Xeloda (capecitabine) Side Effects, Uses Dosages
Side Effects for Xeloda (capecitabine)
Swelling and dry skin on palms and feet coupled with tenderness and sensitivity. Manual labor (grasping tools, operating power tools or equipment) exacerbated effects. Intermittent tiredness. Brain fog.
First few cycles at 2000 mg 2x/day resulted in hand/foot, dosage has been reduced each of the last two cycles (first to 1500 now 1000) and the hand/foot severity has decreased and now tolerable. Tiredness seems to peak near the end of treatment cycle. Brain fog is real and thank God I was brilliant prior to starting this otherwise I'd be a walking potato.
I have been taking 2 weeks on, one week off for 5 of 9 cycles. Fatigue, brain fog, intermittent days of diarrhea or gas requiring frequent trips to the bathroom (>12 times in a work day) despite maxing out daily dose of Immodium. The diarrhea seems to cycle every few days including beginning of the off week. I have had several bouts of excruciating abdominal pain requiring me to stay in bed. Low grade nausea that makes me want to eat rather than not. I have gained 20lbs since starting which has been a source of great emotional turmoil as I have been battling weight my whole life. Beginning with the fourth cycle, developed redness, tenderness and rubbery or plastic texture to the skin in hands and feet with a single blister. The skin improved by the end of the off week of that cycle but I can already feel it coming back. Eczema cream (cera-ve) has helped the most though I have tried bag balm,Vani cream and O'Keefe's working hands and feet. Currently working full time but beginning to feel like I do not have the energy or focus to maintain that. Also feeling guilty about the difficulty I am having when I know it is minor compared to other chemo regimens.
Slight nausea, red hands and feet, weepy eyes, fatigue
Feel like it is working and worth the minor discomfort. CA15 dropped dramatically for first time in 18 months of various treatments. Really is the first drug to knock back cancer instead of just keeping it at bay.
Constipation fatigue and brain fog.
Started off taking 3600mg 2 weeks on, 1 week off. Dosage reduced to 3000 mg after experiencing severe hand/foot syndrome, and darkening of skin on face, hands and feet. After that, I tolerated the remainder of treatment well. Also, bloodwork showed increased Alkaline Phosphotase beginning with 2nd month after starting Xeloda.
Alkaline Phosphotase still slightly elevated 5 most after endings treatment. Liver seems ok. Doctor thinks bones may be involved, however there is no bone pain. Will be tested later if no improvement.
This medication killed my mother. She had to take 4500mg a day for 7 days. She started 12/16/19 and 12/27/19 she had a stroke. This drug created 2 blood clots in my mothers brain and she passed away in 9 days January 6 2020. She had colon cancer and had surgery and had 3 lymph nodes come back positive out of 20 so they recommended this drug for 12 treatments. I would never recommend this to anyone!!!!! The side effects are horrible.
Had to cut dosage in half on 2nd day due to very low blood pressure, feet, weakness, nausea. Now on the 1300 MG's. X 2 per day. Slight hand and foot at this dose. Slight fatigue.
A life saving, miracle working drug. CA15-3 dropped from almost 800 down to 20, praise God! I am still taking it.
2000mg twice a day 14 days on 7 off for 8 rounds. Hands feel tight, palm side looks red finger tips appear swollen loss of finger prints tingling burning or open cut feeling yet tolerable. Tightness when closing hands. Difficulty sleeping all night, wake up a lot. During the 7 days off the first 3 days the side effects seem to enhance. Sometimes feel pulse in hands. Done with 8 rounds, off one wk side effects seem worse. Hands, feet feel very warm and redness. Constantly wanting more lotion. Started Vanicream today to see if it will help. Fatigue at times, developed thyroid issue, 1st overly active, changed within approx 1-2 wks to be under active. Hopefully this will correct itself. I'm very cold a lot, not sure if it's due to thyroid or Chemo. I was cold often prior to diagnosis.
Unsure if this has made a difference in helping to keep recurrence of cancer. I don't know how to rate this at this time.I'm concerned because I've been off the med completely now for 7 days and feet and hands hurt more than while on the treatments. 11/07/17 Have not been able to find information on how long it takes for improvement. Really want to know what others experienced after. I wish to know details of what to possibly expect after completion. Are my symptoms normal?
Loss of hungerSkin turn to be rough and darkNauseaVomitingMuscle reductionBone weakness
After first cycle, if doesn't improve your disease then stop xeloda. My mother reduced her weight and strength to half. As she not able to eat much her general health condition was reduced. She passed away after 4 th moth of xeloda
Metastatic Breast Cancer Lunds
Burning red feet and hands, dry skin, some mild nausea, dizziness, brain fog.
I can walk around for no more than five minutes without my feet starting to burn. I did not anticipate becoming an immediate invalid.
severe fatigue, very dry hands and feet, dry skin, stomach bloating, a few mouth sores, and some nausea.
the fatigue is the worse side effect so far, but my tumor counts are going down and the side effects are tolerable so I plan to continue on this drug as long as needed.
Hand/foot syndrome (severe drying, cracking in feet, not so much hands). Stomach bloating, occassional stomach aches, nausea, but not bad. Fatigue.
At first, hand/foot syndrome real bad, not controlled, though my feet still hurt sometimes. No loose stools ever.
Stage IV Breast Cancer/Bone Mets
Bloating, darkening and slight peeling of feet, excess mucous, eye tearing (1st week only), abdominal discomfort, dry wrinkled hands and fatigue.
Tumor markers are dropping so I will continue, side effects are a minor discomfort, not overwhelming.
EXTREME pain in soles of both feet to the point of being in constant agony regardless of body position, plus a week after stopping dosage I lost my fingerprints and the ability to sweat in my hands. Both hands are as slick as porcelain.
If this drug is so helpful why is the dosage so extremely flexible?
Tummy bloating and change in bowel habits but no diarrhea or any other side effects like hand/foot syndrome...but then my dose is only 2000mg day, 14 days on and 7 days off. tumor markers going down so this dose is working and easier to handle than others I've been on.
Fatigue and, by the time I stopped it, an almost complete inability to eat or retain what I'd eaten. I was taking it with epirubicin and cisplatin so I'll put the other side-effects in the first few days after treatment down to them. But the nausea/loss of appetite went on continuously so was probably the oral Xeloda which was taken continuously.
The combination didn't apparently do me any good anyhow. Because of this and because my quality of life was so poor, I gave up the chemo after 3 months rather than doing another 3 months.
Advanced metastatic breast cancer
Swelling of abdomen, slight diarrhoea (stools = always yellow in colour), dry and itchy skin, cystytis. Exhaustion.
Taken in tablet form twice a day for 2 weeks and then a week's rest. I found side effects just as bad, if not worse, during the week off! Xeloda is metabolized to fluorouracil in the body. Exposure to chemo is longer than with intravenous treatment every 3-4 weeks. Maybe that's why I feel worse than on CMF most of the time.
XELODA (CAPECITABINE): Capecitabine is used to treat breast, colon, or rectal cancer. It works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells. (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)
Related User Reviews
I had some diarrhea for a couple of weeks when I first started taking this medication, but it quickly subsided. (I started with 500mg 1 x day.) I think it's a quality drug for treating diabetes. My body has absolutely no side effects from it. Anyone who is just starting and having diarrhea or other gastric-type disturbances, hang in there. Once your body becomes accustomed to it, I think you'll find that it will subside. Then you'll have a good medication that doesn't make you go low and controls your diabetes.
After landing my first long-term boyfriend, I went on Ortho-Cyclen for birth control reasons (while also hoping that it would clear up my acne - it didn't). A few days after starting the drug, I got my period - and bleed for about 2 weeks. Not normal. My periods, though sometimes irregular, are usually pretty light. So I went to my doctor and she put me on the generic version, Sprintec, which was okay by me since it wasn't as pricey. Unfortunately, Sprintec has come with MAJOR PMS PROBLEMS. I get really moody and depressed right before my period, and I'm worried this is affecting my relationship with my boyfriend (this weekend, I sobbed so hard i practically made myself throw up - just got my period today). I think I'm definitely going back on Ortho. Yaz would be good, but it's even more expensive. But God, I need to do something to get rid of these moods.
Have only been on it 2 weeks. No feelings of depression. No longer easily angered. Great that I don't have an appetite. Hope I don't develop additional side effects which would cause me to have to stop taking it.
Horrible mood swings. Excessive weight gain in the mid section.
Could see the good effects from Plaquenil after about 3 months; My joints and energy-level feel better than they have in several years. For me this is definitely worth going through the 2-3 months of side effects. I still have some red bumps on back, but they have faded a great deal.
mood swings, extreme anger,depression. Random crying.
it stopped my sons asthma cough in two days. But the nightmares have been horribile wont ever giver this drug to my son again.
Zanaflex has been a lifesaver for my muscle spasms. It is the only reason I am able to get a good night s sleep
I have been on this for 2 months now. The frist month was great. I spotted a few days for my period in Jan. and now in Feb. I have been on my period for 11 days. Cramping like I use to and blood clots like before. I was given this after a DNC and Hysterscopy. I go back to the Dr. in April. Probably will be going before then if I dont stop my period.
I am highly sensitive to most medications and so I resisted the suggestion that I take help to re-regulate my sleep following surgery. I was worried about possible side effects but have found this medication to be amazingly helpful. Not groggy, not drowsy, no sleep eating - just an easy sleep and fully awake after about 6-7 hours. I am very impressed.