Xeloda - A love/hate relationship

andreae
andreae Member Posts: 236
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi everyone,

So I received my oxaliplatin and fistful of Xeloda on Monday. I was prescribed 6600mg of Xeloda daily. I took one dose on Monday (3300mg), two on Tuesday (6600mg) and I woke up in the wee hours of Wednesday morning in horrible pain and nauseous. I went to the ER knowing something was awry. The oncologist on call told me I was taking WAY too much Xeloda and I was experiencing toxicity. Anyways, I basically spent Wednesday and Thursday in pain, nauseous and vomiting (I know, I know, sounds like a good time and why weren't you all invited). So, they cut me back to 3300mg a day. Now, I have no idea what happened. There was already confusion about my meds on Monday because the doctor didn't fill out my prescription so he simply gave a verbal order to the pharmacy at the hospital, blah, blah, blah. My nurse gave me the impression that the protocol demands 6600mg and that I simply couldn't tolerate it. The oncologist on call made it sound like I was prescribed the wrong amount and that no one could tolerate that much Xeloda. And, of course, my oncologist is nowhere to be found. Can anyone give me any feedback... Does 6600mg sound normal? Is the reaction to Xeloda normally this violent? Me and 5FU were the best of friends, so I'm surprised that Xeloda is kicking my (insert explitive here). I'm also quite upset because the only thing going in my favor is that I'm young and supposed to be able to tolerate heavy duty chemo. Need help! I love my Xeloda and it seems to hate me. Thanks.

Comments

  • rep801
    rep801 Member Posts: 26
    #2
    Wow, sorry to hear about the problem. Xeloda dosage is determined by body area (sq inches - there is some sort of formula to do this, taking into account height, waist and chest dimensions etc.). I am a fairly big guy (6'4, 220#) and I take 4000mg Xeloda/day (4-500mg pills in the morning and same at night) so 6600 mg sounds like a lot to me.

    Good luck and hang in there.

    Agent
  • andreae
    andreae Member Posts: 236
    #3
    Sorry, it's me again! I forgot to mention surface area - 5 foot 7 and 120 pounds.
  • vcavanagh
    vcavanagh Member Posts: 79
    #4
    Andreae,
    go to www.xeloda.com/web/index.htm
    Lots of info on Xeloda inc. side-effects etc. The dosage is 1250 mg per square metre of your body surface, twice daily. I do not know how to calculate that but the doctors will usetables.
    Blessings,
    V.C,
  • aspaysia
    aspaysia Member Posts: 250
    #5
    andreae said:

    Sorry, it's me again! I forgot to mention surface area - 5 foot 7 and 120 pounds.

    I have the same surface area and my onc prescribed 3,000 mgs (that's three thousand milligrams) per day in two doses one half hour after eating. What are those people thinking? You took twice as much as you needed. No wonder you were talking on the big white telephone!
    Gotta watch out for that Oxaliplatin. I had diarrhea (Lomotil was my friend) and my fingers and toes were numb (reminds me of growing up in Canada)
    So drink lots of water, take ALL your pills and stay close to the bathroom.

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