Allergic Reaction to Oxi

[Tnguyen]

My mother had some allergic reaction (itching and hives) and the doctor thinks it's due to Oxaliplatin. Thankfully she A-Okayyy
This is my mom's 2nd round of reintroducing folfox+avastin. She had this regimen before, for about 16 round and never had she had any allergic reaction to it and her neurotheraphy was very minimal.

Now the onc wants to drop oxi, and only wants my mom to do the 5-fu+ leucovorin and avastin (If i remember correctly), he said there is a chance of this working. It just worries me that it wont be as effective without the Oxaliplatin.

Does dropping Oxaliplatin from the folfox regimen decreases it's effectiveness?

[ktwmn]

Hello, I had the exact same situation last May. After 15 txs of folfiri + avastin I had minimal progression so my onc switched to folfox + avastin. I had taken folfox in 2011-12. After 3 or 4 infusions I had the same allergic reaction as you describe. So the oxi was discontinued and I went on 5FU + leukovorin + avastin. After 4 months an MRI showed minimal progression but a PET scan was interpreted as stable. I am currently on Xeloda waiting on an immuno trial.

[Pita]

So sorry for your Mom... Best wishes and prayers for her. oxo

IMO my question would be why didn't the Onc put an infusion bag of Benedryl before the chemo? Could possibly be due to your Mom's condition?

Don't remember the exact order but I had infusion bags of anti-nausea, benedryl, steroid, folfox, erbitux and leucovorin, then a pump home with 5FU.

[Tnguyen]

So sorry for your Mom... Best wishes and prayers for her. oxo

IMO my question would be why didn't the Onc put an infusion bag of Benedryl before the chemo? Could possibly be due to your Mom's condition?

Don't remember the exact order but I had infusion bags of anti-nausea, benedryl, steroid, folfox, erbitux and leucovorin, then a pump home with 5FU.

I wanted to ask him that too! I know she got steroid and something else before each infusion, but this is the first time this happened so I guess they never had the benadryl...
I wanted to ask if they can still try the oxaliplatin but with benadryl beforehand and infuse it slower, bc I see some people on this forum did that and it worked for them. I feel like
the onc is just too concerned and scared that the allergic reaction can happen again. But, i'll definelty ask and see, I rather try than be quiet

[Tnguyen]

Hello, I had the exact same situation last May. After 15 txs of folfiri + avastin I had minimal progression so my onc switched to folfox + avastin. I had taken folfox in 2011-12. After 3 or 4 infusions I had the same allergic reaction as you describe. So the oxi was discontinued and I went on 5FU + leukovorin + avastin. After 4 months an MRI showed minimal progression but a PET scan was interpreted as stable. I am currently on Xeloda waiting on an immuno trial.

Even a minimal progression scares me. I think when my mom had this regimen a year ago, she also had the oxi dropped after a certain amount of rounds and eventually it led to a progression. I'm also hoping my mother will be qualify for an immuno trial so she can still have options to go to. I wish you the absolute best! Hopefully you can get into a trial and i hope your cancer continues to be stable or decrease!!

[DarknessEmbraced]

I'm so sorry your mother had an allergic reaction to Oxi!*hugs* I'm glad she's ok. I hope her chemo will still be effective without oxi!*hugs*

[TXLiz]

This is interesting to me. I am currently doing FOLFOX, and about one week after my pump was disconnected (from my third round)I broke out in itchy raised bumps hives and whelts from scalp to lower thigh. The hives were HUGE and itched madly. I had to go to an urgent care center on Thanksgiving day for a steroid shot and script. I also took Benadryl and it was the most miserable Thanksgiving! We ate take out while I lay on the couch like a drugged whelty monster.

However, my onky said he didn't think it was the chemo. I had my next round of Folfox 3 days ago and so far so good. He thinks it was caused by a new laundry detergent or a meal in a restaurant where I had not eaten previously.

He said such a reaction to FOLFOX was very rare.

He also said if it did happen again he would put me on steroids because I need my chemo.

I also read that if allergies to chemo are a problem they can infuse you inpatient on a slower drip while monitoring for a reaction. I would ask about that option. I def would want the chemo.

Good luck to your Mom.

[Nik Colon]

I did Oxi early on, they took me off after my 3rd (concerns). Did just the 5fu on 4th then surgery (yeah, I talked them into it, they wanted 6). Anyway did folfiri after. 1st 100%, not good, 2nd no iri. 3-6 80% iri, 7-8 just 5fu. My onc now says if chemo needed again, wants to do an Oxi desensitization thing (not sure how I feel about that), but I wanted to mention it to others, maybe ask your onc or look into it.

[Stewsbetty]

I think I have a slight reaction to the oxi. The infusion day I come home and have lots of sneezing and runny nose. So I take a Benadryl and that seems to take care of it. This started on round 6 for me.

[Nik Colon]

I think I have a slight reaction to the oxi. The infusion day I come home and have lots of sneezing and runny nose. So I take a Benadryl and that seems to take care of it. This started on round 6 for me.

I was just reading something that said it usually starts around the 6th or so. I would mention it to your onc.
ETA. At one time (don't remember where I heard it) that 3-4 Oxi is the best to get results (most benefit), after that, the benefits started decreasing. Again, just what I think I remember, not fact
I also remember talking about the number of tx here. I think they were doing studies to see if 6 was enough maybe 8, can't remember, but there were studies being done under 12
(Again, just from my bad memory, but please ask)

[Tnguyen]

I'm so sorry your mother had an allergic reaction to Oxi!*hugs* I'm glad she's ok. I hope her chemo will still be effective without oxi!*hugs*

Thank you! Your hugs are always nice to receive!

[Tnguyen]

This is interesting to me. I am currently doing FOLFOX, and about one week after my pump was disconnected (from my third round)I broke out in itchy raised bumps hives and whelts from scalp to lower thigh. The hives were HUGE and itched madly. I had to go to an urgent care center on Thanksgiving day for a steroid shot and script. I also took Benadryl and it was the most miserable Thanksgiving! We ate take out while I lay on the couch like a drugged whelty monster.

However, my onky said he didn't think it was the chemo. I had my next round of Folfox 3 days ago and so far so good. He thinks it was caused by a new laundry detergent or a meal in a restaurant where I had not eaten previously.

He said such a reaction to FOLFOX was very rare.

He also said if it did happen again he would put me on steroids because I need my chemo.

I also read that if allergies to chemo are a problem they can infuse you inpatient on a slower drip while monitoring for a reaction. I would ask about that option. I def would want the chemo.

Good luck to your Mom.

I also thought the same as your onc. That maybe she had a reaction to something else. She did the oxy 2 before that and she was fine. She did the oxy a year before and she was still fine. I'll definitely ask our onc for more information, because I feel like without the oxy it wouldnt be as effective who knows. Thank you!

[Tnguyen]

I did Oxi early on, they took me off after my 3rd (concerns). Did just the 5fu on 4th then surgery (yeah, I talked them into it, they wanted 6). Anyway did folfiri after. 1st 100%, not good, 2nd no iri. 3-6 80% iri, 7-8 just 5fu. My onc now says if chemo needed again, wants to do an Oxi desensitization thing (not sure how I feel about that), but I wanted to mention it to others, maybe ask your onc or look into it.

I'll definetly ask my onc about it, but he and his nurses feel that the best thing is to not use oxy at all since there are so much risk with it. Mom doesn't benefit at all with folfiri,so that is a no for her. Folfox was her best bet, and im praying even with just 5-fu+leu and avastin that it can help stabilize or shrink. Did taking out oxi affect how your tumors grew? Or was there just no difference?

[Nik Colon]

I did Oxi early on, they took me off after my 3rd (concerns). Did just the 5fu on 4th then surgery (yeah, I talked them into it, they wanted 6). Anyway did folfiri after. 1st 100%, not good, 2nd no iri. 3-6 80% iri, 7-8 just 5fu. My onc now says if chemo needed again, wants to do an Oxi desensitization thing (not sure how I feel about that), but I wanted to mention it to others, maybe ask your onc or look into it.

I'll definetly ask my onc about it, but he and his nurses feel that the best thing is to not use oxy at all since there are so much risk with it. Mom doesn't benefit at all with folfiri,so that is a no for her. Folfox was her best bet, and im praying even with just 5-fu+leu and avastin that it can help stabilize or shrink. Did taking out oxi affect how your tumors grew? Or was there just no difference?

My tumors shrunk in half with my first 4 tx, that's 3 w/oxi, and the 1 w/o

[Apple1291]

I'm not sure if this is relevant to your mom's case, but I thought I'd share in case it is helpful. Five years ago when my dad was doing his adjuvant folfox treatments he had a severe allergic reaction to oxi during his second infusion. It was so bad that we had an ambulance rush him to the hospital where they didn't think he would make it. The doctors first thought it was an infection that was causing him symptoms like fever and vomiting. He stayed overnight but recovered by the next day. Around the same time I read about another member on this forum who experienced a similar allergic reaction. This member had their dosage of oxi reduced and instead of having a 2 hour infusion he or she (I'm sorry I don't remember) was put on a slow drip 4 hour infusion. We shared that information with my dad's oncologist and she decided to reduce his oxi dosage by 20% and put him on a four hour infusion. My dad's third treatment was thankfully uneventful and he was able to complete the 12 treatments with oxi at 80% of the normal dosage. He has had a recurrence since then at just shy of 5 years since diagnosis, but did really well up until then. I have no idea if this is something that your mom's doctor would consider for her, but I thought I would mention it just in case. I hope that things go well for your mom and will be sending you lots of good thoughts.