Sprycel for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia User Reviews

• Anonymous
• February 17, 2009

"I am in a study using Sprycel as initial treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). When first diagnosed with CML, my white blood cell (WBC) count was 19,000. I started taking Sprycel 50 mg twice a day. On my 3-month follow-up, my WBC was 5,000, and my BCR-ABL was 0.001 (almost complete remission). I have been there for the past year with very little side effects. Just occasional headaches and mild skin outbreaks. I would highly recommend it to anyone with CML."

• sne...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 23, 2013

"Was diagnosed in November of 2008 with chronic myelogenous leukemia. I opted to be involved in the dasatinib trial. I was in remission in less than 2 months. Everything was great, few side effects, until July of 2012 when I started coughing. I was told to stop taking dasatinib as it had caused water in my lungs, after a 7-week stop, I was put back onto dasatinib at 1/2 my initial dose, 50 mg per day. Again, all seemed well. In August of 2013, I could not catch my breath but had no cough. It was so bad we went to emergency at the hospital. There, I found out fluid in my lungs again. I am off dasatinib and am no longer able to take it as my body rejected it. I won't know what medicine I will be going on until the fluid is all out of my lungs. My oncologist says 12 weeks."

• Ful...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 4, 2022

"I was diagnosed with CML in Nov 2019. Began Sprycel treatment in 2/2020 - numbers improved every visit, and as of May 2022 - I am completely cancer-free! I will begin weaning off the drug after 3 'no-cancer' visits, so I am hoping nothing changes!"

• Anonymous
• June 27, 2011

"Was on Gleevec for two years and BCR-ABL would not come down below 20%. Months after starting Sprycel, BCR-ABL undetectable. I have been on Sprycel for 7 months now, and so far, great. Blood counts all look good."

• Anonymous
• July 25, 2011

"I have been on Sprycel for 9 months. Previously on Gleevec for 2 years. I find Sprycel in the beginning to be wonderful, no side effects. Now, 9 months since I have started, I am experiencing mild to mid-level nausea, as well as conjunctivitis and dry eye syndrome."

• Apr...
• October 30, 2016

"I was diagnosed with CML in 2012 and started with Tasigna and couldn't handle the horrible side effects. Then I went to Sprycel with horrible side effects, to Gleevec, and then back to a lower dose of Sprycel! Since then, I've had mild skin irritation and my breast hurt, but nothing I have become accustomed to. The worst part is the joint pain. But overall, my CML is asleep and undetected in my blood as of today! So I will take the joint pain as long as I have to!"

• Ton...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 9, 2013

"I was on Gleevec for nearly 3 years and had issues with leg pain and no remission. Switched to Sprycel in October 2011 and could see a big improvement. Developed fluid on the lung in December 2012. Dr. took me off Sprycel and the fluid situation is getting better. Waiting to see next steps."

• Haw...
• July 27, 2021

"Shortness of breath, life is not the same, attitude is positive but I can't be me, tired a lot, yet can't sleep. My levels have hit normal! Thank everyone then found out i will be on some form of meds my whole life, I will never feel 100% but I get to live."

• Jef...
• December 20, 2017

"In January 2009, I was initially diagnosed by my PCP with a general category of having blood cancer and referred to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for further evaluation. The white blood cell count was 175k. Then they changed the medication to Sprycel 100 mg/day; within four weeks of beginning the treatment with it, my white blood cell count dramatically fell from 175k to 16k. I was fully informed of the two prominent side effects: pain, pleural effusion. The medication did cause a pleural effusion to develop and needed a thoracentesis that extracted 850 milliliters of fluid from the pleural cavity. With a reduction of the meds from 100 mg to 50 mg, no pain, no more pleural effusions. Remission has remained steady throughout at under $99.98 of the time."

• dap...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 11, 2016

"Achieved complete molecular remission within six months of daily 100 mg of Sprycel. Reduced dose to 50 mg a day at six months due to side effects. The longer I was on it, the worse they became. Shortness of breath caused by pleural effusion, body pain, all-over itching, acne-like rash on face and scalp, and some hair loss at the very beginning of treatment. It was a good drug to kill the cancer cells, but it reduced my quality of life drastically. Have started Gleevec with few expected side effects, except for major vertigo. Taken off Gleevec for two weeks and told to restart at 200 mg a day to rechallenge. I won't be able to live alone if vertigo is a daily side effect. Glad to be in remission, but hate side effect sickness."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 10, 2015

"I was diagnosed in May 2014 and started taking Sprycel within the week. After 6 months, I was at .01% of the BCR-ABL abnormality. Great results, right? But I felt awful. After dealing with minor side effects of acne, sore breasts, weight gain, and a low mood, the severe fatigue and chest pain were enough to stop. I'm now on Gleevec and starting to experience extreme thirst and weight gain. Very grateful there are medications that treat CML but frustrated with the inevitable side effects."

• Meh...
• February 3, 2018

"2011, I started with Glivec. After taking three years of Glivec, it has not worked. Then I started Sprycel, 100 mg per day. I got a good result in just one month, then, after two years, I started getting a lot of side effects on my body: pain, ache in my head, water, veins pressure going too high, and now I take one more tablet for water pressure."

• sus...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 9, 2020

"My mother took Sprycel for 18 months. It caused severe pleural effusion. She was on oxygen and had to have fluid drained 3 times. She died in 2016. By the time they realized it was the Sprycel side effect, it was too late to reverse the damage."

• Cal...
• March 8, 2016

"I have had nausea, headache, and body pain. The body pain has been the most difficult. I had to stop taking medications because of this medication but also seem to have hypersensitivity to smell. So far, all looks good but still in the early stages."

• Yel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 3, 2022

"I was diagnosed in August 2021, and began with Gleevac. It was not effective for me and I was started on Sprycel 100mg. I was on it about a month when I ended up in the ICU for 6 weeks. Critically low blood counts they couldn’t get up. I was very sick. I have been in the hospital for 6 months of 2022. My dr stopped the Sprycel in April. In June I ended up getting a pleural effusion and a pericardial effusion. I started Tasigna three weeks ago and already have had a hospitalization for a week with kidney failure."

• Pin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 28, 2023

"I was diagnosed with CML in April of 2023 by chance because I was in the hospital for a bleeding ulcer. I was prescribed 100 mg of Sprycel in late April when my white blood cell count was 100,000. I had severe coughing, lung fluid, extreme headaches, body aches, and some nausea. Sleeping was not comfortable. I lasted four days on that dose but had to stop because of side effects. I was moved to 80 mg and lasted six days before I had to stop. The good news was that my white blood cell count went down to 7,000. I was moved down to 20 mg and can finally tolerate the side effects, and it's late June. The side effects are most difficult in the mornings with a headache and facial swelling. Blood work is coming up next week, and I'm hoping for good results and still in the normal range. To be continued."

• JDT...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 12, 2022

"Sprycel had a very bad and immediate impact on me. I was prescribed Sprycel after Gleevac initially failed to control my CML. I took the first pill of Sprycel on a Friday, and was in bed unable to get up all weekend. Luckily, I slept and DID NOT TAKE A SECOND DOSE. When I spoke to a nurse on Sunday about whether it was safe to take my other meds, she nicely asked why I had waited until Sunday evening to ask. When I told her I was asleep through weekend, and that also I was having to how swallowing(!), she instructed me NOT TO TAKE ANOTHER DOSE OF SPRYCEL: I WAS HAVING A SEVERE ALLERGIC REACTION (throat constricted! A choking). So, it was lucky for me to have slept (also a side effect) and NOT to have take even one more dose!!"

• Anonymous
• October 31, 2016

"I'm happy to be in complete remission because of this medication."