6 replies to this topic

[rct]

Sprycel takers, do you have to eat to take it?  Mrs now 11 years on Gleevec, for lots of reasons this could be a time to try something different.  Food and Gleevec has become a significant issue, as does the nausea that happens if not quite enough of the right food.

 

What is the experience here with the amounts of food needed or not for Sprycel?  Thank You.

 

rct

[scuba]

I do not take any food with Sprycel. No nausea whatsoever. 

I prefer to take Sprycel at night before bedtime with a glass of water.

It does its job overnight and is largely gone from your system by morning (5 hour half-life).

This enables recovery of mealanocytes so that normal skin tan is possible. I do not burn in the sun as some have reported when taking Sprycel.

 

Also - given your wife is at or close to PCRU - absolutely no need to take full dose Sprycel. Pleural effusion is a risk at full dose along with other side effects (myelosuppression). I take 20mg Sprycel and it has kept me below 0.01% (undetected at last PCR). I do not feel this dose in any way.

[rct]

Thank You!

[kat73]

rct - I never have given a thought to the food or drink combo with Sprycel.  It seems any way you want to do it is fine.  I've never once had nausea or any other GI disturbances from Sprycel, and I most certainly did with Gleevec, even when I was scrupulously careful. 

 

What Scuba said about melanocytes is intriguing - I might try experimenting with that.  I have noticed that the no-color cadaver skin tone is definitely better on Sprycel 50 than on 70 or 100, which was in turn tons and tons better than when on Gleevec 400.

 

Good luck to the missus! Go for it!

[scuba]

rct - I never have given a thought to the food or drink combo with Sprycel.  It seems any way you want to do it is fine.  I've never once had nausea or any other GI disturbances from Sprycel, and I most certainly did with Gleevec, even when I was scrupulously careful. 

 

What Scuba said about melanocytes is intriguing - I might try experimenting with that.  I have noticed that the no-color cadaver skin tone is definitely better on Sprycel 50 than on 70 or 100, which was in turn tons and tons better than when on Gleevec 400.

 

Good luck to the missus! Go for it!

 

The link below references a nice summary of related toxicities (and their effect on other systems) of targeted therapies. Do a search within the article on your TKI and you can see where your TKI is listed and what it affects. In the case of Sprycel (aka Dasatinib), c-kit and src inhibition are additional factors to consider that affect other body functions. Melanocytes use c-kit receptors. The good news is that melanocytes are not reduced in number due to Dasatinib use. They just stop or slow down while the drug is present. This is why I switched time I take sprycel to the evening. When I am out in the sun, most of the Sprycel is gone and melanocytes begin functioning again. I have tested this over the years and it's clear to me that taking Sprycel during the day led to a paler skin subject to burning that was eliminated when I took Sprycel at night.

 

http://onlinelibrary...caac.21184/full

[Jan0080]

I take Omeprazole/Prilosec which can reduce the effectiveness of Sprycel if taken simultaneously. I take my Sprycel at about 2 AM when I wake up to pee. I take the Omeprazole 4 hours later. The Sprycel is like a weed killer and once 4 hours have passed, it has done its daily work. Rarely I eat at an early hour but there is zero nausea with Sprycel. My PCR numbers have come down dramatically, I am now at 20 mg. My lungs are working well. I'm hoping that my PCR continues down at my next Oncologist visit

[mscl]

Food/nausea has zero effects on me with Sprycel, even when I was on the higher dosages...nothing. Although I usually take with water at 6:00 AM, I can take with or without food. I've had my share of pleural effusions and severe skin rash though. On 20 mg now.