Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 I got the Novartis test today to check gleevec levels in the blood. Does anyone know why they are doing this test, and what sorts of information they have gotten? Thanks, Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 They sent you the test or you had it done by your doctor? I have been asking when they were going to come up with a test to check our levels as we all metabolize differently. I know I have not been taking my meds 7 days a week for the past 9 months and my blood results are still good. Barbara Fayetteville, GA From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of kathymhyland Sent: Friday, November 07, 2008 2:03 AM Subject: [ ] gleevec level test I got the Novartis test today to check gleevec levels in the blood. Does anyone know why they are doing this test, and what sorts of information they have gotten? Thanks, Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Yes--Novartis sent a test kit to my doctor, and it is being sent to the CML alliance, which I guess is part of Novartis. The blood was to be drawn 2 hrs before I usually dose my gleevec to see what level was in my blood. From: barbara <barb521@...> Subject: RE: [ ] gleevec level test Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 7:57 AM They sent you the test or you had it done by your doctor? I have been asking when they were going to come up with a test to check our levels as we all metabolize differently. I know I have not been taking my meds 7 days a week for the past 9 months and my blood results are still good. Barbara Fayetteville, GA From: groups (DOT) com [mailto:groups (DOT) com] On Behalf Of kathymhyland Sent: Friday, November 07, 2008 2:03 AM groups (DOT) com Subject: [ ] gleevec level test I got the Novartis test today to check gleevec levels in the blood. Does anyone know why they are doing this test, and what sorts of information they have gotten? Thanks, Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Hi Kathy, They do this test to ensure that you are on a therapeutic dose, in other words, to determine if your dose of Gleevec should be adjusted either up or down. If your blood levels are low, then they will likely increase your dose so as to avoid resistance setting in and also to ensure maximum response. On the other hand, if your blood levels are over the top, nearing toxic levels, they will be able to tell you that you can lower your dose without compromising your response. This testing is fairly new, only becoming widely available in the last couple of years but it has helped many people already. Tracey > > I got the Novartis test today to check gleevec levels in the blood. > Does anyone know why they are doing this test, and what sorts of > information they have gotten? Thanks, Kathy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Hi Barb, Yikes! This is NOT a good idea. Skipping doses on a regular basis is how resistance happens which is something you really want to avoid. Your CBC blood counts could be perfectly normal but you could also be 100% Philadelphia chromosome positive or even worse, entering an accelerated phase. A CBC is no way to track CML this is why we have regular PCR testing. Please talk to your doctor and let him know what you've been doing so he can investigate to see if your disease status has changed. A CBC will not give you the picture you need. Goodluck, Tracey > > They sent you the test or you had it done by your doctor? I have been > asking when they were going to come up with a test to check our levels as we > all metabolize differently. I know I have not been taking my meds 7 days a > week for the past 9 months and my blood results are still good. > Barbara > Fayetteville, GA > > From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of > kathymhyland > Sent: Friday, November 07, 2008 2:03 AM > > Subject: [ ] gleevec level test > > I got the Novartis test today to check gleevec levels in the blood. > Does anyone know why they are doing this test, and what sorts of > information they have gotten? Thanks, Kathy > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Thank you, Tracey. Your information is always right on time and very helpful. Are there standards on these levels, or are they as varied as the individual? And is there still a learning curve with gleevec--are they still identifying things that might affect absorbtion? Kathy From: Tracey <traceyincanada@...> Subject: [ ] Re: gleevec level test Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 12:01 PM Hi Kathy, They do this test to ensure that you are on a therapeutic dose, in other words, to determine if your dose of Gleevec should be adjusted either up or down. If your blood levels are low, then they will likely increase your dose so as to avoid resistance setting in and also to ensure maximum response. On the other hand, if your blood levels are over the top, nearing toxic levels, they will be able to tell you that you can lower your dose without compromising your response. This testing is fairly new, only becoming widely available in the last couple of years but it has helped many people already. Tracey > > I got the Novartis test today to check gleevec levels in the blood. > Does anyone know why they are doing this test, and what sorts of > information they have gotten? Thanks, Kathy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Hi Kathy, Yes there are standards with the test. There is some degree of variability which is why the optimum levels will be within a certain range as opposed to specific singular number. If your levels are found to be in that range then you are considered to have optimal levels. I don't think they will ever stop learning about Gleevec or any other drug for that matter. This is why they are still monitoring the people in the IRIS trial (the phase III Gleevec trial). They continue to compile information every year but with roughly 10 years of experience to study, I think we can be confident in our understanding of the drug at this point. Take care, Tracey > > From: Tracey <traceyincanada@...> > Subject: [ ] Re: gleevec level test > > Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 12:01 PM > > > > > > > Hi Kathy, > > They do this test to ensure that you are on a therapeutic dose, in > other words, to determine if your dose of Gleevec should be adjusted > either up or down. > > If your blood levels are low, then they will likely increase your > dose so as to avoid resistance setting in and also to ensure maximum > response. > > On the other hand, if your blood levels are over the top, nearing > toxic levels, they will be able to tell you that you can lower your > dose without compromising your response. > > This testing is fairly new, only becoming widely available in the > last couple of years but it has helped many people already. > > Tracey > > --- In groups (DOT) com, " kathymhyland " <kathymhyland@ ...> wrote: > > > > I got the Novartis test today to check gleevec levels in the > blood. > > Does anyone know why they are doing this test, and what sorts of > > information they have gotten? Thanks, Kathy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Thanks again, Tracey. I have seen several posts on this in the past, but do you have a list of things that result in poor metabolization of gleevec? I haven't touched pineapple since the dx, but a doctor told me caffeine wasn't a problem with it, although I've heard from some people that it may be. Thanks for your time! Kathy From: Tracey <traceyincanada@...> Subject: [ ] Re: gleevec level test Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 2:18 PM Hi Kathy, Yes there are standards with the test. There is some degree of variability which is why the optimum levels will be within a certain range as opposed to specific singular number. If your levels are found to be in that range then you are considered to have optimal levels. I don't think they will ever stop learning about Gleevec or any other drug for that matter. This is why they are still monitoring the people in the IRIS trial (the phase III Gleevec trial). They continue to compile information every year but with roughly 10 years of experience to study, I think we can be confident in our understanding of the drug at this point. Take care, Tracey > > From: Tracey <traceyincanada@ ...> > Subject: [ ] Re: gleevec level test > groups (DOT) com > Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 12:01 PM > > > > > > > Hi Kathy, > > They do this test to ensure that you are on a therapeutic dose, in > other words, to determine if your dose of Gleevec should be adjusted > either up or down. > > If your blood levels are low, then they will likely increase your > dose so as to avoid resistance setting in and also to ensure maximum > response. > > On the other hand, if your blood levels are over the top, nearing > toxic levels, they will be able to tell you that you can lower your > dose without compromising your response. > > This testing is fairly new, only becoming widely available in the > last couple of years but it has helped many people already. > > Tracey > > --- In groups (DOT) com, " kathymhyland " <kathymhyland@ ...> wrote: > > > > I got the Novartis test today to check gleevec levels in the > blood. > > Does anyone know why they are doing this test, and what sorts of > > information they have gotten? Thanks, Kathy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Hi Kathy, Pineapple shouldn't affect your metabolism of Gleevec. Grapefruit is the culprit that affects metabolization. Almost all drugs will effect it to some degree, the question is how much. Even if there's an interaction, it doesn't mean that you cannot take the drug, just that you need to be careful and monitor. There has also been evidence to suggest that Vit C speeds up the metabolization of Gleevec so you would probably want to avoid high doses of that. Caffeine isn't so much a problem for metabolization, but rather it can cause some people to have diarrhea. If the diarrhea is bad enough it could cause absorption problems which is why I always tell people who have bad diarrhea to take Imodium or something else that works. Tracey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Thanks for this news. I've not had grapefruit either, but the pineapple has been missed! Have a great day! From: Tracey <traceyincanada@...> Subject: [ ] Re: gleevec level test Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 3:11 PM Hi Kathy, Pineapple shouldn't affect your metabolism of Gleevec. Grapefruit is the culprit that affects metabolization. Almost all drugs will effect it to some degree, the question is how much. Even if there's an interaction, it doesn't mean that you cannot take the drug, just that you need to be careful and monitor. There has also been evidence to suggest that Vit C speeds up the metabolization of Gleevec so you would probably want to avoid high doses of that. Caffeine isn't so much a problem for metabolization, but rather it can cause some people to have diarrhea. If the diarrhea is bad enough it could cause absorption problems which is why I always tell people who have bad diarrhea to take Imodium or something else that works. Tracey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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