Hi anyone on Capecitabine tablets who could measure sizes of them(assuming they come in different strengths) for me.I have terrible fear and difficultly with swallowing pills.Anything bigger than a piriton tablet terrifies me!I have to start on Capecitabine on Thursday.After 3 and a half years stable with secondary liver and bone mets my liver tumours started to grow.Started Paclitaxel chemo 3 weeks ago.on second weekly dose I had a bad reaction to it.this week even with taking many meds in days before I reacted again badly so they won’t let me continue with it.I haven’t had anything explained about this new treatment just given a leaflet of possible side effects.Anyones experiences on it would be very helpful to me.I read people can stay on it a long time.Does this mean people work when on it ,go out ,live a relatively normal life or do you have to isolate yourself all the time.All seems very scary to me at the minute .Many thanks for any help.Didi.
Tablets are bigger than Piriton ( about 1cm x .5 similar to paracetamol) but can be dissolved in water If you struggle with tablets, it takes about 15 minutes to dissolve them an you need to make sure no one else uses the glass at any point 200ml of water . Hope that help reassure you. I’m only on my second cycle but been fine so far.
Annie
I am not any medical and have no experience of taking cape. Just found this and like to share.
Oh Didi, my heart goes out to you. I can’t even swallow a piriton-sized tablet with water, even if they are specially coated. When I needed antibiotics, I nearly had a relapse at the hospital when they presented me with the pill and so they ordered in the liquid form they use with children! I find I can take a lot of tablets with chewed banana but I’ve also found an excellent pill cutter online and I’ve bought a packet of the smallest, clear capsules and some small funnels to dispense the content of extra-large capsules Into manageable proportions. It means a lot of tablet swallowing throughout my meals but I get there!
Do tell the nurse (who will probably fetch the doctor) to discuss the safest way to make this new drug manageable for you. You won’t be the only patient who’s had this problem. You just have to be careful about how the medication is created because some are specially designed to protect your intestines and those can’t be broken into pieces. Medical guidance is essential here.
All the best on Thursday x