Xeloda Side Effects

Xeloda is giving me a hard time. 4 days in and my Onc has already given me a 3 day break. Its times like this the fear of not getting through this really kicks in.

I was on it for a while aching joints was my biggest issue upped my magnesium and this helped.once l was of it as l had a hysterectomy a lot of the symptoms went so im sure it was the zoladex.

@Cate64 Glad to hear its working well with you. Im day 3 and already feeling seedy and washed out. I hope this feeling passes. I feel worse this time around than I did the first time with the heavy stuff.

@Tennille I to am on Xeloda, I function just fine, working full time, running on Saturdays & competing in events such as Gold Coast Marathon & Run Melbourne. It effects my life very little.

I have learnt to control side effects very well, lots of moisture on the skin, treating my hands & feet carefully, eating well. I find ckmpression socks such as used for running to be my friend, they help control the effects on my feet.

So all in all, my life goes on as usual for I refuse to let mbc control my life... its is my life & I control it...

@wendy55 All support is in place but I am more worried about my ability to function on a daily basis. I dont want to feel like I am lying around all day with no energy. Unfortunately I am not a great sick person. 

my situation is very different to yours, I am retired and have a supportive partner, do the schools where your children go know about your diagnosis, can they help in any way, how is GP helping you? do you have a local hospital you can get in contact with about home help, have you accessed a social worker yet? please ring the cancer council in your state and speak to an oncology nurse and explain your family situation,do you have family and friends to help out, this is not a time to be shy, if they offer you take it please, yes, it is hard on a day to day basis let alone with a family to look after as well, you cannot do this on your own, there is support out there you just need to navigate your way round, do you have a local breast cancer support near you, a lot of this can be done via phone so you dont have to go out and about, make a list of everything you want and need and start from there, but first and foremost you need help, the cancer council is really the best place to start just be patient and go through the menu options and you will get to speak to someone, I am going away today for a couple of weeks but will have my tablet with me for emails, please reach out, there are plenty of people to help you,I find it hard enough and I have all day to do what I have to, I have a cleaning lady once a fortnight courtesy of my local community hospital via the domicilary people and it only costs me $10.I also have the community nurse come to give me a couple of injections,and that is only $5 but that is in south australia, please reach out that is what these services are for,
take care and be gentle with yourself, you can do this but you do not need to be alone,
wendy55 

I am doing 14 on 7 off

@wendy55  Thanks for the info. How do you find your day to day functionality? Im not doing crash hot at the moment and I am worried the chemo will knock me further down. I am a single mum of 11 and hate the thought of not being able to care for them.

Hi Tenille, I have been on Xeloda for the last 17 months,if I can offer any advice it would be to keep both your hands and your feet well moistureized every day, I expect you have read all about the side effects and of course every drug is different for each of us, I have had some issues with hand and foot syndrome which is where the hands and feet get very sore,at one point my oncologist took me off the drug for  3 weeks and then started me back on it, that did help with my feet, its so individual it really will be a day by day thing at the moment for you, are you on a 14 day on then 7 days off cycle,my cycle is 12 days on then 9 days off, this suited me better, I always have gastro stop with me in case of upset tummy issues, and my eyes too have been affected and they water a bit, but as I said you may not experiece any of this, if your hands and feet show signs of becoming very sore it would be best to contact your oncology doctor, sometimes the dose needs to be changed with, myself I am on 2x 500mg tablets morning and night I was on 3, but my tummy was not very happy, another tip, please try and avoid sun exposure, wear a hat and sunscreen for your arms face and legs, xeloda does not like the sun on your skin too much, I take a Vitamin D tablet to makeup for this, I dont use soap anymore but find a very mild body wash like QV and they have a bath oil as well, one of the other ladies mentioned this and its great for your skin, also I find wearing socks all day and cotton gloves help me as the friction of everyday doing stuff seems to aggravate my skin,the cotton gloves
come from the supermarket and are about $2 a pair, let me know how you are going, its tough this breast cancer gig, we just have to be gentle with our selves, take time out when you need it, I do get tired and often just have a nap for about an hour in the afternoon,somedays are better than others and some ladies have hardly any side effects, do what feels right for you, do you have a breast care nurse? they are amazing and mine is a great support, she rings me every week to see how I am, well I am off for a nana nap, just try and remember your body will let you know what it needs and for any issue at all always contact your GP or Oncologist.

wendy55