Hi Sheila! I have been on Gleevec since April 2005. I was 23 yrs old when I was diagnosed. I am an only child, so I've no sibling match either. I wasn't responding the way I was supposed to (or perhaps as quickly as I was supposed to), so in June 2005, I was upped to 600mg from 400mg. My blood counts were good except for my platelets, which had to come down (they were around 1000, when they should have been around 400. They are low-normal now, around 150). Anyway, I felt kinda crappy on the 600mg for the first little while. My spleen had finally reduced in size, so I didn't have to worry about it, but I had quite a bit of bone pain in my legs and I wasn't sleeping the best. It did go away, but not for about 6 months. Just want you to know if you're not feeling the best, don't worry! It will improve. So my doctor did a molecular study in November 2005, and although my blood was good, I was having no cytogenetic response whatsoever. I was upset, because then he put me up to 800mg. I thought I would feel even worse. But for some reason, now that I am taking a 400mg in the morning and one at night, I feel so much better. I began sleeping better, I put weight on that I lost, and the bone pain went away. I feel like my old self again. And guess what. I just got a call last week from my doctor and he told me I am doing "excellent." (Those were his exact words.) For whatever reason, the 800mg has made all the difference. It has taken me 14 months to get to that point. I've heard that Gleevec can sometimes take 18 months to kick in. Keep the faith, you can do it!!! Just keep focused on what you want to do, and know that it can and will happen for you. I know it can be easier to say than do, but stay positive and focused!!! Obviously when you are on the Gleevec it is working for you, hopefully soon you will find a solution as to how you can use it as a more permanent therapy.
Take care!!! Best wishes, Chrissy --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
