Hi Daniel. It looks like you are doing great cytogenetically. I was so tired when I first started on Gleevec, and had lots of side effects. I had boils, lost some of my hair and my counts went up and down for a while. I believe if you stick to it, eat a good diet, and try to walk some each day, no matter how tired, it will get better. If it doesn't then maybe another drug will be for you. Good luck, Jeanie<3 In a message dated 10/30/2008 2:48:11 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
hi all, i have a dilemma with my treatment that i have been mulling over awhile and would like your thoughts. i've now been on gleevec 400mg/ daily since being diagnosed in sept 2007 and am in complete cytogenetic remission as of my 1 year followup last month (this was confirmed in both peripheral and marrow fish and marrow karyotype). my pcr results are decent/good, almost at 3log decrease and still declining at a fast rate. so, it would be fair to say that the drug is moderately-to-very efficacious in my case. the problem is that i have experienced debilitating fatigue since very early in gleevec treatment. it doesn't seem to due to low hemoglobin (~13.5 +/- .3) and there are no detectable cellular/biochemical abnormalities in my blood work-up. but i feel terrible--i require 9+ hours of sleep nightly and fade dramatically after just a couple of hours of being active. i'm 31 years old and this was never an issue before i started taking gleevec. i also look notably more wan, especially after a bit of activity. i am currently doing post-doctoral work and can work mainly from home, but would eventually like to work a real job, and it is difficult for me to see how this will be possible in my current circumstance. overall, i would rate my quality of life pretty poor. as i see it i have a few options: 1) suck it up, stay on gleevec 400 mg/daily, and try to work around my side-effects as best i can 2) try a 2nd generation TK inhibitor 3) wait until i hit 3log reduction and reduce gleevec dosage to 300mg/ daily any thoughts? another complicating issue is getting insurance ok for a 2nd generation inhibitor if i choose to go that route. my doctor has subtly implied that he doesn't feel that my side-effects warrant a change of drug. i realize that the insurance decision will be based largely on doctor assessment, so i didn't push as i don't want such a discussion recorded in his notes. am thinking about switching to more sympathetic doctor. any thoughts would be appreciated. best, daniel **************Plan your next getaway with AOL Travel. Check out Today's Hot 5 Travel Deals! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212416248x1200771803/aol?redir=http://travel.aol.com/discount-travel?ncid=emlcntustrav00000001) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
