High Doses Of Xeloda

Is there anyone who has experienced, or know of someone who has experienced, taking 4000 mgs of Xeloda per day? What side effects can I expect...........

d-dubya

Hi.... I was on 2000 mg of xeloda for 4 weeks....  didnt work for me.  Everything came back and grew so I had to go back on IV chemo.  Hope you have better results.

My husband is on a clinical trial taking Gemzar once a week and 4000 of Xeloda daily for seven days, then one week off - He has just finished his sixth dose and has excellent results - CA19 has dropped from 2,108 to 38 and tumors have shrunk 50 - 80%!  His first week was rough - extreemly nauseated and kept waiting for the dreaded "Hand & Foot" syndrom, but has never had this....Switched to Zofran twice a day (a miracle drug!) on the next cycle and has been relatively free of symptoms since then!  He usually gets tired around the 4th day (his 4thd day out of the seven is always his worst) through 7th, and can experience slight nausea and a feeling of breathlessness if he is rushing around.   However, must say that his experience on this has been terriffic - He lectures for a living and has been able to travel and lecture to full classes on days 6 & 7!  When he finishes his week he feels great!  Hope you have the same experience!

Sorry to be so  ignorant, but is Zofran to help tolerate the Xeloda.  My dad is to start that next week and I'd be interested in anything to help him make the experience less painful and uncomfortable. I hope everything continues well with your husband.  Thank you.

Ann E.

 

On 6/28/2008 ConcernedinKC wrote:

Sorry to be so  ignorant, but is Zofran to help tolerate the Xeloda.  My dad is to start that next week and I'd be interested in anything to help him make the experience less painful and uncomfortable. I hope everything continues well with your husband.  Thank you.

Ann E.

 

Hi Anne - Yes, the Zofran is to manage the nausea - John tried Compazine combined with another anti-nausea med (Lorazapan) the first week and was pretty sick.....I spoke with our nurse advocate at our insurance company, and she said that there is no reason to suffer with nausea anymore - it's just a matter of finding the right medicine - she suggested taking Zofran twice to three times a day which did the trick - She said that we could also take the Lorazapan in conjunction with the Zofran if he felt he needed it (he didn't).  I asked the pharmacy why they don't prescribe this from the beginning and he said it was because it runs about $90 per pill so they try the other meds first - Our insurance (Blue Shield) approved the generic version (Ondansetron) which is what John takes...it works great!  Make sure it is taken on schedule, do not wait until he feels sick or it is hard to get out of the nausea cycle....

Again, everyone reacts differently to treatment - we were pretty scared when John started this but nausea and some fatigue (he can't rush around during treatment week - gets a bit out of breath) so far have been the extent of his discomfort (a little hair thinning too, but not much..) He has just finished cycle 8 out of 12 - He will have a CT scan next week to see how he is doing - his last CA-19 marker was 12!!  (Again, this was 2,108 when he started the trial....)

We pray that your Dad does just as well!!  Please let us know how he does and if you have any more questions....

Tracie

Tracie,

Thank you soo much!  Either Wed. or Thurs. my dad is to start the first dosage of 8 cycles of 2 weeks on and 1 week off.  IN the meantime, I was trying to get the oncologist to see if my dad had the needed  DPD enzyme and they said if we wanted that test to see his primary.  He's to see his primary tomorrow and the blood test may delay it.

 --Ann E.

Tracie, My dad's start of Xeloda was, in fact, delayed because of the DPD enzyme test. That has given me a little more time to research Xeloda because he won't start until next week, if at all. I'm concerned because Xeloda is given to my dad as adjuvant therapy, but they are starting him at 4000 mg a day with 2000 in the morning and 2000 at night. I think this is above the standard dosage. Any thoughts? Thank you!! --Ann E. in KC