Postby boxhill » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:44 am
I had a pretty easy time with FOLFOX, compared to some. Days of crushing fatigue, but no outright nausea. I do remember telling people when I reached cycle 8 that it was wearing on me at that point.
As soon as you start feeling residual tingling in your fingers that lasts beyond the initial cold-sensitivity days, ask to cut back the oxy (if they don't suggest it first). It is fine to halt it altogether near the end. You want to minimize long-term neuropathy.
Do you know what premeds they are giving you? Mine included steroids and longer-acting anti-nausea drugs like Emend from day 1, which is perhaps one reason why I was never nauseous. I was also given 3 different drugs to take at home if I did have symptoms, and they encouraged me to get right on top of it and switch from drug to drug as needed. During my first infusion they gave me Sustol, but I found the local reaction to it (in my arm) so painful and lingering that I refused it before the second one. It can be given in the belly, which I gather can be less painful, so if you are really troubled by nausea that's another option. I found that eating something small, like crackers or a little applesauce, and avoiding a completely empty stomach made me feel better.
Drink a lot of fluids while on the pump. If you feel crappy when you go back to be unhooked, ask them to give you a bag of fluids then. It helps a lot of people. My center advises taking an ativan before bed on infusion day to counteract the insomniac affects of the pre-med seteroid.
Rest when you need it.
F, 64 at DX CRC Stage IV
3/17/18 blockage, r hemi
11 of 25 LN,5 mesentery nodes
5mm liver met
pT3 pN2b pM1
BRAF wild, KRAS G12D
dMMR, MSI-H
5/18 FOLFOX
7/18 and 11/18 CT NED
12/18 MRI 5mm liver mass, 2 LNs in porta hepatis
12/31/18 Keytruda
6/19 Multiphasic CT LNs normal, Liver stable
6/28/19 Pause Key, predisone for joint pain
7/31/19 Restart Key
9/19 CT stable
Pain: all fails but Celebrex
12/23/19 CT stable
5/20 MRI stable/NED
6/20 Stop Key
All MRIs NED