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glivec and food

My sons CLIC nurse has just rung to say that glivec should not be taken after eating hot or spicy food. Has anyone else heard this? Apparently it affects the absorption rate and can cause problems as had recently been the case.
Julie

Hi Julie... I have not heard this.... however it might be that spicy food would affect digestion in any case and cause problems with diarrhea and consequently absorption. So it sort of makes sense to cut down or cut out any sort of food that might cause digestive upset.
I hope this helps
best wishes,
Sandy

I was always under the impression you should take it before eating?

however not heard of that either way before

rob - http://cmlblog.spaces.live.com

Hi there,i find if i take mine aftet spicy food im always sick.i cant take it with rice,soup or any light meals,it just comes straight back up(nice).
take care luv kath

Hi Rob, I always took mine after food not before....and with the largest meal of the day.

Sandy

I often eat spicy food and so far not had any problems re sickness or diarrhea - seeing Kings on Monday so will ask, not that I'll expect a straight answer. One food item that my digestive system can no longer tolerate is bacon. So perhaps it can affect us all differently.

I also take mine after my main meal.

Marian

I eat a lot of spicy food and have never had a problem although I have never taken my tablet whilst eating spicy food.

I take mine with my breakfast and whislt I am eating, if I take it before or afterwards I feel nauseous all day.

Regards

Derren

i take mine in the morning rst thing, wash dress ad then have somthing to eat .... no probs

I have struggled with my diet and glivec. I have to eat more carbohydrates and have to wait til later on in the day.
I have to avoid coca cola as it seems to react badly so does just having a light meal such as salad with no potatos or pasta. If I just had soup it would also come straight back up.
I have put alot of weight on also to my up most dissapointment

I've just seen this thread and thought I'd add my observations with regard to my mother who has CML and is on Glivec.

It seems that there's an increasing range of food she can't tolerate any longer. It used to be just salad stuff but now she can't cope with anything acidic. She's violently sick if she eats any fruit, bananas aside.

Recently, when I was with her (luckily) she was sick after eating an egg sandwich and she vomited blood. I immediately called her GP (Mum is 82 and blind so going to the surgery is hard work) and he said she had a gastric ulcer and he wondered if the Glivec was causing / exacerbating this.

She's now on Glivec, Lansoprazole (for the ulcer), anti-constipation tablets (to counteract the ulcer tablets), co-proxamol for her muscle and joint pains, blood pressure tablets, diabetes tablets..... the list goes on.

I worry myself stupid about the inter-reactions of all these drugs and no-one seems able to take an over-arching view of her meds.

Hi Ruth,
I am so sorry your mum is suffering so badly. To have developed an ulcer is really unfortunate and I am sure that Glivec does not make this condition any better!
You could suggest that she take Aloe Vera juice to help with the digestive problems she is having. It is very healing to stomach tissue and helps support the digestive enzymes produced in the stomach that are needed to deal with the digestion of different types of foods. You can buy the pure juice in the health food shops... it seems expensive but you only need a very small glassful before each meal. It will certainly not harm and it may help stop the nausea and reactions she is having to eating fruit.
I am sure the ulcer drug will work soon and she will feel better then.... at least she can tolerate banana's!
Do look into the method of food combining.. there are several books available and some people find that by separating protein and carb foods their digestion improves. This method also suggests that you should never eat fruit with other kinds of foods.
I do hope she improves soon and that some of these suggestions are helpful.

best wishes,
Sandy

Thanks Sandy for your kind advice.

I'll certainly talk over your suggestions with her.

Ruth

Hi Everyone

I have a rather silly question. We, Glivec takers, are not supposed to drink grapefruit juice as it affects the absorbtion of the medication.  I have religiously avoided eating grapefruit as well for the past 15 months, but I wonder if this is necessary. A neighbour has just given me a jar of grapefruit/orange marmalade so it got me thinking. Does avoiding the juice extend to avoiding the fruit?

Has anyone wondered about this?

 

best wishes

Chrissie