Since beginning treatment for chronic
myelogenous leukemia, three and a half years ago, my body has found many ways
to respond. One of these ways is by developing high cholesterol; now I know
that many people suffer from high cholesterol, but prior to my CML diagnosis
and subsequent treatment, I had very low cholesterol, and if anything has
changed, I would say that my overall diet is better now than it was prior to diagnosis.
This coupled with the fact that so
many other people that are being treated for CML, have also developed high
cholesterol, leads me to believe that the TKI’s are to blame. Putting blame
aside, the fact of the matter is that despite everything I have tried; diet, red
yeast, oatmeal, Niacin and anything else that claims to lower cholesterol, my
cholesterol levels have continued to climb.
And yes, I am aware of the good vs
the bad cholesterol and mine was plain and simple, just TOO high and TOO low;
good and bad! When it reached 318 my internal medicine doctor strongly
recommended trying a cholesterol lowering medication. She knows how reluctant I
am to take medications for many reasons, but really felt that if I did not get
my cholesterol under control, I could get myself into trouble. So reluctantly I
agreed.
She prescribed 40mg of
Atorvastatin once a day, beginning with half of the full dose for a week, to
see if I could tolerate it. Since my greatest fear of cholesterol medications
is the often accompanying muscle pain, she recommended that I take QCo10 along
with the Atorvastatin. I was told that the medication works fairly quickly, but
not to expect results to show up for several months.
Reluctantly I downed my first dose
and waited; no immediate reaction, so I went to bed. I am such a freak about
medication! I woke up the next morning relieved that I had survived the night
and had no apparent side effects from my first dose. As the week went on I
began to dread the increase and decided that since I was seeing my oncologist
two weeks after starting the Atorvastatin that I would just keep taking the
20mg daily, and see what he had to say. I figured I could always increase my
medication, but if I were to respond to the lower dose, we would never know, if
I increased it right away.
What he had to say was, “Wow, you
finally have your cholesterol under control, it is down to 176!” and I then
told him about the Atorvastatin. He was pleased that I had finally agreed to take
the meds, but was concerned about the dosage. Apparently Sprycel increases the
amount of Atorvastatin in the bloodstream, hence the excellent results, in a
two week timespan. He was very relieved that I had stuck with half of the full
dose and feels that I should never take more than 20mg, and that 10 mg will likely
be the best dose for me.
Of course he told me to check with
my prescribing doctor, and to tell her about the interaction between Sprycel
and Atorvastatin. Note to self; check with oncologist prior to taking ANY
medication. I did have a “blink” that told me to check with him, but figured
since he had tried to get me to take a cholesterol meds before, and that I was
seeing him in two weeks, I didn’t want to bother him; my bad!
Anyway, I got home and spoke with
my doctor and she is going to recheck my cholesterol next week, and based on
the results, go from there.
So, the important bit of info here
is that if you are on a TKI, you should have your cholesterol checked, and if
it is high, you should make certain to check drug interactions with your TKI.
Sprycel definitely increase the amount of cholesterol medication in our systems,
so make sure that you and your doctors, do your homework.
For more information on
cholesterol you can visit the Mayo
Clinic’s website, it is clear and concise.
Cholesterol Chart
Total cholesterol
(U.S. and some other countries) (Canada and most of Europe)
Below 200 mg/dL Below 5.2 mmol/L Desirable
200-239 mg/dL
5.2-6.2
mmol/L Borderline high
240 mg/dL and above Above 6.2 mmol/L High
LDL cholesterol
(U.S. and some other countries) Canada
and most of Europe)
Below 70 mg/dL
Below
1.8 mmol/L Ideal for people at very high
risk of heart disease
Below 100 mg/dL Below 2.6 mmol/L Ideal for people
at risk of heart disease
100-129 mg/dL 2.6-3.3 mmol/L Near ideal
130-159 mg/dL 3.4-4.1 mmol/L Borderline high
160-189 mg/dL 4.1-4.9 mmol/L High
190 mg/dL and above Above 4.9 mmol/L Very high
HDL cholesterol
(U.S. and some other countries) (Canada and most of
Europe)
Below 40 mg/dL (men)
Below 1 mmol/L (men) Poor
Below 50 mg/dL (women) Below 1.3 mmol/L (women)
40-49 mg/dL (men) 50-59 mg/dL
(women) 1-1.3 mmol/L (men) 1.3-1.5
mmol/L (women) Better
60 mg/dL and above
1.6 mmol/L and above Best
Triglycerides
(U.S. and some other countries) (Canada and most of Europe)
Below 150 mg/dL Below 1.7 mmol/L Desirable
150-199 mg/dL
1.7-2.2 mmol/L Borderline high
200-499 mg/dL
2.3-5.6 mmol/L High
500 mg/dL and above Above 5.6
mmol/L and above Very high
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