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Glivec & Grape Seed Extract

Hello All,
Does anyone know if any 'Turtles' on glivec have tried Grape Seed Extract & what if any, the responses have been.
Bob

Regarding slow responses and Grape Seed extract. There has been a lot of interest in this over some of the other forums (particularly on the ACOR.org site and on CLL Topics which has a lot of good information about this)

I have re-posted Rachels note about her husband Gary's recent results since adding grape seed extract to his treatment with dasatinib...... see below.

best wishes,

Sandy

'Hi all, I've not posted for ages but thought I'd let you know whats going on with Gary.

5 years ago he was dx and started on Glivec. He reached CCR quite quickly but then lost it. 2 years ago he started on Dasatanib. His PCR's dropped but up until 3 months ago, he had never reached a 'safe' level.

I read about Grape Seed Extract and we thought Gary could give it a try. For the first time since going on Dasatanib, his counts went into a 'safe' level and today they had dropped further. Furthermore, his Bone Marrow results (taken 3 months ago)showed no PH+ in 200 tested cells.

Now, I don't know whether the Grape Seed Extract has anything to do with these results but the specialist was talking of changing his medication again until these results were achieved.

Anyway, thought I'd share it with you and for now, Gary will continue on Dasatanib and Grape Seed Extract.

Rachel'

Sandy

Thanks Sandy,
Thanks for that, before going any further I had better touch base with my Dr at the hospital, don't want to upset anyone.
Bob

Hello All,
Having checked with the Hospital, I have been advised not to take grape seed extract as any possible side effects are not known, as clinical trials have not been carried out.
I will be taking what information I have with me on my next visit, & will leave this with the Doctor to look at.
If anyone has been told any different please let me know.
Bob

Hello there,
Just to chip in my two cents...
My husband's PCR results plateaued too high last year. Around the same time a mutation was also detected. At that stage there were discussions with his consultant about changing drugs, and they even started looking for bone marrow matches in case a transplant was needed.

Through this site we came across some interesting views on the benefits of feverfew (no proper clinical trials on it as far as I am aware, although there has been some talk of doing some). We talked to the consultant at Hammersmith about it and he had no concerns about any adverse interactions between feverfew and imatinib. So off we went to our local health food shop, found a supply of standardised feverfew tablets, and the next PCR a few months later showed the drop that we were hoping for. Since then there has been a continued downward trend in the PCRs (a slow decrease, but at least it's still moving).

We have no evidence that any of this was due to the feverfew, so treat this as anecdotal at best. And as with your thoughts on grape seed extract, it's worth talking to your specialist before you start taking anything.
All the best

Hi Bhiru,
thanks for your information and update about your husband. I remember clearly that you were looking at other possible options. Feverfew has been under discussion on several forums and it is good to hear that your husband in now responding well with falling pcr's.

very best wishes for a continued good response,

Sandy