The first week on sprycel was tough. I was having a predictable headache, every morning. I have also been feeling fatigued, but there are enough other reasons to explain that, other than Sprycel. The second week it got a little better, but then I have been battling a cold over the weekend. Christian got the cold end of last week, and as clockwork, I got it a couple of days later.
Today I went into SCCA to have my 2 week check after starting on Sprycel. Those who haven't read the blog lately, I wasn't responding well enough on Gleevec so 2 weeks ago Dr. P decided to switch me over to Sprycel. Well, all my blood numbers are doing great. White Blood Cell count was up a few hundred, but there is natural variance so nothing to be alarmed over. I was actually expecting the WBC number to drop slightly due to the shift of meds, but that doesn't seem to have been the case. Basically, Dr. P was very satisfied with my first 2 weeks.
And for some even better news, the mutation report that was done after my last bone marrow aspiration back in early June, came back 'no mutations detected'. That is a big one since I was speculating that I failed Gleevec due to a mutation, but it doesn't appear to be the case. Now I wonder if a higher dosage of Gleevec may have done the trick.
All these questions I look forward to asking of Dr. Druker in early July. After some good advice (thanks Yanni & Annie), I made the appointment with Dr. Druker to see him in early July down in Oregon. He is recognized as one of the for most experts on CML, and Gleevec. He is credited for discovering Gleevec and the concept of how these drugs work.
