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Dasatinib side effects

Hello!

My name is Claudia and I am 42 years old. I have been on 400 mg of imatinib since 2002, pretty much from when it was approved by NICE. I have been very lucky for all these years, because glivec worked well for me and i have had hardly any side effects. It was my friend. Just had a little bit of water retention.

Two years ago i discovered that i was pregnant, came of the drug during pregnancy and a few weeks after birth (happy and healthy baby boy!!), but unfortunately by the time i went back on imatinib my cml had become resistant to it.

So i have started to take 100 mg of dasatinib 8 weeks ago. And i feel pretty rough. Extreme nausea and abdominal pains. Extreme bloating. Hairloss, even eylashes. Low energy, very low mood (very unusual for me, so i know the drug is hitting me hard on side effects). And also heavy acne on neck, chest, back and legs. I don't want to complain to much, because i know i have been very lucky before.

I am wondering if anyone has had similar side effects and if they have got better, or any tips. I am trying to fight the low mood by going to the gym and it's kind of making a bit of a difference at the moment. The acne is heavy and really bothering me, could it get better? Or is there any medication that could help?

Dasatinib is already working well for me and it is very likely that i will have to embrace it and find a way to live with it.

Thank you, Claudia

Glad to know you are alright.

Hi Claudia.

I was diagnosed in May last year and went straight onto Dasatinib. I have since had pretty much all of the side effects that you mention, but I found that they were all short lived. Apart from the thinnning hair. (But that had been going for years anyway) I suspect yours will go back to normal in time. I still have periods of low energy but strongly believe that staying active helps.

The majority of the time I dont suffer any side effects and apart from taking the tablets every morning Their are no clues that I have leukaemia.

I felt a bit low in the early months, but as time progressed, the symptoms eased and the blood results came in better each time I am back to my old self.

Stay positive and hopefully it will all resolve itself in time.

Steve

Thank you Steve,

your message makes me feel already a bit better! Do you prefer taking the tablets in the morning? Have you tried different times of the day? I do take mine at night at the moment and try to sleep through it, which doesn't always work as i wake up with bad abdominal cramps. I am worried about feeling really unwell in the day if i take them in the morning. What do you think?

Claudia

I'm not sure it really matters what time of the day you take your meds.

I started off taking them before bed to try to avoid feeling nauseous, but found I would lie awake waiting to feel ill. I then gradually moved my dosing time by a couple of hours each day until I was taking them first thing. This suited my life better as I work shifts. By the time I got through the process of moving my tablet taking time (about 2 weeks) I was feeling much better.

I always make a point of eating breakfast. I'm not sure if this makes any difference either but I've always thought it better to eat before taking any drug.

I hope this is of some help to you.

Steve.

Hi Claudio,

I was diagnosed last August and went straight onto the Sprit 2 trial on Dasatinib. I was concerned about side effects and had a chat with my consultant about taking one tablet in the morning and one in the evening My theory was that it wasn't hitting the body quite so hard which would help. He saw no reason why I shouldn't go ahead with the 2 tablet approach and I've been doing that ever since. If you wish to change  please check with your consultant first.

The side effects have been minimal. I get swollen eyes from time to time but I have put this down to not drinking enough water. I also get acne spots but probably not as bad as you. I was recommended Diprobase which you can get over the counter at the chemist.

Hope all goes well and things settle down as I'm  sure they will.

Take Care

Dave M   

Thank you for all the good info! Claudia

Hi,

I too moved from Imatanib to Dasatanib in June this year after being on Imatanib since Nov 03. I found the first 2 months very hard. I had awful joint pain and Acne, although it did not effect my mood, I was worrying it would work, my consultants thought the change would be better for me as I was becoming intolerant to Imatanib although it was working well.

For Acne my GP prescribed a cream. which worked quite well but my skin is very sensitive so I only used it every few days.. Good news is that now I am over the 3 month mark.. the acne has gone and the joint pain much better, just pins and needles in my hands in morning.

The Dasatanib is working and my BCR able is lower than on Imatanib, I actually feel my mood is better on this drug and I find it more tolerable. I take it in the morning with a full glass of water and huge mug of tea.. I found when I took it at night the side effects were worse for me.

I wish you well and understand how scary it is to change therepy.

Regards

Michelle