I am a 27 yr. old female w/ CML. I was diagnosed in early June '10, started on Tasigna later in the month, and reached Major Molecular Remission in late November. Around that time, I came off of the Tasigna to see if some symptoms I'd been having for a couple of months (rash, hair loss) were related to the drug. I have been off the drug for 6 weeks & I am continuing to lose a lot of hair & the rash has not improved. My hem/onc thinks the hair loss was probably caused by the drug, and the dermatologist said whether it was the drug or stress, it could take a while for all of the hair in the fall-out stage to actually fall out. The only other possible cause mentioned was an iron level that is on the low side of normal. Regarding the rash, one dermatologist thought it was a type of eczema & another thought keratosis pilaris (neither caused by the drug), but none of the steroid cremes, etc. have helped. My hem/onc suggested switching to Sprycel, and I was set to do this until I received the shipment & read a warning that it may affect fertility. I am not currently planning to have children in the immediate future, but I would certainly like to, Lord willing, at some point (I have heard there are options of going on interferon, etc., if one wants to get pregnant). I understand that there is no real data in humans with Sprycel being another new drug, but I am weighing the decision of trying the Sprycel anyway, going back to Tasigna, or trying Gleevec. A reason we initially chose Tasigna was that I have ulcerative colitis & had my colon removed several years ago, and Tasigna had the least chance of causing diarrhea. One practical perk w/ Sprycel is that it is once daily w/ no fasting requirements vs. Tasigna being twice daily w/ two 3-hour fasting periods.
Any knowledge or experience in these areas?