Re: Gleevec and Memory

[Guest guest]

I think this is true. I have been on gleevec for 3 years now and I also

forget things. I am also 31 and I can't attribute it to age. I also

wonder if there is any solution for this since I am looking forward to

starting my phd and i find it hard to remeber stuff. any help?

[Guest guest]

I have the same situation. When I am at work, I will write them

down as soon as I remember. So I will be sure I will get to it.

Otherwise, I will forget all about it in some occasion.

>

> I have been on Gleevec for over a year now and have found that is

> starting to affect my cognitive development. Occassionally, I

will

> forget small things and then it comes back to me later. I am only

31

> years old so I cannot attribute it to age. I've heard others

express

> the same concern and am wondering what folks are doing to curtail

this

> problem. My job requires me to think critically and I cannot

afford to

> mess up on any projects.

>

[Guest guest]

I wish I had a solution for you. This is one of my worst side effects

and -- along with extreme fatigue -- is largely responsible for my

being unable to work the past two years. My job required critical,

analytical thinking, too, and it got to the point where I could no

longer do it.

I wish you the best.

Warm regards.

>

> I have been on Gleevec for over a year now and have found that is

> starting to affect my cognitive development. Occassionally, I will

> forget small things and then it comes back to me later. I am only 31

> years old so I cannot attribute it to age. I've heard others express

> the same concern and am wondering what folks are doing to curtail

this

> problem. My job requires me to think critically and I cannot afford

to

> mess up on any projects.

>

[Guest guest]

I have had this problem also. I am a single mom, single homeowner

and a special education teacher and it is very difficult for me to

handle the necessary paperwork for my job. I have to stay after

work so I can have time to myself with no distractions to get stuff

done. I can't multi-task at all anymore. When I get home from

work, I am so fatigued that little or nothing gets done as far as

housework and laundry. I often am in bed before my two teenagers.

On the weekends I often go at least one day without getting dressed

or leaving the house. People really don't understand because I

look " so good " , and they forget I have a chronic illness. I have

actually lost weight on Gleevac because of the chronic diarreha.

I recently approached my family doctor about something to give me

more energy since I have read some trials of giving breast cancer

patients ritalin, adderall and provigil to help them deal

with " chemo brain " . I am trying the provigil but only having little

success. We started out at 100mg daily for a month and now I am on

200mg daily. My doctor recently told me that a person can go up to

400mg. It helps some but doesn't seem to carry me through the day

completely. Maybe I can continue to work with the dosage.

Good luck to everyone. I have the summer off to rest, relax, and

refuel and I can't wait. I am almost 50 and retirement is not an

option for me now as the single breadwinner in the family.

Once again, good luck everyone. We have a very treatable cancer but

it still kicks our butts.

Western Michigan

Diag 6/07

Gleevac 400mg daily

Havent' reached remission yet

> >

> > I have been on Gleevec for over a year now and have found that

is

> > starting to affect my cognitive development. Occassionally, I

will

> > forget small things and then it comes back to me later. I am

only 31

> > years old so I cannot attribute it to age. I've heard others

express

> > the same concern and am wondering what folks are doing to

curtail

> this

> > problem. My job requires me to think critically and I cannot

afford

> to

> > mess up on any projects.

> >

>