Olaparib!

Hi Half Full Cup

I had two years of Olaparib following carbo/pac, major hysterectomy then another course of carbo/paxi for stage 3c ovarian cancer. I am BRCA2. However I gave never been prescribed durvalumab. I was on 600mg daily but felt so ill I didn’t feel able to leave the house although I didn’t actually vomit!! Went down to 500mg daily but woke up in Christmas Day with dreadful diarrhoea so took myself off it for the Christmas period. I told my oncologist that I wanted to try 400mg daily & I was able to complete the rest of the two year course with very few problems. If I felt a bit nauseous then Domperidone sorted it out. I count myself very lucky to be three years post diagnosis with three monthly bloods, the next us due at the end of this month. Long may it continue!!

You don’t say what dose you are taking of Olaparib but I recommend talking to your MacMillan nurses or oncologist to see if it can be adjusted. Quality of life is so important & it has to be balanced with everything else!! I wish you well & hope you can get this sorted so that you can cope more easily with everyday life.

Best wishes 

Living in hope 

Thank you so much for replying- just feeling so low at the moment! I'm taking 2x150 mg twice a day but I've just sent email to oncologist to see tomorrow if they can reduce dose.  Previous month I just had durvalumab immunotherapy and I actually felt almost normal- now I'm feeling dreadful again!

Support from someone who's been through it is so reassuring - thanks 

Let me know how you get on please. Feeling rubbish when you thought things were getting better is really not on, is it?!!

Livinginhope

It's me again!

So came home last Thursday from treatment with durvalumab plus extra bag of magnesium and potassium which is permanently down. 

Started taking olaparib on Friday morning- 2x150 tablets- felt a bit nauseous so took domperidone as advised.  Friday night another 2 olaparib and then just made it to the loo for violent bout of vile sickness  ( I'm never sick!)

Saturday morning 2 more pills more nausea and the  started the diarrhea with a vengeance!!!!

Spoke to chemo nurse on Saturday,Sunday and Monday by which time oncologist had reduced dose to 150mg once a day. 

Diarrhea hasn't stopped, can't eat properly and ended up back in hospital yesterday on fluids drip and magnesium and potassium again!  Oh as well as all that my temperature keeps spiking every night- last night it reached 38.8

Oh what fun I'm having- supposed to be going away on Sunday- in uk!

Hi! I meant to reply to you yesterday but life got in the way! I hope you are feeling better today but it really looks as if Olaparib really doesn’t agree with you. I hope you have managed to speak to someone today about this - treatment is never easy & our bodies usually adjust but that does not seem to be happening to you. You don’t say how long you are going away for but maybe you could give yourself a break from Olaparib for the duration &  then look at your options on your return? At least you will have had a change of scene & a break, without always needing to know where the nearest toilet is!!

Thinking of you & wishing you luck & no sickness (or diarrhoea!)

Livinginhope