Indigestion with Folfox 6 - is it common

the dreaded oxi
hi dean,

welcome to the board and sorry you got to be here.

not sure about the upper indigestion but it could be related to the general destruction of your gut from the folfox

I have finsihed 11 and got 1 to go.
I have solved my chronic diarrhea problems eventually with a mix of diet
and naturopathy solutions.

see my post about ultra probiotic45.
I also use slippery elm. I take these both morning and night. these I take 30 minutes before eating.

no diarrhea this cycle, which never happened before.
I also use digestive enzymes and gut relief powder after meals morning and night.
and a special anti diarrheal mix to tone my stomach.

I have a largely plant based diet , with no dairy and wheat products.
That what I am at.

not sure if my diarrhea solution would help you, but its intent is to rebuild the gut so you can not have diarrhea and absorb the goodness/nutients from your food.

In a sense we have the opposite sort of problem your food wants to go up and mine wanted to go out fast.

having a super healthy gut cannot hurt you and it may help.

what I did worked for me, if I were you I discuss this with your doctor and naturopath.

the facial pain maybe blocked lymph nodes, I had been noticing some pain stiffness around the jaw line. I a lymphatic massage today it relieved the pain in the jaw area. see my post about lymphatic massage


cheers,

Pete

oxi indigestion
Hi,

I had horrible indigestion and upper abdominal/lower chest pain after about the 2nd or 3rd Folfox treatment. My onc put me on Prilosec and I was on that for a couple of months, then the problem cleared up. I don't like to be on acid-inhibors like Prilosec for too long because reducing the stomach acid also reduces the body's ability to break down and digest other foods, and supplements/vitamins as well. But, you have to do what you have to do for awhile to get rid of the awful indigestion and/or pain associated with it.

As someone already said, Tagamet (cimetidine) isn't the world's best antacid, but there are valid reasons to take it anyway for preventing cancer spread. There are documented studies on this & my onc approves me taking it.
I do find that sometimes I'll get that burning feeling in my stomach or throat & I'll take another kind of antacid temporarily to help with the problem.

Best wishes to you- that oxaliplatin is a beast!
I've experienced that weird feeling in the throat too when swallowing some food or liquid. I know it's not fun.
Someone told me that taking magnesium can help with muscle spasms (in the throat and elsewhere- my hands used to cramp up and be like claws & I'd have to open my fingers with my other hand. When smiling too much, my face would cramp up sometimes- very weird.
It was all oxi related. Be sure to report all symptoms to your onc. I found that my onc would tell me he had never heard of several of the side effects I complained about. Then I'd go on the cancer board (I was on cancer compass at that time- have been on this csn cancer site for a little over 2 yrs now), but I'd discover that there were people on the board who had experienced some of the same things- I'd report that to my onc, so he wouldn't think I was exaggerating & he'd know that some other people also experienced the same thing.

Take care & hugs to you-
Lisa