Hi Joanne! My fingertips on my arms still get the numb feeling but my arms strength is getting better. My legs are finally starting to improve some but still slow healing there. My feet and toes are what bothers me more now. Last year I was like Donna! My whole body burnt like fire. And I was very weak. I had to do nothing but rest my brains out for several months and still have to rest but am getting more active than I was last year.
Some strength now in my legs but my feet and toes are completely dead feeling. Fingertips are dead feeling. Maybe one day I will feel them again! I hope! Oh! Listen to your body! When it says NO! You rest and do what it tells you! If not you will see it get worse! Lessons learned many times over! Hugs
Linda H

Hi Joanne! Your mother had Lupus huh? Does the doctors know about your mother? Lupus too can cause CIDP. That is what caused mine! What other Symptoms have you had besides CIDP. It can run in family members. My one daughter too has Lupus and my other daughter this year got diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. But I am suspecting Lupus in her also!
Linda H

It’s rare but can happen! Any drugs you take can sometimes cause cancer. But very rare happening. I think the long term taking a drug can be the culprit. But then look at all the folks that don’t take anything at all and they get cancer. So if you weigh the pro’s and cons. You probably would end up dying from something else that has nothing to do with cancer. Heart attack, Stroke.
I believe that when it’s your time to go your gonna go no matter what you do! Whether it be by natural causes or an accident~
Look at the foods we eat and the preservatives in our foods. Some areore dangerous than the drugs we take! Hope this helped some! I have learned reading those side effects on the internet or labels can give us a scare that makes it hard wanting to try a new drug! That is my case!
Linda H

Hi Joanne! It really depends on the CIDP you have. There are different kinds with different traits. Sometimes a doctor too may prefer a certain brand of drug because he likes the outcome better than other drugs. Other times it might be the patient itself where they couldn’t tolerate one drug and got switched. Cellcept what I know about it is used alot in Lupus patients but other things too. But I do know they use Cellcept alot for Kidney patients in Lupus. Immuran is good for Lupus too but used for CIDP. IVIG is also used.
Most doctor’s normally try the cheapest route first and if that fails then they go to the Chemo drugs.
Sometimes they give the pills first and then go to IV’s if the pills don’t work. Insurance companies too have a say so in alot of things also. Hope this helps! Ohh! One drug may be stronger too and that might be why the prescribe it to the patient. Also just depends on how bad the CIDP is progressing! Have learned one thing about CIDP. We may have simular symptoms but no two are alike. Each person’s body reacts different ways!
Linda H