My darling wife, 31, has just been diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Her white blood cell count is 80,000. She was prescribed Hydroxycarbamide for the first week, until bone marrow tests were back and confirmed Chronic Myeloid Leukemia with Philadelphia chromosome present. She is now starting Nilotinib, and has been told that she has an excellent chance of a full life expectancy. My question is about her mind - she has become very forgetful over the last couple of months, particularly the last month (before ever taking Hydroxycarbamide). I am assuming that is is due to the high white blood cell count? Does anybody else have experience of forgetfulness/confusion and did it go away once the white blood cell count returned to normal? Also fertility - is fertility likely to have been long term damaged by a week of taking Hydroxycarbamide?
Many thanks for any help.
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Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Forgetfulness
Hi,
It may be that your wife's forgetfulness/confusion- you say this had become more apparent before she received hydroxycarbamide and therefore I assume before she was diagnosed- could be because of the symptoms of CML- i.e. abnormal blood cell counts.... particularly it might be that her red cell count was/is low- Most of us have low HGB before and after diagnosis. Red cells carry oxygen and can be the cause of intense tiredness and probably her forgetfulness/confusion is a manifestation of a low HGB. Then there is the stress of being told you have a life threatening disease etc.
As she goes along in her therapy with nilotinib and her response is as her clinician expects then I am sure you will both become more confident in the future and overcome this very stressful time in your lives.
If you need any further advice then please do not hesitate to ask. There are a lot of people being treated with nilotinib who will be able to advise on how and when to best manage treatment with this particular TKI.
Best wishes,
Sandy
I have been experiencing this too for about the past 6 months or so, severe memory issues. I think it has to do with high WBC's that are interfering with the central nervous system.
If you're WBC is high like mine, it might explain it.... But beyond that I'm just as lost as you are, though I have been experiencing the exact same thing.
It might just be the stress of high or low blood counts affecting the CNS.
I'll let you know if I find anything new.
Yes, I'm facing the same problem with me. I am under treatment with Dasatinib since last 5 years. Since last 3 years I'm having a issue with my memory and gradually it is increasing. This becoming a serious issue for my carrier as well as personal life.