Newbie to CML side effects.

Hi Andrew

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, glad you have found this site.

Being only a short period into treatment and your body adjusting it could be related to Imatinib perhaps. People experience different pains and symptoms in different areas early into treatment, so nobody is uniformed in that sense.

Like the majority of people, they often have bizarre side effects and indeed a bumpy few months adjusting (depending on counts) until they find a stage where things settle. Two months is very very early into treatment.

Obviously it would be wise to raise this with your team so they can monitor you. It may be wise to diary things also just for your convenience.

The most important aspect is you are responding to treatment, continue to communicate with your medical team your concerns, and you have plenty of people on here to offer support. Hopefully your workplace are supportive also, which can be a big help.

Take care
John

Everyone is different, there is no one size fits all for going back to work.

Personally I returned maybe a bit too early due to personal circumstances as my wife was due for our first child and going onto maternity. I was on a modified role on returning.

You must decide what is best for you. I can't stress enough how we all differ with treatment, work, and ofcourse mentally etc.

Hopefully someone will come along regarding your pain. I do remember hearing some folk mentioning something to do with teeth at a CML Q&A conference. I have scanned through my diary from early in diagnosis and have documented pain in the groin also.

Take care of yourself and keep in touch with the forum, as I say, I am sure folk will come along soon.

Take care.
John

Hi,

Welcome to the club no one wants to be a member of :)      I've got a long service medal and that works for me.

Just do what feels right for you.  I would suggest however that you talk to your employer to make sure they understand what's happening and if it's possible perhaps even consider the possibility of rehabbing back into work so you can both check if it might be viable to do something like returning part time and then increasing and just in case it is "too early".  

Hi Andrew and welcome,

As John has already said... as far as blood counts and response to therapy etc. 2 months is early days and your body will still be adjusting to imatinib hammering the Ph+ cells in your marrow. This is a lot of work for you body to tolerate and in those first weeks/months you need to go with the flow so to speak, at least until any side effects you experience take on a regularity that allows you consider what you can do to manage them over time. Many of us who have taken imatinib have experienced cramping (tetany) and muscle pain/aches, but most see this particular effect lessen with time- certainly within the first 12 weeks.

As far as working goes - if you feel you have the energy why not try- as Darley has suggested - a slow and managed return to work. Having time on your hands may be something that makes things worse for you, unless you have an all consuming hobby. When your response to therapy is consolidated you will then be more confident that all will be well and you can return to your natural routines including work. 

Sandy

Hi Ben,

If that works for you, then great! But be mindful of the mental as well as physical stress CML can put on you and if you have a great employer, they'd much prefer for you to tell them if things do get harder for you. Everyone's experience is different - CML hits some people physically harder than others, and the same with the mental side of things.

David.