New To CML

[Guest guest]

Dears,

Its very nice to see all of you (or your relatives)

fighting with a disease like CML with such a quality spirit and courage.

My mother(57 years old) was diagnosed with CML (in chronic phase) in Jan

2010. She started GLIVEC (400 mg/day with split dose) from Mid of Feb

2010 and during 1 month her WBC count has fallen from 60K per

micro-liter to 7.5K per micro-liter. Which is great improvement.

But she is facing too much side effects after taking GLIVEC. She is already a

heart patient and had undergone by-pass surgery in Oct 2006.

I have searched internet for minimizing these side effects of this

wonderful medicine (GLIVEC). But still couldnt find how to minimize

following side effects:

* Cough/Sore throat

* Edema: (It comes and goes. Doc has told to increase water in-take. But that

didnt work perfectly)

* Pain in bones and musclesKindly tell me how to minimize/prevent from these

side effects.

Hoping for a reply.

Best Regards,

Fahad

Mukhtar

[Guest guest]

Dears,

Thanks Everyone for the replies. I am stating a consolidated reply to everyone.

You all are absolutely right. This medicine is really very effective itself.

I read somewhere that cough is one of the uncommon side effect of GLIVECand

I think that Sore throat is due to that cough so its not a direct side effect of

GLIVEC.

Edema is mostly on face and ankles.

She also feels exhaustion and fatigue. Is it the side effect if GLIVEC or the

symptom of CML?

Oncologist has also told the same that pain and other side effects (like edema,

exhaustion) will be lessened in few months and he has also told to continue the

medicine prescribed by her cardiologist.

Anyone of you know the cause of this disease (CML) ?

Best Regards,

Fahad Mukhtar

________________________________

From: Troxel <richard.troxel@...>

Sent: Wed, 31 March, 2010 22:37:41

Subject: Re: [ ] New To CML

Dear Fahad,

I'm sorry to hear that your mother has been diagnosed with CML at 57. I was

only one year older when I was diagnosed. Your concern about the side

effects is understandable. Please keep in mind that, for the most part,

these side effects are minor trade off for the gift of life which Gleevec

(Glivek) provides.

I am not sure about the sore throat and cough. I'm not familiar with this as

a side effect of Gleevec. Your mother needs a good general medicine doctor

to evaluate this, it may be due to some other problem she is having.

The edema is the most serious, I think, side effect you have listed. Where

is the edema? If it is in the legs and ankles the doctor may prescribe a

diuretic medication. I would also suggest taking a vigorous walk for 30 to

45 minutes a day to improve circulation. Edema in her eyes or heart is a

much more serious problem. She should have regular exams with

an ophthalmologist and a cardiologist to be certain all is well.

Pain management is always a tricky issue. Much depends upon how much pain

your mother can live with. Aspirin and other non steroidal pain medications

should be avoided by people on Gleevec. Also people need to be very careful

to avoid taking too much acetaminophen (tylenol), as this can be deadly. My

doctor lets me take Vicodin, which I have taken for years,

but extreme caution must be exercised because you can become addicted to the

medication... it is not for everyone. I never take more than two pills every

24 hours and I have taken a few 4 to 6 month vacations from this medicine to

avoid the addiction. Again, have a good talk with her doctors about this...

there are other options.

Keep in touch, the people in this group have had many different experiences

and have many good suggestions.

Troxel

dob 05/07/44

cml 02/10/03

On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 4:19 AM, Fahad Mukhtar <fahadm77@...> wrote:

>

>

> Dears,

>

> Its very nice to see all of you (or your relatives)

> fighting with a disease like CML with such a quality spirit and courage.

>

> My mother(57 years old) was diagnosed with CML (in chronic phase) in Jan

> 2010. She started GLIVEC (400 mg/day with split dose) from Mid of Feb

> 2010 and during 1 month her WBC count has fallen from 60K per

> micro-liter to 7.5K per micro-liter. Which is great improvement.

>

> But she is facing too much side effects after taking GLIVEC. She is already

> a heart patient and had undergone by-pass surgery in Oct 2006.

>

> I have searched internet for minimizing these side effects of this

> wonderful medicine (GLIVEC). But still couldnt find how to minimize

> following side effects:

>

> * Cough/Sore throat

> * Edema: (It comes and goes. Doc has told to increase water in-take. But

> that didnt work perfectly)

> * Pain in bones and musclesKindly tell me how to minimize/prevent from

> these side effects.

>

> Hoping for a reply.

>

> Best Regards,

>

> Fahad

> Mukhtar

>

>