Question about taking Cyclophosphamide pills

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AnacortesGirl
AnacortesGirl Member Posts: 1,758
edited June 2014 in Stage III Breast Cancer

OK - my two week vacation from chemo is coming to a close.  Next Monday I start AC (I'm the backwards one - taxol was first) and I have a question for those of you who took their Cyclophosphamide in pill form.

I'm going to be taking 2 50mg Cyclophosphamide tablets every day.  Apparently it suppose to be taken on an empty stomach either 1 hour before I eat or 2-3 hours after I eat.  And the drug lit says it should be taken in the morning.

When did you take it?  Before or after you ate?  And when did you take your anti-nausea drug?  At the same time?  Is there a reason to take it in the morning versus nighttime?

At this time the my strongest anti-nausea meds are Zofran and Ativan.  Any comments on those with the daily Cyclophosphamide?

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Comments

  • Pure
    Pure Member Posts: 1,796
    edited December 2009

    What is cyclophosphamide?

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  • LavenderNLace
    LavenderNLace Member Posts: 90
    edited December 2009

    Its the drug name of Cytoxan. 

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  • LavenderNLace
    LavenderNLace Member Posts: 90
    edited December 2009

    Zofran and Aloxi are great anti nausea drugs.  When I had the cytoxan, it was via IV form not tablet so I don't know if that will make a difference. 

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  • Gitane
    Gitane Member Posts: 1,885
    edited December 2009

    I had IV AC and got it in the AM always, so can't help with that, sorry.  I will say that the absolute best anti-nausea med for me was Kytril.  It didn't get it until my third infusion, and what a help it was.

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  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited December 2009

    I had Kytril too - they gave it to me via IV after I was terribly nauseous and sick after my first round. It didn't completely remove the nausea though, and I still puked, but it was certainly lessened.

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  • AnacortesGirl
    AnacortesGirl Member Posts: 1,758
    edited December 2009

    Thanks for the comments on the anti-nausea drugs.  That may come in handy if the Zofran doesn't meet the needs.

    I was hoping some of the ladies in this forum might have used the pill form.  I trust you guys so I want to start here first.  I'll try posting in the chemo forum.  This darn trial seems to have me doing everything a little different than anyone else. 

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  • Pure
    Pure Member Posts: 1,796
    edited December 2009

    Is the pill a new way of doing it?

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  • everyminute
    everyminute Member Posts: 1,805
    edited December 2009

    I had iv also

    I got emend for nausea - never was more than a bit car sicky

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  • DCMom
    DCMom Member Posts: 624
    edited December 2009

    I had AC and T.  Got emend as well and car sicky is right on.  Felt horrible like nauseous all over once the emend wore off, but never took any of the supplemental anti-nausea pills they sent home because it was only short lived each time, maybe a day and I just hundered down on the couch for that day..

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  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited December 2009

    I only felt sick the day of my infusion too. I would come home, go to bed, throw up at about 8:00pm, take a Stemetil which would put me to sleep, and in the morning I would be OK nausea-wise. I didn't take the Stemetil after that either as it made me sleepy.

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  • AnacortesGirl
    AnacortesGirl Member Posts: 1,758
    edited December 2009

    This is sounding good.  Since you all had IVs your dosage was much higher and yet your nausea wasn't that bad.  Sounds similiar to a neighbor who did great on the AC (however, as she put it, got kicked in the butt by Taxol).  Since this daily dose will be much lower I'm sure it will go fine.  Maybe the later weeks will get rougher but I'm going to assume an easy start.

    Jenn,

    I know the pill form is not new.  I'm going to guess here, but I suspect that onc prefer to administer the drug through an IV.  That way they know the women are getting their tx.  Taking daily pills, especially when they cause SEs, can be a hard thing to do.  Somewhere in the middle of my first chemo (I had to take Sutent everyday) the thought started creeping into my mind about why I'm taking a poison pill.  But I was pretty quick to squelch that thought because I do believe the chemo will work.  There's a possible advantage of having a constant level of Cytoxan in the system from the pill.  So I'm going to keep my daily alarm on the cell phone set to remind me it's pill time.

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  • BJones100
    BJones100 Member Posts: 2
    edited December 2009

    Hi I take my nausea meds at 6 am wait a half hour and take cyclophosphamide at 6:30.  I eat at 7:30  This seems to work really well for me no problems at all.  I told my doctor thats how i was doing it, and he said thats perfect. 

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  • AnacortesGirl
    AnacortesGirl Member Posts: 1,758
    edited December 2009

    That's what I've been doing also.  Works great by the weekends but not so good on Wed, Thur and sometimes Fri.  I've tried both reglan and zofran.   What med do you use?

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  • maryannecb
    maryannecb Member Posts: 1,453
    edited December 2009

    I had FAC then TH

    Used Decadron and Zofran for nausea..only threw up 3 times in 6 months...but had aversions at times. Could not look at the generic tylenol tablet...wrong shape....lol. Good luck with your treatment.

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  • Pure
    Pure Member Posts: 1,796
    edited December 2009

    It's interesting about the pill. One of the reasons I got chemo over a 2 wek period is my oncologist is doing research on the effects of constant chemo in your system in smaller doeses as less toxic but more benificial. I would love to know how much your receiving? Does your bottle say?

    My oncologist suggested taking natural ginger pills. Which I did and actually still do-they help me with my mood.I never had any side affects.

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  • AnacortesGirl
    AnacortesGirl Member Posts: 1,758
    edited December 2009

    It's 2 pills in the morning for a total of 100 mg a day.

    I'm taking 2 tabs of natural whole herb ginger root that are 550 mg each morning with the cytoxan.  Is that the same as the ginger pills that you take?  How many and how often?

    I also drink ginger ale if I'm thinking the carbonation is going to help.  And I'm sick of gingersnaps but they help for short periods of time.

    My onc is a proponent of the constant chemo.  That's why I've been on a schedule of weekly infusions for the taxol and now Adriamycin.  The downside is that the cycle of ups and downs is weekly.  A few good days, a few bad days and then it's time to start over again.

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  • Pure
    Pure Member Posts: 1,796
    edited December 2009

    Do you happen to know what the amounts of the other chemo you received?

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  • Pure
    Pure Member Posts: 1,796
    edited December 2009

    Looking at my schedule I get 945 of cyclo once a week for 2 weeks then 3 weeks off. Does that seem like the right amount? 

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  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 3,225
    edited December 2009

    I took cyclophosphamide pills when I did the CEF protocol......got the E & F through IV and the cyclo in pill form. I took it every morning and found I didn't need anti nausea meds with it. I had anti nausea when I got the E & F

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  • ranabutt
    ranabutt Member Posts: 3
    edited February 2010
    I know the pill form is not new. I'm going to guess here, but I suspect that onc prefer to administer the drug through an IV. That way they know the women are getting their tx. Taking daily pills, especially when they cause SEs, can be a hard thing to do. Somewhere in the middle of my first chemo (I had to take Sutent everyday) the thought started creeping into my mind about why I'm taking a poison pill. But I was pretty quick to squelch that thought because I do believe the chemo will work. There's a possible advantage of having a constant level of Cytoxan in the system from the pill. So I'm going to keep my daily alarm on the cell phone set to remind me it's pill time.
    ||642-642||642-812||642-845||
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  • AnacortesGirl
    AnacortesGirl Member Posts: 1,758
    edited February 2010

    Thanks for the explanation and warning.  I was wondering....

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  • alexanderccna
    alexanderccna Member Posts: 3
    edited November 2010
    CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE is a chemotherapy drug. It slows the advance of blight cells. This anesthetic is acclimated to amusement abounding types of blight like lymphoma, myeloma, leukemia, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer, to name a few. It is aswell acclimated to amusement nephrotic affection in children.|| pass4sure 642-642 || pass4sure VCP-410 || pass4sure 350-030
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