Thanks Scuba for your response and additional information on bilirubin.
On the whole, I couldn't agree more with your reference to early human's daily food intakes since aeon ago. And to some extent i even agree that fasting can be good for healthy bodies and those who are not already at an increased risk of exacerbating side effects of a medication such as hyperbilirubinemia and nilotinib in treatment of ph+ leukemias.
On the general health news front, an article did claimed that intermittent fasting is good for body and mind recommended mainly for men, but not for some women due to insulin reduction-related issue. Well, that alone can't be great news for some women on this forum who are already struggling with abnormal blood glucose. Hence, once subtracted variables such as cancer, chemo and TKIs from the equation, one question remain: is fasting really for everybody?
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/373665/Caveman-fasting-diet-...
Let's not forget about the clinical standpoint which observed and confirmed an existing correlation between elevated bilirubin and nilotinib therapy. On that subject, one prominent article penned by Aichberger et al. (American Journal of Hematology, 2011) observed that one of the most frequent laboratory abnormalities seen with nilotinib-treated arm is hyperbilirubinemia amongst other changes to the liver enzymes.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajh.22037/full
Personally, my own experience with nilotinib, fasting and bilirubin resulted in similiar outcome.
Here's my brief encounter with hyperbilirubinemia; approximately a month and half ago, i had to have a glucose fasting test done to screen for diabetes mellitus as nilotinib is known to promote this disease morbidity.
The required fasting period for my glucose study was 8hrs prior to blood test which eventuated closer to 14hrs in the end. During this mandatory fasting, i kept to my normal nilotinib dose regimen and down only water leading to the appointed date/time of said test. On top of glucose study my hemotologist also ordered other blood chemistry studies for the month.
Suffice to say that the following afternoon on the next day, i received a call from my hemotologist telling me that the bilirubin in my latest blood results is too high - 76umol/L to be exact. Way too high, were his words. And at the time he asked for my symptoms and possibly if i had any dietary change that may have contributed to the spike increase in the bilirubin count. Of course, i shared his overall concerns because historically since the start of treatment my bilirubin level was consistent between 22umol/L - 25umol/L, higher than normal but acceptable within the clinical setting (normal range: <20umol/L).
Another point to note from my experience is this, even after more than a month and half since the fasting test, my bilirubin level still hasn't fully returned to what it once was. And to my latest blood test it persisted above 40umol/L.
Hence, needless to say, being on nilotinib treatment alone already predisposed a person (as was the case with me) to higher bilirubin level during fasting compare with the general population regardless of gender.
Again, to anyone on this forum currently undergoing the nilotinib/ Tasigna therapy, please ensue to either instigate your own bilirubin level check or consult your treating physician prior to attempting any fasting regimen.
Best Regards,
Ellie.