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GERD and Sprycel

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I was Dx in 2016 and started on Tasigna. Had multiple bad side effects and started dose reduction down to 150 MG per day. Some side effects lingered but I was negative within a year. I attempted TFR in June 2020 but failed and then started on Sprycel 20 MG per day. I again became negative and have been so since June 2021.

About a month ago, I started experiencing GERD symptoms: bloating and gas particularly after dinner, mild nausea sporadically throughout the day, but very little heartburn. You cannot take PPI's or H2 blockers at all while on Sprycel per my doc and regular antacids don't help. I tried digest gold at my wife's suggestion, but that did not help. Yesterday I started probiotics but it will take at least 1 - 2 weeks to determine effectiveness. I don't think the GERD is caused by Sprycel, but don't know for certain.

Does anyone have experience with this combination (GERD and Sprycel) and if so, do you have any suggestions on what I can do to minimize or eliminate the GERD symptoms? I have already started reducing the size of my dinner meal and have reduced acidic foods. Thanks for any suggestions

Hi there,

I had your exact situation some years ago. I solved it surgically, with a procedure called a Nissen fundoplication. It totally solved my issue and I have never had any recurrence of GERD since. It was a great decision!

The other option you have now, which wasn’t available to me back then, is “dasatinib anhydrous” which is a form of dasatinib that doesn’t need stomach acid to break down so you can totally take it with PPIs. It’s marketed under the brand name Daruph. It comes in slightly different dosages to standard dasatinib, but this is because it’s broken down differently so for example 79mg of it is equivalent to 100mg of normal dasatinib. It’s manufactured by Zentiva.

Getting hold of it might be easier said than done, depending where you live.

David.

David:
Thanks for all the info. There's a lot for me to investigate. Just a couple of follow up questions:
1. Were your Gerd symptoms like mine - I have very little heartburn. Mostly I just get full and bloated after eating with belching and gas and mild intermittent nausea?
2. Dasatinib anydrous sounds appealing, but from what I can tell, it's not available in the US. Is that your understanding?

I’m really not sure on availability. Best to ask your pharmacist I guess. It’s quite a niche product.

My GERD symptoms were present before I had CML. Reflux mainly, which was managed with PPIs, but that wasn’t really doable when I was on dasatinib.

David.

One thing that seemed to help me a lot was raising the top side of my bed by about 4", so my head is elevated when I sleep. It is barely noticeable to look at the bed and you don't really notice it. For me, it was an absolute game changer. Good luck!