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Nausea

I know I'm only 2 1/2 months into this so still a newbie. I've gotten past the chronic fatigue part( mostly). Now its the nausea. Everyday sometimes 2xs a day. I take a pill for it in mornings. I know this may sound dumb but when I think about time to take my gleevac I automatically start to feel nauseous. Any tips? Its like im pregnant with morning sickness, and at 58 ,no thank you.

Oh dear, bad luck. That's very unpleasant for you. 

Are you drinking plenty of water throughout the day? And make sure you take your tablet with a large meal. I take mine at breakfast time but I eat a large bowl of muesli with yoghurt and blueberries which seems to be enough as I presumably still have some of the night before's dinner in my tum. You could change your time of taking the tablet to after your evening meal and then if you are asleep you may miss the nausea?

Experimentation seems to be one way until you find what suits you best. Also, some people strongly recommend mint chewing gum to ease the nausea during the day.

Hope you find your way soon,

best

Chrissie

I found taking gleevec with a bowl of oatmeal at breakfast (or eggs/ toast, etc.) eliminated my nauseous feeling. Do not take gleevec alone - that is what triggers nausea.

(One of the reasons I was glad to switch off gleevec to a different TKI which causes no nausea!)

I take it at night, sleep through most of the side effects.  Be sure to take it with food still in your stomach, taking it on empty is a sure fire way to throw up.  Also be sure to take with plenty of water.

Yea I work 2nds so I take it at night too. I don't drink much water, I know I should.

I had bad nausea when taking imatinib, until I worked out food timings to avoid it. I found a large ish meal with a good quantity of carbohydrates eg pasta, potato, rice (muesli and oats would also do), somewhere between 15 mins and an hour before taking the pill (no later than that), worked.  A snack was almost as bad as no meal - didn't work! And I would take it with a large glass of water. I always took mine in the evening to avoid any other antisocial side effects happing during my working day..

Hopefully you will find what works for you. 

Good luck

Richard

I second the advice about carb heavy meals, i also shifted away from taking imatanib at lunch time because occasional nausea interfered with my work day and so night time was less intrusive. I also think having a fuller tummy at the end of the day helped.

ALSO I use dark chocolate for medical purposes :)

70% cocoa or above, take a little square or two after the imatanib or when you feel nausea, it works for me!