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alcohol and glivec?

I am aware that Glivec is VERY toxic and therefore hammers the liver somewhat!

Has anyone been advised to cut down or even cut out alcohol to help lessen the load?

Hope you are enjoyng the spring sunshine!

Beth

 Beth... well the answer to your question is definitely YES. The two do not mix owing to the strain on the liver. I think that a drink or two every now and again does no harm though. As with all things- you should follow your instincts.

I am so pleased to see the sun today ;o)

Sandy

Worth asking your consultant next time for advice - it seems to vary. When I was first prescribed imatinib, my consultant (who is a CML specialist and from a wine producing country...) said words to the effect of "and the good thing is you can still drink wine".  And I've heard others say that too, though they weren't suggesting lack of moderation I should add.  Having said that, and while I therefore don't worry too much about it, I have definitely cut down, mainly because I don't want to risk it.  That way I feel I can enjoy the odd glass of wine without worrying about it and so far, nothing to suggest additional strain on the liver.  In my own case, it's probably working less hard...

Incidentally - and here's a question for others too.  What about the "ibuprofen" vs "paracetemol" question? I've heard advice which says ibupforen is ok but paracetemol not (liver) and also the reverse (because of the stomach - imatinib is supposed to be harsh there too, as ibuprofen is).  The "no or very little ibuprofen" advice has been from doctors/haematologists by the way - they seem to favour paracetemol, albeit not taking the maximum daily dose. Lesser of two evils?  I end up taking very little of either - recently a pain (literally) cos I've needed something for an awful sore throat...

Richard

Hi Beth,

              As part of my three monthly blood tests, the consultants do regular Liver Enzyme tests. Therefore, if there were a problem with my Liver I would know about it. I've been on Glivec for around 7 years and do drink a beer or glass of wine once or twice a week and have no problems with my Liver.

 

So I guess that the answer is that  people will react to Alcohol and Glivec differently. With some people it might affect it, with others it wont.  Check to find out if your Liver Enzymes are checked out because I believe they should be. If they are checked regularly and they are fine, then no problem.

 

That's the way I understand it anyway. Others might differ?

I will ask, but my instinct says 'be wary'.... though like richard (or was it Denis) my liver is probably faring better than it did previously,

due to the big decrease in wine drinking!

However I do have the odd glass of cider or wine spritzer and have a wedding coming up soon!

May this lovely sun continue to help us feel warmer!

Beth

Hi Beth,

I was dx'd a year ago, and have to confess to being a fairly heavy drinker pre CML and have spoken at length with various consultants on this matter ;-). When I was on Glivec, Prof Holyoaks from Glasgow's center of excellence said that I could happily drink to the government recommendations.  I have since moved onto Nilobinib and have spoken to consultants in Hammersmith and the same advise was given however not to drink more than 2 units in one day.

Personally I have decided to give up drinking in the medium term with the hope to be able to have the odd glass of wine in the future and I have to say I am feeling a lot better for it. But I think that as long as your liver tests are coming back OK, and you are sensible, alcohol is fine.

I hope you get to enjoy a glass in the spring sunshine....

Lynn x x

Hey there.
 I just found this forum by searching 'Glivec Alcohol' in google. I'm 24 diagnosed with CML when I was 10 and have been on Glivec for years. 5-10 I'm really not sure how long. I was on interferon when I was in primary school/start of highschool (an injection every day as a kid that hates needles - the worst thing I ever heard)


I've been pretty lucky (I feel) with my CML and Glivec seems to be going great for me. I get blood tests and see my doctor every 3 months. I like to think I haven't changed my lifestyle any way differently than if I didn't have CML. I've never felt 'sick' and sometimes wonder because I've had CML for most of my life that I can remember if I'd feel any different than if I didn't have it?

I don't like to get too involved in knowing about CML and am very naive on the subject and I'm hoping finding this forum won't scare me. I just thought I'd just mention though after finding this thread that I've been drinking throughout my life like any teenager/guy in their 20s would. I go out binge drinking with my mates on occasion (a LOT less these days, but used to a ton) and haven't had any known problems in terms with Glivec/CML. I'm quite sure the tests I have include liver levels and I have asked a while ago when I was binge drinking every 2nd weekend how my liver was, things were fine.

I must say though that my CML has been going great and that the levels of CML in my system is less than 1%. So I am probably in a luckier situation than others with CML. Obviously if things were getting worse I'd start looking at things like my alcohol consumption and my diet etc. Not that it's bad or anything, I'd just say it's pretty average as an Australian (just realised this is a UK site).

Also, I probably shouldn't mention it, but I occasionally skip having my 400mg Glivec tablet, sometimes because I don't want to have the (sometimes) nausia I get from it or I'm going out drinking and I didn't have it at lunch time and I know that having the tablet and the alchol AT THE SAME TIME probably isn't the best idea. But I have been known to do both but it's very rare that I do.

I also take panadol, 2 tablets (no more in a day) if I have a headache which always works for me. I probably take panadol a week.

The only thing I had to do differently was give up contact sport when I was first diagnosed when I was 10.

Anyway - I just thought I'd share my story on the alcohol/glivec/paracetamol subjects.

Hi Sarge,

Happy to hear that you are doing well on Gleevec. In fact, good enoung to join the Zero Club. So ...

YAHOOO!!!   YIPPEEE!!!

Number 1368 in the Zero Club

Zavie

Gleevec is processed through the liver and you don't really want to overtax it. Both Alcohol and Paracetamol are also hard on the liver. The advice from the doctors is that it is OK to have alcohol in moderation. They are thiniking a glass of wine daily. I would worry about binge drinking. If you continue this life style I would have your doctor check your liver levels on a regular basis to make sure your liver is not being compromised.

Zavie

Please write me at zmiller@sympatico.ca

Hi everyone,

I used to be a fairly heavy drinker before I was diagnosed back in july 2010, consuming around 50 units a week!

Now (on glivec) I have the odd occasional drink (just to be polite and sociable really) but I find that it does not mix well with the drug. Even after 1 or 2 beers I feel pretty bad the following day. In a way I am glad about this because I felt like I drank too much before I was diagnosed. Now I have "gone off" alcohol a bit.

At the start of my treatment I had an allergic reaction to allupurinol my liver enzyme ALT increased to 687 and to be on the safe side they did an MRI scan on my liver which turned out fine. At the time I thought there might be an issue due to many years of drinking too much!

Dave