Hi Fellow CML'rs
I've been having real problems with reflux and acute abdominal pain on waking up in the morning then dissipates as soon as i'm up and around. Think i might have asked this already but wondered how other Imatinib users dealt with this side effect. I've just been to the docs and been given gaviscon as it does help.
I'd appreciate your comments.
Happy new year to you all
Gary
Hi Gary
I don't get abdominal pain but had bad reflux/heartburn when I started imatinib. Always been a bit prone to it but imatinib made it constant and much worse as soon as I started in 2009.
So, I am also prescribed 10mg per day omeprazole - a low dose, and is fine on imatinib. And it works a treat. Doesn't work for everyone but is great for me. Works in a different way to both gaviscon (which is more of an antidote - a sort of stronger Rennie) and Zantac, and for me anyway much better. You might ask your doctor about it (it was suggested to me by my haematologist and is prescribed by my GP on that advice).
Good luck
Richard
I have never suffered from this but my mother has for years- although she does not have CML. She was told she had diverticulitis, hiatus hernia and that nothing could be done. Later tests confirmed she had H.Pylori - a bacteria that many have in their stomach and the cause of stomach ulcers and worse- but although she was given a long course of quite strong antibiotics, which can provide a cure for some, this did not help her.
When she recently started to lose a lot of weight due to not being able to eat many foods because they caused her such distress I started to worry, she had lost nearly 3 stones in as many months. I found several remedies for acid reflux (her main complaint) on the internet but one that she felt she could start to use immediately was to eat apples after every meal, or drink pure apple juice and/or apple puree, especially after dinner and before bed.
This brought her almost immediate relief and she was able to sleep normally for the first time in years.... as long as she ate apples.
After that I did more intensive research and found a herbal formula called 'matula tea' which it was said could, in most cases, completely destroy H.Pylori infection.
My mum said she had nothing to lose (apart from money) from trying the tea as she had had no response from the antibiotic treatment and she was desperate to try to stop the terrible symptoms she suffered and improve her quality of life.
The tea is quite expensive - currently offered at £118.25 plus P&P, but if you break it down to the daily cost for 2 cups over 30 days (60 cups in total) this is the required time to take the tea if you are to see any chance of a cure, it is not too bad at just over £2 per cup (less than a cappuccino).
http://matula-naturals.com/matulatea
To cut a long story short, my mum says she feels that her infection with H Pylori has been resolved completely.
She is eating normally now and putting on weight again, much to my relief.
She can now live a normal life without worrying about the daily distress of acid reflux and pain that she suffered for so long.
She looks so much better... and by the way still eats lot of apples.
If she finds that she is reinfected with h pylori in the future she would not hesitate to buy matula tea again. (apparently close family members can also be infected with this bacteria and if they are not treated -even if asymptomatic the whole cycle can start off again) So far after several months my mum has not seen any return of her previous symptoms- so is keeping her fingers crossed.
Sandy
