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Stomach cramps when taking imatinib

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Hi

I have recently been diagnosed with CML and have been taking imatinib for 8 days. The last few days I have had a lot of stomach cramps and am wondering what I need to take to eliminate this. Any ideas would be very grateful

Hi there,

Sorry to hear you’ve joined our club. 

When do you take your imatinib? I found it best with food - the largest meal of the day. 

David. 

Hi David

 

Thanks for your reply. I do the same as you and take the tablet with my main meal. I don’t know whether I should be taking anti sickness tablets to help with this. It’s hard to get on top of this. I have an online appointment with my consultant in a couple of weeks so will ask him and might try to contact the Macmillan nurses.

I use Toff62 , but my real name is Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

I am not such a great veteran as many on this site but after 14 years on imatinib it would seem that various locations for cramps are par for the course and a quite common side effect under the heading " musculo skeletal issues".

As David has indicated it is useful to experiment with the type of food/meals that you take when you swallow the tablet/dose;some have found that a stodgy high carb food like a pasta or with potaoes or rice seems to absorb the drug quite well;for instance I find that baked beans on toast at lunchtime or a rice/pasta dish is perfect;soups with bread are fine but the meal has to be substantial or otherwise it leads to headaches and at worst if taken on an empty stomach vomiting.Also take two glasses of water with the tablet.

In addition keep hydrated and drink plenty of water and this might help the cramps.If you have a cramp in the stomach area possibly it is just below the rib cage-I find that that I have to stretch myself out of it with arms raised and ride it through.Cramps in the stomach do not necessarily indicate a swollen spleen and your doctor will examine this if you are really conerned.

As time goes on do not be alarmed if you have cramps in other areas of the body such as legs at night ;some even have cramp around the tongue and throat area;stretching in the day with lots of exercise might help and never become dehydrated I am told.

In the first six months of treatment you will find that the drug will be doing a fantastic job at reducing the number of leukaemic cells in the bone marrow in your road towards an initial cytogenetic response where hopefully haematologically your bloods will start to move towards normal ranges/scores..Heamatologists will tell you that the side effects of drugs like imatinib are relatively mild, and compared to some treatments  of course they are -but it is a lottery as to which ones affect you or potentially disturb you.

I am sure like others on this site you will do well.

John

Hi John

Thanks for your feedback, it’s very informative. I will certainly look at increasing my levels of fluids and have two glasses when taking the tablet. It’s interesting to read your comments on meals and will take this on board. It’s reassuring to know that I’m not on my own and it’s a great forum to ask for help, when needed.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

KInd Regards

 

Jeremy