Cramping

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janderson1964
janderson1964 Member Posts: 2,215 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
Does anyone have experience with severe diarhea followed by severe stomach/intestinal cramping 5 days after getting Irinotican. I did Irinitocan 4 years ago and didn't have these problems, especially this long after my last infusion.

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  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #2
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    Been there...
    I've been on Irrinotecan & Erbitux or just Erbitux for the better part of five years. I am currently on both meds. I rarely had trouble with diareaha and had more trouble with constipation. That caused me major cramps at times. This last round of both meds which I started right after Thanksgiving has not been bad at all. I think that a big part of why it's easier as far as cramping goes is that I asked for fewer pre-meds this time around. When I first started that regimine I had some issues with nausea so they gave me a lot of meds to counteract that. The side effect was more cramping for me. Now I get atropine and two little pills (not emmend) and the cramping is much much less.
    I hope this helps, the cramps were very hard to deal with at times.
    -phil
  • janderson1964
    janderson1964 Member Posts: 2,215 Member
    #3
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    PhillieG said:

    Been there...
    I've been on Irrinotecan & Erbitux or just Erbitux for the better part of five years. I am currently on both meds. I rarely had trouble with diareaha and had more trouble with constipation. That caused me major cramps at times. This last round of both meds which I started right after Thanksgiving has not been bad at all. I think that a big part of why it's easier as far as cramping goes is that I asked for fewer pre-meds this time around. When I first started that regimine I had some issues with nausea so they gave me a lot of meds to counteract that. The side effect was more cramping for me. Now I get atropine and two little pills (not emmend) and the cramping is much much less.
    I hope this helps, the cramps were very hard to deal with at times.
    -phil

    Thamks Phil. They give me
    Thamks Phil. They give me atropine as well. My onc thought the cramping was lasting too long so he is going to reduce the dosage a little. I finally got the results back from my KRAS test and I am a candidate for Erbitux/Vectibix. I should be starting Vectibix this week which I understand works the same as Erbitux but is a human based protien.
  • sdp
    sdp Member Posts: 181
    #4
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    janderson1964 said:

    Thamks Phil. They give me
    Thamks Phil. They give me atropine as well. My onc thought the cramping was lasting too long so he is going to reduce the dosage a little. I finally got the results back from my KRAS test and I am a candidate for Erbitux/Vectibix. I should be starting Vectibix this week which I understand works the same as Erbitux but is a human based protien.

    Erbitux
    I am on erbitux and get acne and rashes as a side effect .

    Is vectibux any better.

    Finished my third cycle of FOLFOX and erbitux

    One more and they do a ct scan to see progress

    When did u get evaluated - after how many cycles of chemo.

    I have sigmoid colon cancer and several mets to the liver.

    Any suggestion r help welcome. Was dx 31/12/2012
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #5
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    sdp said:

    Erbitux
    I am on erbitux and get acne and rashes as a side effect .

    Is vectibux any better.

    Finished my third cycle of FOLFOX and erbitux

    One more and they do a ct scan to see progress

    When did u get evaluated - after how many cycles of chemo.

    I have sigmoid colon cancer and several mets to the liver.

    Any suggestion r help welcome. Was dx 31/12/2012

    Irinotecan is a madness for stomach.
    Diarrhea was very common on me, cramping just the infusion day but any stomach issue is normal with irinotecan.
    Take care of you.Hugs.
  • smokeyjoe
    smokeyjoe Member Posts: 1,425 Member
    #6
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    pepebcn said:

    Irinotecan is a madness for stomach.
    Diarrhea was very common on me, cramping just the infusion day but any stomach issue is normal with irinotecan.
    Take care of you.Hugs.

    Do you take Immodium? That
    Do you take Immodium? That can help lots.
  • idlehunters
    idlehunters Member Posts: 1,787 Member
    #7
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    smokeyjoe said:

    Do you take Immodium? That
    Do you take Immodium? That can help lots.

    Diarrhea....
    I was on the CPT-11 for a few years. Never had stomach cramping but always had diarrhea. I could eat 15 Imodium a day and it did not help. My onc finally tried giving me 1 Tylenol4 tablet every morning and the small amount of codeine in that pill did the trick. It worked like a charm. Different strokes for different folks! I am on Vectibix now and just recently got the all clear on my scans and CEA is normal. I do not have the common rash associated with this drug. My only side effect is very dry skin. VERY dry skin. I hope this drug stays working on me because it's very easy to live with. You take care.

    Jennie
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #8
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    Irinotecan
    I was on Irinotecan for over a year. I got both the early and late onset diarrhea from it. Usually the late onset doesn't hit until day 10 or so, but maybe earlier for you? Or maybe a delayed reaction for the early - if you get pre-meds that constipate you to start. On FOLFOX, I'd be constipated for days 1-4, and the damn broke lose with awful diarrhea on day 5.

    Be sure to follow the oncology/chemo directions for using Immodium, and NOT the instructions on the box.

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