HI everyone, Rebecca has started on Glivec and yesterday I gave her the 5x500mg tablets to take with her cereal at breakfast time. About 20 minutes later she threw them up. What time of day do you find the best to take them? Any infor is much appreciated. Thanks Dawn xxx
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Glive: the best time of day to take it?
Dawn
Max always took his dose with his evening meal and always had plenty to drink with them. I also insisted that he drank lots of water and juice during the day. The early days are often the worst. I hope Rebecca adjusts quickly to the Glivec.
Thinking of you
Parmjit & Max
Hi Dawn
I take mine with my breakfast, which suits my daily routine BUT I did at first take it with the largest meal daily in case I was sick. I wasn't, so tried with a smaller meal, fine there also so moved to breakfast and am still OK. If you experiment a bit I'm sure you will find what suits Rebecca best. I also make sure that i drink a huge amount of water with it as well to help it go down! In terms of what to eat it with, I find bulky cereals like weetabix are great. I seem to need carbohydrate when I take it - have felt a bit dodgy with lots of protein. Again, try lots of combos and something will work for her I'm sure.
Lots of love to Rebecca, she's with friends here! :-)
Janet
Hi Dawn,
Like Janet, I take glivec with breakfast as it is the most convenient meal to take it with. But I have also heard that if there is any difficulty tolerating, then taking it with the largest meal of the day is best.
The Asian CML site (see links) has a poll of 64 people showing
39% take glivec with breakfast,
18% with lunch and
42% with dinner.
Janet's point about plenty of water is also important!
Best wishes,
Bill
Thanks everyone for your replies. I have give Rebecca her Glivec tonight with her tea and she has not been sick at all. Perhaps she is going to tolerate it better at night rather than breakfast. She is really hard to convince to drink plenty of fluids, but I am always on at her to do it. She is a typical 15 year old and she always knows best!! Love Dawn xxx
Personally I take mine with my main meal in the evening (usually between 8-9 pm so quite late)
I found that the healthier the meal with fresh veggies etc Vs say pepperoni pizza the less chance I had if feeling nausious (sic?), but I guess with a 15 year old that might be a tough conversation/debate
With the liquid (whihc I think is to help flush out the harmful elements out of the liver) I now drink a pint of water with my meal, i also find that if I drank this all before the meal (5-10 minutes) then I was more likely to feel ill
i think the general consensus, as relayed by people above) is that find out what suits and stick to that
cheers
Hi Dawn,
I would echo the suggestions of other contributors, DO NOT TAKE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH, TAKE WITH PLENTY OF LIQUID.
However, could you confirm what dose Rebecca is on? You referred to 5 x 500mg tablets in your first posting. I assume that's a typo error?? Givec is available as a 100mg or 400mg tablet.
Normal adult doses vary from 400mg to 800mg, its possible Rebecca is on something like the avarage adult dose?
Paul
Hi Rob, I give Rebecca her Glivec late too. About 9.00pm with something to eat. She`s not keen on healthy stuff but I do try and make her eat salads etc. She drinks fruit squash with her meal and then some more to take the tablets. I only make it very weak ( which she hates!!)
Hi Paul, Yes sorry she`s on 100mg x 5 times a day. I must have had the 500mg on my mind!! She is okay but her legs were aching today, this is a side effect of the drug isn`t it. Thanks for your info both. Love Dawn xxx
Hi Dawn
Our lad takes it in the evening with a glass of water - we actually PAY him to take his meds- started that when he had lots of things to take and found tablets impossible to swallow. We kept on giving him £1 a day as a reward for taking meds without too much fuss - worked a treat and now he's able to swallow tablets and only has Glivec to take, I think its a very easy way of earning £1!!!! It got him started though, at a time when he was very emotionally vulnerable and that's what couts! No complaints about taking meds these days - its just part of the routine.
Worth thinking about?!!!
Lots love,kestrel xxx
For all your queries about when / how best to take Glivec, perhaps the following information provided by Novartis will be of help:
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The prescribed dose should be administered orally with a meal and a large glass of water to minimise the risk of gastrointestinal irritations. Doses of 400 mg or 600 mg should be administered once daily, whereas a daily dose of 800 mg should be administered as 400 mg twice a day, in the morning and in the evening.
For patients unable to swallow the film-coated tablets, the tablets may be dispersed in a glass of mineral water or apple juice. The required number of tablets should be placed in the appropriate volume of beverage (approximately 50 ml for a 100 mg tablet, and 200 ml for a 400 mg tablet) and stirred with a spoon. The suspension should be administered immediately after complete disintegration of the tablet(s).
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Please note the last paragraph about taking the tablet dispersed in water for those who have problems swallowing tablets. Hope this is of help
Paul