I am new here and this is my first post ... I still have a lot to learn about Leukemia. I was diagnosed with CML back in January, I was prescribed Imatinib 400mg (Mylan)which gave me headaches and insomnia to name a few symptoms. After a meeting with my consultant this week, I was put on Desatinib 100mg (Sprycel - Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG). After one pill I experienced a throbbing at the top of my head which also felt hot. Has anyone else had the same type of reaction? Does anyone know if I will be able to go straight back to Imatinib?
You are here
Imatinib to Desatinib
Categories:
Diagnosed Dec 1 2017. Mayo Clinic. started on Imatinib but a three month trial showed I was resistant to it. Was switched to dasatinib, 100 a day. It seems to be working but BCR Abl test will be at the end of June. Had side effects on Imatinib but they were not major.
Side effects are unique to each individual. It has been very helpful to me to read all the posts on this website. I am able to understand the wide range of reactions people have to the TKIs. Read all you can here on side effects. You may be better able to gauge your reactions in a week or so. We have all traveled your route.
i have itchy red eyes, fatigue, muscle and bone aches, but I have osteoarthritis and cannot take NSAIDs because of the dasatinib. My hair has thinned and whitened, my skin itches. No headaches. I have been hospitalized for possible pneumonia and pleural embolism but all tests showed nothing was the matter. Chest congestion. I am hanging in with 100 mg until the end of June. If this drug works I will ask about a dose reduction. However, they may want me to hang in for a longer period because of my genetic resistance to Imatinib.
My best advice is to read what your can on this board about side effects and watch yourself for a few weeks. Side effects come and go as your body adjusts. Also, I gather age can make a difference. I am old.
Did the Imatinib work, or were you switched to dasatinib because of your response to iimatinib as well as the side effects?
I cannot agree. The only information provided is on the side effects. There is no way to judge whether the change in medication was warranted without knowing anything about the blood test values, which have not been provided. We do not have enough information. All we can say with surety is that side effects differ by individual and vary over time. The physician has the data. We do not. Hard to make judgements without data.
Hi Aries
headaches are a very common side effect when you start on Dasatinib. Drinking a lot of water helps with that and I believe for most people those tend to go away over time as your body adjusts. My husband also felt the first week that he could hear his heart pounding in his head - is that what you may have felt when you described throbbing and feeling hot ? He thinks now that the first day or so he was definitely having a bit of a panic attack worrying about taking the drug as well as dealing with the diagnosis. It’s pretty scary when you read all the possible side effects and wonder which ones will affect you ( but hopefully it will be very few).
A lot of people my husband included take dasatinib in the eve and that does mean he can sleep through the worst side effects.
For him the worst side effects have been itchy swollen eyes. He is now on 50mg and his eyes are much better but they still go through a puffy itchy cycle that lasts several days ( but way better than before ). His doctor prescribed eye drops and he takes Curcumin as well.
Best of luck to you,
louise