xeloda and appetite

[Marla61]

I'm on round 4 of Xeloda and my appetite is very poor. I'm losing weight which isn't good. Most foods just sound "gross" to me. Rice, pasta, cereals and yogurts are good but not enough protein/carbs. Anyone have some ideas on foods that have what I need and may be appealing to me? thanks.

[Fiercefighter13]

I’m on month 4 of Xeloda, and I found that a home made antioxidant smoothie helps me in the mornings. I make 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, one cup of plain Greek yogurt, one cup of frozen spinach, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, and 3/4 cup of frozen pineapple. I add one teaspoon of pure Stevia, 1/4 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp of ground turmeric and 1/4 tsp of Ceylon cinnamon. (All organic) Add ice and blend it. It’s easy to digest because it’s blended, the ginger settles my stomach and it has the protein from the Greek yogurt. The bonus are the natural fruits and spinach. Plus sipping it through the morning and it being cold gets the calories in and calms the stomach. For protein, cottage cheese is excellent, and it’s a “pre digested” food because of its enzymes, so it’s super easy to digest and not cause stomach upset. I hope this helps! Wishing you well, take care!

[kellylinkane in reply to Fiercefighter13]

I read the Stevia disrupted the gut microbiome which is important for immuniation support.

[Fiercefighter13 in reply to kellylinkane]

Good to know, I will look into that, in the alternative a little Manuka honey would suffice and it’s excellent for the entire digestive system and body! Thank you for that information!

[Garden-Lady]

Dear Marla, I hope the treatment is successful for you.I was on Xeloda for two months last year. Not only did I experience loss of appetite as you describe, but I was frequently nauseous and had several episodes of being sick. It really didn't work for me. Eventually I was taken off, and given 16 rounds of chemotherapy treatment with Paclitaxel, which worked.

Best wishes for your recovery. Xx

[Antares12]

I've only been on Xeloda for two rounds, but I find cottage cheese to be good. My appetite isn't poor, but not what it was. I wish I could lose some weight

[PJBinMI]

That's very interesting! I have been on Xeloda for a fairly short time and don't have much appetite either. I had some serious intestinal blockage back in Oct. and had part of my small intestine removed and haven't been able to eat as much as before, and have been losing weight, too. But your note here has me remembering that I still had an appetite before Xeloda. I did get "hand and foot syndrome" and my dose was reduced and that's much less than it was. When I think of food that's easy to eat, not strong smelling, I immediately think of chicken! Chicken soup, chicken sandwich, chicken fried rice. My husband recently discovered bacon wrapped chicken--maybe that's more of a man thing but I sure like it! Are there desserts that you've always loved? I started treating myself to more chocolate than usual, justifying it as helping to maintain weight! I discovered that brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower with olive oil and Parmesan cheese and roasted in the oven are really yummy, but I already liked all those. i hope that Xeloda works for you and that you find food that you can enjoy! Living with this lousy cancer is sure crazy!

[Widdershins3]

Can you tolerate peanut butter? That and Greek yoghurt kept me going when Piqray made me horribly nauseous and changed my food tastes too. When I needed a change, I got some frozen mixed berries and made smoothies with yoghurt and/or sour cream in them. By switching between them, they got me through the worst drug I've taken yet. You might try Googling "best smoothies" and playing around with ingredients--that's where I started. Good luck!