# Finger nerve damage due to chemo



## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

I've just finished 6 months of chemo and one of the side effects is loss of most feeling in my fingers and especially the tips. The Dr states there is no guarantee the nerves will heal. I find now my playing is really sloppy with my fretting hand(lots of dead and wrong notes) and the picking hand is clumsy and I keep dropping the pick. Anyone know of a guitar player that has experienced this. Please don't advise me to take up slide guitar (or the drums).Been playing at guitar for about 43 years and it is a hobby that has kept me sane.


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## Grantster (Jun 5, 2008)

Hi 

I don't any guitarists that have gone thru this, but it must be very frustrating.

Have you tried finding a good physiotherapist that works with hands. They often help people with dexterity and strength exercises after injuries etc. If you go to one, explain that you are a guitar player and they can assess you and give you exercises to improve strength and dexterity. 

I had a severe leg injury a few years back and did not walk for over 2 months. It was my physiotherapist, not my surgeon that got me back in the game.

Have you tried using double sided tape on your pick to make it easier to hold onto. I have a heck of a time dropping my pick at the best of times. You could also use one of those thumb/finger picks that wrap around your thumb that the bluegrass guys use.

To improve your other hand and coordination, you might try doing those boring chromatic exercises that we all should be doing. I saw Joe Satriani on youtube demonstrating these type of exercises and how he built his chops.

The bottom line is don't give up on what you love, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath lost his fingertips on his left hand when he was young and was able to find his way. You can find a way to work around this.

Good Luck!

Grant


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I am a retired physiotherapist. 

Please feel free to PM me, if you wish.

I'd feel better discussing this "in private" 

Dave


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

Hi Ed.
I hope this can help. An older friend had a stroke some years ago, and in combination with some of his meds he described symptoms similar to yours. He swore by "temple balls". Those metal weighted balls that come in pairs. If you can get to a Chinese gift store or T.O.s Chinatown, they should be easy enough to find. There is no guarantee of course, but there also no chance it can hurt. All the best Shawn :smile:

http://www.themodernreligion.com/health/balls.html


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## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

I suffered from two slipped discs in the neck which pinched the nerves going to my left arm. I lost feeling in my hand and some of my arm and had extreme pain in the left shoulder. It got to the point the doctor gave me two choices, surgery or physio. I choose the physio. The therapist I had was strongly into yoga and set me up with a series of exercise's/stretch's to help me out. Amazingly it did, over a period of 12 weeks the nerves began to return. She also gave me knowledge of my injury and how to deal with it in the future. I have not gained back 100% of my usuage but enough to play my guitar, and I'm happy. Our causes are not the same but it may help, I'd see a physio-therapist, at least for an opinion. Good luck and I hope you can gain back the ability to play, i know how it feels. :food-smiley-004:


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## Bryan Briggs (Jun 13, 2007)

Man, all the best with your recuperation.
Injuries really suck.
I have noticed as I get a bit older, I have to pay more attention to the muscles and any pains in my fretting hand, and really warm up more, I have a few times over last year where I practised too much and ended up having to take several days off, so I practice in shorter durations but with a better warm-up period.


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## MustEnjoyPie (Jan 28, 2009)

ed2000 said:


> I've just finished 6 months of chemo and one of the side effects is loss of most feeling in my fingers and especially the tips. The Dr states there is no guarantee the nerves will heal. I find now my playing is really sloppy with my fretting hand(lots of dead and wrong notes) and the picking hand is clumsy and I keep dropping the pick. Anyone know of a guitar player that has experienced this. Please don't advise me to take up slide guitar (or the drums).Been playing at guitar for about 43 years and it is a hobby that has kept me sane.


The fact that you keep playing is really inspirational,
I hope things get better soon mate.


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

MustEnjoyPie said:


> The fact that you keep playing is really inspirational,
> I hope things get better soon mate.


Agreed !!!
Here's to you for persevering. Good luck with your recuperation. I can't add anything meaningful other than my support. I'm sure you will find the path.

cheers
Pete


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

I'm continuing to practice and play guitar. The effects of the nerve damage may have lessened, it's hard to say because the sensation is different. Everything I touch feels like jagged silk, crunched up paper feels like crunched aluminum foil, change in my pocket feels as if it had jagged edges.
The major issue that's affecting my playing is holding the pick..either too much pressure (causing fatigue) or insufficient pressure(slipping or dropping the pick). I'm thinking of devising a hybrid thumbpick. In the past I found thumbpicks always hurt my thumb caused by the loop not fitting correctly. My next goal is to learn "The Claw" by Jerry Reed.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

ed2000 said:


> I'm continuing to practice and play guitar. The effects of the nerve damage may have lessened, it's hard to say because the sensation is different. Everything I touch feels like jagged silk, crunched up paper feels like crunched aluminum foil, change in my pocket feels as if it had jagged edges.
> The major issue that's affecting my playing is holding the pick..either too much pressure (causing fatigue) or insufficient pressure(slipping or dropping the pick). I'm thinking of devising a hybrid thumbpick. In the past I found thumbpicks always hurt my thumb caused by the loop not fitting correctly. My next goal is to learn "The Claw" by Jerry Reed.


i have multiple hand/finger injuries, picking hand, and mostly incurred before i started playing. i cant hold a pick really, so if im using them ive got a pocketful. i cant fingerpick. not a chance. and i cant comfortably wear fingerpicks. but still i play, always did n always will:smile:


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

ed2000 said:


> I'm continuing to practice and play guitar. The effects of the nerve damage may have lessened, it's hard to say because the sensation is different. Everything I touch feels like jagged silk, crunched up paper feels like crunched aluminum foil, change in my pocket feels as if it had jagged edges.
> The major issue that's affecting my playing is holding the pick..either too much pressure (causing fatigue) or insufficient pressure(slipping or dropping the pick). I'm thinking of devising a hybrid thumbpick. In the past I found thumbpicks always hurt my thumb caused by the loop not fitting correctly. My next goal is to learn "The Claw" by Jerry Reed.


Keep going. I find it inspiring that you keep playing. I've had times when I wondered if I should keep playing. I have a shoulder injury that makes strumming difficult for me at times. My arm does it's own thing sometimes, which you can imagine can sound pretty bad! But I love making noise with my guitar and it sounds like you do too. Don't let anything stop you. 

Didn't Django loose a couple of fingers on his fretting hand? He managed to overcome that somehow and become a legendary jazz guitarist. I always keep that in mind when I'm having doubts. 

ROCK ON! sdsre


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Ditto on physio-therapy. Get some good massage therapy too. I've had regular massage (she works very hard on my shoulder, arms and hands) for years and it helps a lot. Acupuncture may be an alternative too.

Good luck!

Peace, Mooh.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

*nerves*

Sorry to hear your having problems.. i know what you mean about music keeps your sanity.. it has help me also. The thumb pick may be the solution, when your sense of pressure is not right,
I know for me ( But i don't have nerve damage) I cannot use those smooth picks anymore.. i will loose them.
I buy the ones that are abrasive on both sides..what a simple great idea.
Rick


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

I have heard of guys putting some slots in their picks and weaving an elasitic band through it so the band goes over the thumb, through the pick on either side, and then back up through the pick to keep them there. I have also heard of gorilla snot, supposed to keep you pick tacky and easier to grip, never tried it though.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Sorry to hear about your issues. And hopefully you will find a way to get back to playing as much as you would like. But just keep going. 

I myself am dealing with some tendonitis issues right now too and I'm due to see a physiotherapist who is also an accupuncturist. I've been to a specialist and after poking me with some mild electrical shocks, and then with needles, all he told me was I have tendonitis (which I already knew) and to massage the area where it hurts (I got it on both, worse on my right) and do some stretching exercises and if that didn't work in a month, he'll give me a cortisone shot. Which kinda freaked me out more. So I'm going to this physiotherapist and see what she can do. I also have an RMT do work on it but it hasn't worked so far. With all of this, I continue to play. Just don't know how long I can keep doing this without doing more damage, if it does do damage.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

ed2000 said:


> I find now my playing is really sloppy with my fretting hand(lots of dead and wrong notes)


ed2000...are you finding that your fretting hand accuracy/skills are improving with time?

Are you able to form some chords (or find some single notes) without having to look at the position of your fingers?

There are lots of lots of good ideas posted here regarding picks...hopefully one of the suggestions will work for you.

Keep perservering at trying to overcome the frustration(s). 

All the best.

Dave


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

greco said:


> ed2000...are you finding that your fretting hand accuracy/skills are improving with time?
> Dave


I used to play a chord pattern to punish my fretting hand(especially 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers):
all barre chords played blind-
C @ 8th
G @ 7th
Bb @ 6th
F @ 5th
etc.

Before, I could play that pattern with 90 to 100% accuracy.
2 months ago, it was 20% accurate
Now is at 50%.
All this on a Fender Tele with 10 to 52 strings.

Thanks to all with your advice and kind words of encouragement. Hopefully time will allow the nerves to heal.


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## jeremiahlafollette (Apr 20, 2009)

*Thumb Pick Idea?*

I've worked in the past with induviduals with physical disibilities, and I discovered an amazing world of gizmos and gadgets...i.e. curved forks for those who lack proper range of motion to reach there mouth. 

I'm wondering what would happen if you bought a couple of those thumb picks and experimented by melting some into different shapes in order to have a better contour shape for your right thumb.

Another idea would be to also search out what is called an occupational therapist (maybee an O.T. forum?). They are great at finding, developing, and sometimes making creative solutions for situations like what you're hands are dealing with.

Let me know how that goes.


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

*UPDATE*
It's been 14 months since I've ended the chemo. The numbing effects peaked about 10 months ago. Presently there is still tingley numbness from my wrists to fingertips. I still occasionally drop my pick but tape on the pick has helped. I'm not certain if the nerve damage has healed slightly or I'm just getting used to it or perhaps I've relearned how to use my hands and fingers. I'd say my playing is back to 99%(but that's not saying much). My keyboard typing skills -touch, pressure, accuracy are barely tolerable. This whole ordeal of adapting and relearning reminds me of when I first started guitar - for weeks or months I would try to play something and it just didn't work out. Then suddenly success. I can measure improvement over 3 month intervals.


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## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

I'm happy to hear your situation is improving. I really wish I could give some advice or something but all I can say is I wish you the best of luck and I hope your feel keeps improving.

Take care


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