Hey Mark,
Thanks for the insight into the side affects of the 800mg regimen. My Hem/Onc said there would be more side affects but did not go into what they were. Ever since I started Hydrea, my liver enzymes have been elevated. My ALT and AST, which indicate the level of liver damage occurring, were 4 to 6 times the Upper Limit of Normal (ULN). At 5 times ULN, the dosing guidelines for Gleevec require the doc to stop Gleevec until the enzymes return to 2.5 ULN. Anyway, in order to take higher doses of Gleevec, I have to split my does into no more than 300mg to keep the liver from heating up. So, my doc and I are pretty weary of escalating the dose. FYI, my liver biopsy showed that my liver was damaged by the extreme levels of white blood cells. Evidently, the spleen is not the only place they hang out.
As far as debulking went, I felt fine before the process and tired as hell after wards. The leukaphereisis process pulled off a bunch of WBC but it also dropped my hemoglobin into the 9-10 range which just wiped me out. Keep in mind that my hem/onc was talking Acute Leukemia to me at the time, and he was not terribly optimistic. Aside from the fatigue and emotional trauma, the ordeal was pretty easy and effective. Sounds like it was a lot easier than the hydrea approach. I've had the sore joints, gout attacks I guess, and they suck.
I'm going back to work on Monday, so I'm pretty charged up right now. I sure hope the stress does not wear me out.
Keep in touch and be well.
John
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