The main side effect of CML is that it makes me GOOGLE relentlessly. But I can't get answers to everything.
Until about nine months ago I could swim 2500 metres of front crawl in an hour. I am now attaining just about 2000 metres and in an hour.
Do any fellow posters here think that CML has an impact upon physical fitness?
Regards Nimbus (male, 62)
Nimbus,
As you know from another post I’m slightly further up the road from you in this journey and I may have an answer for you here (obviously I could be wrong as we’re all individual).
Do you know what your heamaglobin (hb) count is from your full blood count? It is likely that you could be suffering from anaemia just like I was/am. As the white cell production goes into overdrive it stops your body producing as many other cells, such as red cells which are directly linked to hb, and hb carries oxygen in the blood. I was completely baffled before diagnosis as I was training in the gym and my results were getting worse and worse. After blood tests it showed my hb count was 8.6 (normal is about 14) and I was called urgently to my GP for further investigation which led to a CML diagnosis. I’m glad to say now that a month into taking imatinib my hb count has risen to 11.1 and I’m seeing improvements in the gym. It’s also expected to return to normal levels.
I may be completely wrong for you but that was the reason for me.
David
Thank you, David.
My observations regarding my slowdown are the same as yours. Previously, I had been overtaking many swimmers who are now overtaking me. I assumed that this was just age-related. However, I am not anaemic and my red blood measurements are mainly normal. Today is Imatinib day 3 and if I feel well at midday, I am going to try a swim.
I appreciate your responding because I am still trying to jigsaw bits of information together.
Regards, Nimbus
The main issue I have found exercising while taking imatinib is cramp. Comes on at night after exercise, or while on a cross country hike I get cramp in a quad climbing over a stile. Using magnesium oil helps.
Thank you, Alastair, for the warning. I could get cramp while swimming since it is quite a "leggy" activity. At DAY 3, I seem to feel ill half an hour after taking Inatinib and then recover after about 60 to 90 minutes, but I imagine that this is far too early to establish the real pattern.
The historic postings here are assisting me no end.
Your body is fighting the CML and the TKI, both of which cause fatigue. As the CML burden diminishes, this should get better. Also, if you are an optimal responder you should pursue dose reduction with your doc, since your immune system with likely also get stronger with less TKI. Whatever you do, do not stop exercising - in fact push yourself as much as possible even though it is harder to do so given the battles being waged inside your body. Exercise and proper diet improve the immune system and that is what it's all about for us CMLer's in the long run. Vitamin D should also be checked and supplemented to get to at least 50.- 70.nmol/liter.
Thank you, CMLJAX. This sound like very good advice. I have managed three 2000 metre swims in my first week of Imatinib. I have had no side effects so far. I already take vitamin D. Anyway, white blood after 7 days is down from 74 to 39, so it has stopped rising. I feel far better now I understand the disease a little.
I am now about 40 days in Imatinib. My side effects are subsiding. I am feeling far less tired and my weight has stabilised.
I do feel as though I am on the edge of getting the cramp in my legs whilst exercising.
Anyway, I have managed three sessions of swimming 2,000 metres this week. The curious thing is that during yesterday's swim after about 40 minutes I found a burst of energy that I had not experienced the year. I feel as though I am on the mend but it is early days.
We must be pretty close in our start dates for TKI's, today is day 41 for me.
One of my symptoms was a decline in exercise ability which I blamed on age, to be honest when I found out I had CML I was glad that there was an answer to my exercise issue that didn't require more cardio.
I'm on Dasatinib and my blood levels have taken too much of a hit so I feel quite ordinary at the moment. I think three swimming sessions is excellent and hope that the improvement continues for you. I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym.
Hello, and thank you for your response.
I take Imatinib 40 in a couple of hour's time, so you are ahead of me.
I swim with a sophisticated watch which records all sorts of clever things such as time per lap, average heart rate per lap and number of laps. I did think that my drop-off in performance was solely due to age, 62, but I am now wondering whether the pre-diagnosis CML was the real cause of my decline in performance.
I am in that interesting position of having detailed records. For various reasons, I don't think the gym is a possibility for me.
Best wishes Stephen
I swam in college and competed on the national level; thus, swimming has always been my prime exercise. In the months before being diagnosed with CML, I began to find it harder and harder to maintain my normal pace. The diagnosis with the low hemoglobin provided a reason. My oncologist has just approved my getting back in the pool, and I plan to get my first post-diagnosis workout in tomorrow. With the positive results from the Imatinib and my hemoglobin close to normalizing, I am hopeful that I will feel new energy. My oncologist warned me that I may not ever get that peak performance feeling back. We'll see. I hope she's wrong.
That is very interesting, Rick, because your observations are consistent with my own. You sound like a great swimmer. For my part, I was just about able to achieve 2,500 metres in an hour a year ago, so I am a leisure swimmer compared with yourself. I would be most interested to know how you get on.
Best wishes Stephen
