Help! I am shell shocked after 1st round

aleftina

I flew to cancer center and got my first round of Oxaliplatin/Xeloda. They give what they call fractionated chemo: devided in three days, I thought it was a single dose devided in 3, but now I think they give you a tripple dose in three days so you only come every three weeks, because you have to fly there. I received 50 mg Oxa first day, 100 on the second and another 10 hundred on the third. I don't know how I got home, I was so noxious I couldn't take Xeloda, I only took it the first day. I also received 2 units of blood because of my hemoglobin fell, so maybe that was a factor. I spend home sleeping the whole day yesterday, (got home day before). So please help me to sort it out:

1. HOw much Oxa do you get each time, how often do you get it and do you get noxious?
2. Is it Okay to skip Xeloda sometimes, I don't know when I will be able to take it as I can not eat anything yet due to nausea.
3. What is the worst day as far as a)nausea and b) tiredness is concerned?
4. Should I change to a different protocol, that you think might be better?

Thanks everybody for you help, for the past three days life was not worth living.

aleftina

I forgot to mention that I had a port put in the same time (first day of chemo), maybe that was a factor. I would appreciate any advise or feedback.

KrisS

Gosh, I am so sorry you had such a rough time. I hope you have relayed these problems to the oncologist, and have gotten some antiemetics to use. If you are vomiting, you may need to get some IV fluids so that you do not become dehyrated. If you are actually vomiting and not eating, you can get low on potassium and other things which just can make you feel even weaker.

I am on oxaliplatin every 2 wks as well as Xeloda for 5 days. From what I understand, oxaliplatin really does not do too much on it's own. It is the combination with either 5FU or 5FU like drugs such as Xeloda that make it so effective.

I, and most of the people I know, feel worst on days 3 and 4 after oxaliplatin.

I have not actually vomited much at all, but feel very nauseous without antiemetics.
There are a number of anemetics available. For me lorazapam helped some, compazine made me very sleepy, Zophran did not work as well as Anzemat for me. Emend (aprepitat) is a newer drug that works on late onset nausea and this works great for me. You start taking it a couple of days before it kicks in. Although they tell me to take other antiemetics the day after I get my oxaliplatin, I rarely need to.

You had a lot done and that may contribute to problems. I got a flu shot along with my last treatment, and slept more than my cat!

As far as dose, I have not got my notebook with me. Dose is based upon your body surface area and also on frequency of dose, so I don't think you could compare what you are getting with mine anyway.

Here is hoping that things get better soon and that your oncologists have some suggestions to get you better soon.

Kris

aleftina

KrisS said:

Gosh, I am so sorry you had such a rough time. I hope you have relayed these problems to the oncologist, and have gotten some antiemetics to use. If you are vomiting, you may need to get some IV fluids so that you do not become dehyrated. If you are actually vomiting and not eating, you can get low on potassium and other things which just can make you feel even weaker.

I am on oxaliplatin every 2 wks as well as Xeloda for 5 days. From what I understand, oxaliplatin really does not do too much on it's own. It is the combination with either 5FU or 5FU like drugs such as Xeloda that make it so effective.

I, and most of the people I know, feel worst on days 3 and 4 after oxaliplatin.

I have not actually vomited much at all, but feel very nauseous without antiemetics.
There are a number of anemetics available. For me lorazapam helped some, compazine made me very sleepy, Zophran did not work as well as Anzemat for me. Emend (aprepitat) is a newer drug that works on late onset nausea and this works great for me. You start taking it a couple of days before it kicks in. Although they tell me to take other antiemetics the day after I get my oxaliplatin, I rarely need to.

You had a lot done and that may contribute to problems. I got a flu shot along with my last treatment, and slept more than my cat!

As far as dose, I have not got my notebook with me. Dose is based upon your body surface area and also on frequency of dose, so I don't think you could compare what you are getting with mine anyway.

Here is hoping that things get better soon and that your oncologists have some suggestions to get you better soon.

Kris

Thanks, Kris, for all the info. As for the doze, I wanted to know for Oxa, if you getting it every two weeks, you might be getting less, because it is more freequent, I think I would prefer it, instead of getting a lot more every three weeks and Xeloda for 14 days. I am going to speak to a local onc and see if I can arrange lesser dose more frequently, that's what I wanted to know. Thanks again, Kris! YOu've been a lot of help. tina