Capecitabine

Hi Jackie,

I managed 6 cycles of Capox last year, so I was having ocuparon infusions as well as the capecitabine tablets. I think I just took them after breakfast and then after dinner. I do remember it getting harder to take them as I got further into the treatment - from a purely psychological point of view. And they were big tablets! 

Hope it all goes well for you.

Thanks for your reply - I’m finding it hard now and it’s still my first cycle! It seems relentless taking six tablets twice a day - did you have any side effects from your chemo regime?

Hope you are OK?

Relentless is the perfect word! 

Because I was on 2 drugs I’m not sure which side effects came from which drug but yes plenty of side effects which increased as I went through the cycles. I did suffer with hand and foot syndrome after a couple of cycles with really painful feet, red and blistered. I was given pyidoxine (not the right spelling, but it was high dose of B6) tablets which did sort that out. Loose bowels later and I still have peripheral neuropathy in my hands and  but its much improved now. I stopped after 6 cycles as my body appeared to have had enough and my platelet count dropped too far to continue.

I am ok now but I am recovering from surgery to remove a metastatic growth from my liver. This was picked up in my first surveillance scan. It is always a waiting game!

I found it helpful to keep a symptom diary to keep a more objective track of things. 

Take care.

Hi Jackie13 I pretended they were vitamins! I was told I could take them with a couple of biscuits for example so I’d take them at 7am with a couple of digestives then go back to bed and read for an hour before breakfast then I’d have the evening ones with my tea at 7pm. I suppose it depends on what time you’re used to eating at? x

I  can appreciate the difficulty telling which drug caused what - I’m ‘lucky’ that I’m only taking one! Ithink the team at the Cancer Hospital gave me a Symptom diary - I’ll have to get it out! As I have a stoma it’s hard to tell true side effects such as real diarrhoea or  increased normal output but my hands are tingling a little bit in the mornings - hope it doesn’t progress - you sounds as you had a bad time with your hands and feet? 

The worst thing for me is that I’m not a very good breakfast person so a biscuit might do the trick! Thanks for the tip!

As I’m new to this page I think my reply to you is underneath! I’ll get it right next time!!

I was worried about being sick on them (emetophobic) but the  oncology nurse reassured me I almost certainly wouldn't be- the worst I'd feel was a bit of nausea/dodgy stomach- and they loaded me up with antiemetics anyway! She was right, I was ok- but I did ask what to do about taking them with food if I woke up feeling sick and,  same as Karen, she said to just manage a biscuit and that would be fine!  ...Again, I'm not sure what effects  were radiotherapy and what was chemo but the malaise/yukky feeling/brain fog effects disappeared a few days after I stopped taking them/having treatment. Hurrah.

Did you have stoma? I’ve just had my first episode of diarrhoea I think - I guess it must have been as my stoma bag burst its banks!! If it was I’m wondering how I’m going to cope although I have just taken some Imodium in a beat to beat the bag!! I never thought my life would be like this - afraid to go out in case you sh*t yourself!

You have to laugh! Even now 18 months after my bowel surgery I still often go to the loo to fart, I’m not always certain if it is just gas or solid