This is quite a thread. A real primer on the side effects of Gleevec. I'll add my 2 cents and I hope others will do the same.
I'm 68, diagnosed with CML 18 months ago. I'm in cyteogenic remission, but still some residual disease showing up in the PCR test. I went from 400 to 600 mg three months ago. Next PCR test is in a few weeks. Hopefully it will be gone. My Dr. wanted me to take 800 mg, but the side effects were too much to live with, so I cut back to 600. The first few weeks on 600 were like the first few weeks when I began to take Gleevec, but the side effects have now settled into the pattern that I had when on 400. I take 200 with breakfast and 400 with dinner. I have eye edema. Eyes are puffy when I wake up, but that goes away quickly. However, my eyes "leak" all day. I occasionally have swelling in my lower legs, and the skin there sometimes itches. I use an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream to relieve the itching. I get foot cramps but only at night while in bed. Walking a few steps eliminates the cramps, but they can occur several times in the night. As long as I take the Gleevec with a big helping of a food containing a complete protein, I don't have any nausea (which was very bad when I first started taking Gleevec.). I always eat eggs, fish or meat when I take a Gleevec pill. I get diarrhea about every 5-7 days. Immodium A-D works very well to combat it. (BTW, you can now buy 400 loperamide (generic Ammodium) caplets at Costco for around $5. I have lots of gas, and have not found anything that helps. I've fooled around with my diet, taken Gas-X, etc. but nothing seems to have any impact. I take Tylenol for pain because it is very effective for me. My Dr. says a modest amount - 1300 mg 4X daily - is OK as long as your liver numbers stay in the normal range. I also drink wine that that can have a negative impact on liver function. My Dr. says it's OK as long as the liver numbers are normal. Daily I take a multivitamin, 1000 mg Vitamin C, 400 esp Vitamin E, 3000 mg glucosamine and 360 mg saw palmetto. I doubt any of these have any effect on Gleevec side effects, but one never knows. As one ages, so many things start to go wrong, it's hard to know what causes what, or if anything that one does is actually helping. I have more fatigue than I used to have. Is that normal aging, the CML, the Gleevec, or something else yet to be identified? Nevertheless, I believe that I will die from something other than leukemia! Mike Burwen --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
