an issue? I do acupuncture,ultrasound and ultraviolet light therapy,gabapentin, vit B, and have a great oncology certified naturopath that helps in fighting neuropathy, Thanks
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Reply # - April 3, 2014, 09:05 PM
Reply To: take a Alimta break due to neurpoathy?
I'm sorry you've having such a difficult time. Alimta (pemetrexed) is not really an expected culprit in neuropathy. Though anything is possible, I would presume it's far more likely that the real culprit is the cisplatin, a drug notorious for causing neuropathy.
While it's puzzling to see the neuropathy worsening after cisplatin was discontinued, there's actually a known phenomenon known as "coasting", in which progression of neuropathy can continue after a treatment has been discontinued. You can read more about it here:
http://cancergrace.org/cancer-treatments/2009/10/05/chemotherapy-induce…
Accordingly, I think there's reason to suspect that the Alimta is more of an innocent bystander here, so whether you stop it or not may make little difference in what happens with your neuropathy. This conclusion also implies that your neuropathy may well begin to improve in the coming months, even if Alimta is continued.
Good luck.
-Dr. West