Tasigna & anti-biotics

Dear Ali,

If you go to the Tasigna website you can get some informations about possible drug interactions. However, as with all the TKI's it is not a full list. I am not sure at all about the anti-biotics-Tasigna interactions and as you are allergic to penicillin I imagine your choices are reduced anyway.
If you are worried about infection you can talk to your doctor about vaccination cover.
I am sure that if you are fit and healthy you will be able to deal with normal infections quite well ...as you still have all the anti-bodies you've had from childhood infections etc... so as your leukaemic cells are very low in number, your normal white cells are in the majority and so should perform their immune response quite well.

I have copied the short list of drug interactions below just in case others are not aware that the list is quite extensive:

Can Tasigna be taken with other medicines?

Patients should tell their doctor or pharmacist before taking Tasigna if they are taking or have recently taken any other medicines, including over-the-counter medicines or herbal products. Tasigna and certain other medicines can interact with each other. Tasigna, as well as other drugs, are metabolized by enzymes in the liver. These enzymes may not work on several drugs at the same time. This can result in higher or lower than expected levels of Tasigna or other drugs in the bloodstream. Some medications should be avoided during your treatment with Tasigna including certain nonprescription medications and herbal products.

Examples of these drugs include, but are not limited to, the following list:

* quinidine, amiodarone – antiarrhythmics – used to treat irregular heart beat
* verapamil, diltiazem – used to treat high blood pressure
* ketoconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, clarithromycin, telithromycin, erythromycin - used to treat infections
* cyclosporine, tacrolimus – used as immunosuppressants
* ritonavir - an anti-HIV medicine from the class “antiproteases”
* carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin - used to treat seizure disorder (e.g. epilepsy)
* rifampin - used to treat a type of infection called tuberculosis
* St. John’s Wort - a herbal product used to treat depression and other conditions (also known as Hypericum Perforatum)
* midazolam - used to relieve anxiety before surgery, which is usually administered by an anesthesiologist
* warfarin - used to treat blood coagulation disorders (such as blood clots or thromboses)
* phenytoin - used to treat seizure

If patients are taking any of these, their doctor might prescribe other alternative medicines. Patients should also tell their doctor if they are already taking Tasigna and are prescribed a new medicine or wish to take an over-the-counter medicine or herbal product they have not taken previously during Tasigna treatment

Sandy