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Ibrance (Palbociclib)

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Comments

  • Romansma
    Romansma Member Posts: 650
    edited March 2015

    Ah thanks for thinking of her. She seems to be doing better. She's still on medication and I'm watching her careful, but I think she is recovering. I'm so relieved!


  • GDG
    GDG Member Posts: 4
    edited March 2015

    I start on Ibrance & letrolzole tomorrow, after aromasin and then Faslodex. Great info from all you ladies...... Here's praying for all of us....

  • Romansma
    Romansma Member Posts: 650
    edited March 2015

    Welcome GDG. Be sure to take it with food, otherwise, it can cause nausea.



  • duck1255
    duck1255 Member Posts: 15
    edited March 2015

    I have taken Ibrance for 1 week and Femara for 9 months. So far there are no side effects. Has anyone noticed hair loss?

  • Akevia
    Akevia Member Posts: 45
    edited March 2015

    I have Medicaid and they are covering ibrance. The Pharmancist also explained it to me like it was a form of chemo drug. I hope everyone gets it covered.

  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited March 2015

    I am so glad to hear it is now being covered by government insurance. Welcome GDG and good luck. Duck 1255, have not noticed hair loss, but since all this started, it is definetly not as full.

  • 3Holly
    3Holly Member Posts: 201
    edited March 2015

    Daisylover,

    My onc says it doesn't matter whether it's prilosec, tums or zantac, but try to take it 12 hours away from the time I take the Ibrance/letrozole. Interesting that we are both at Dana Farber, but you got completely different info (you said they told you no prilosec whatsoever) - also Packoftwo said the pharmacist says only 4 hours gap. Anyway, I have not been following the 12 hour thing since I didn't know about it, so hopefully it was not totally blocked for these first 2 weeks.

    Prilosec is a time release antacid,so I wonder if it releases for 24 hours or 12.

    I will now have to switch to taking the Ibrance either morning or night to get the 12 hour gap. I had been taking it at lunch which was working out well since I don't really eat breakfast and dinnertime can be hectic. Wish I could get off the Prilosec, but I have needed it -especially at night to sleep - since my first radiation treatments, and where I usually take it late in the day, not sure if a switch to the morning would prevent it working at night when I most need it.

    Good luck to those who are starting out!



  • daisylover
    daisylover Member Posts: 173
    edited March 2015

    3Holly, yes, I did the feasibility trial at Dana Farber, with Dr. Mayer. They were very thorough. The trial paper work refers to proton pump inhibitors but does not explain how they interfere... I can email you a copy if you would like.


  • Redroan
    Redroan Member Posts: 111
    edited March 2015

    That is good to know about the prilosec, I take it twice a day. Guess I will have to visit with Onc about that.

    I am in hopes I hae been approved. CVS pharmacy called yesterday but I was at work still.. So still waiting!

    Redroan


  • terri-c
    terri-c Member Posts: 65
    edited March 2015

    Akevia - how is it working for you?

    I'm not on Ibrance, just Faslodex and Xgeva, but am hoping it is a viable option when/if the Faslodex stops working, so I'm stalking all of you with dedication.

    Thoughts and prayers for all <3

  • duck1255
    duck1255 Member Posts: 15
    edited March 2015

    Can any CVS Pharmacy get Ibrance we were told it had to be a specialty pharmacy. My first came from Cleveland Clinic's Pharmacy but our local CVS would be a lot more convenient

  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited March 2015

    I was told the same. Mine comes from a specialty pharmacy too

  • Romansma
    Romansma Member Posts: 650
    edited March 2015

    Pretty sure it needs to be a specialty pharmacy. I know Afinitor was specialty and I'm sure Ibrance is the same.

    Happy Sunday Funday, everyone! I have a houseful of boys that were up at the crack of dawn. As soon as my painpills kick in I'll be flippin' flapjacks for the guys!


  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited March 2015

    Have fun Hope. I once had a sleepover for my youngest son, he was 10, he's 27 now...LOL. 15 boys, blankets on the floor, movies and popcorn and up at dawn running around! My neighbors weren't happy, but I loved every minute of it. Myr

  • Romansma
    Romansma Member Posts: 650
    edited March 2015

    Wow, 15! You are much braver than me! Six 10 an 11 yr olds. I'm getting too old for this. My oldest is 23, so we've been at this for awhile! Still, feel grateful to be here for another celebration!

    image
  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited March 2015

    LOVE IT!

  • 3Holly
    3Holly Member Posts: 201
    edited March 2015
    Hi everyone,

    Thank you, Daisylover, for that info on antacids/Ibrance.

    Per Daisylover who is on the Dana Farber feasibility trial ), protein pump inhibitors (i.e., Prilosec) are prohibited, at least on that Dana Farber Ibrance feasibility trial. However, Pharmacist is not prohibiting it nor is my oncologist - however, I think I am going to try to go off the Prilosec and try the Zantac in case.

    Here's what the pharmacist at Dana Farber said:

    Prilosec : peak release is within 1st 6 hours - but it's in the system for 24 hours and IS A PROTEIN PUMP INHIBITOR (so prohibited on the trial). My doctor says it's OK but should be spaced at least 12 hours from the Ibrance.

    Zantac: 1/2 leaves in 2-3 hrs and rest is over 8 hours or 10 hours max - it's NOT A PROTEIN PUMP INHIBITOR AND SHOULD BE OUT OF SYSTEM IN 10 HOURS (so I think this might be a better option if it works?)

    Tums: calcium - they bind to a lot of drugs, so should space at least 4 hours apart from Ibrance as well. She couldn't say how long they stay in your system.

    IN CONCLUSION: Although I am still not sure if there's a real difference, I don't want to block the Ibrance so I will try the Zantac instead of Prilosec since it only stays for max 10 hours (prilosec is 24 hours and TUMS is unknown) and I will take the Zantac at night since problem is worst at night. Hope it works as well as the Prilosec.
  • lenn13ka
    lenn13ka Member Posts: 104
    edited March 2015

    My Dana Farber MO made me go off Borage Oil - which my naturopath had me on since I was in treatment. That was per Pfizer. Not sure why, but am going to ask on my next visit. I take a host of supplements and she ran them all by the pharmacist at the company and that was the only one they said NO to.

  • Akevia
    Akevia Member Posts: 45
    edited March 2015

    Terri-c so far so good for me with no side effects. My white count is holding up good so I hope it does the job of getting rid of the mets. My prayers are with you also!!

  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited March 2015

    So glad you are still doing well. My platelets are still too low to restart. More tests Friday. Anyone have any magic to raise those numbers? WBC is better Myra

  • terri-c
    terri-c Member Posts: 65
    edited March 2015

    ThumbsUp

  • pearlady
    pearlady Member Posts: 390
    edited April 2015

    Lenn can you please share what supplements you take that were approved.  I did run my list of supplements by the pharmacist at CVS Caremark and he advised that they don't have information on many of he supplements since they were probably not tested.  I also take a lot of supplements and am wondering if all of them would be approved.  Thank you so much for your information.

    Myra for the platelets I take Ashwaghanda, Vitamin C and Astragalus.  These were recommended for me while I was on Abraxane and do help with the platelets.  I ran these by the pharmacist and he thought they were okay, but as I mentioned above, I'm wondering if they have complete information. 

  • Romansma
    Romansma Member Posts: 650
    edited April 2015

    Shoot, Myra, sorry to hear you are still too low. Need to get my butt up and get to the lab this morning. Should have gone yesterday but just too darn tired! I could lay here all day and sleep! Definitely fatigued. Night sweats are still in full swing. Last night, I was Britney Spear's lead babysitter.....so nightmares are improving slightly Happy.

    I need to come up with a few good pranks to pull on my kids for this April Fools Day. Any ideas

  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited April 2015

    Hope do u mind sharing ur numbers with me? No night sweats just face flushing, and shoot I would love to be Britney Spears! Myr

  • 3Holly
    3Holly Member Posts: 201
    edited April 2015

    Hi everyone,

    I am 2+ weeks out (3 pills to go after today) and just got yesterday's blood counts, so I thought I'd check in. I don't know anything about blood counts (will need to learn soon), but the nurse says they are sort of low but she isn't worried since I will have a week off soon, and it looks like I can probably keep going on the Ibrance for another cycle, but I suppose I'll find out for sure at the next visit April 8. I imagine they will check again when I have the Zumeta and maybe they will check the tumor markers (since she didn't give me those, I guess they only checked the blood cell counts). I am rather tired, but I'm happy that the itchy red bumps have disappeared from my arms and legs since I stopped the Faslodex. Some hot flashes but not much, but no other side effects to report so far. Happy April Fools Day, thanks for reminding me - yes, I will have to come up with a good prank!

    Here are the counts:

    white: 1.7

    hemo: 11.3

    hematocrit: 33.7

    platelets: 237





  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited April 2015

    Thank u Holly. My problem seems to be the platelets at only 94. They are not rising enough so we will check again on Friday. Myra.

  • 3Holly
    3Holly Member Posts: 201
    edited April 2015

    Myra, I will be praying for those platelets to go up - good luck on friday!





  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited April 2015

    Thx Pearlady for your suggestions. I ran these past my MO and he advise me not to take anything, since at this point we are guinea pigs and they dont know what will interfere and what won't. I am not very good at being a "do nothing and see what happens" kind of gal, so this is really bothering me. I do not even know if my MO knows what to do next. Now he is thinking that maybe I need a bone marrow bx, but I never had a problem with platelets before. All I know is I hate breast cancer. Myra

  • Romansma
    Romansma Member Posts: 650
    edited April 2015

    Just left MO office and my counts are back down. WBC at 1.2, ANC .7, and Hct 10.1. On my week off all these numbers had recovered, so it's definitely the Ibrance hitting them hard. Since there was no reports of infection, even with super low counts, we are going to keep going. I'm only a week in to the 3 week cycle with these counts. Can't imagine where I'll be in 2 weeks. Oh well....better be killing me some cancer cells!

    Myra, do you know what your platelets were before you started? Hope you get a handle soon. Really want this to work for you!

    K, off to have lunch with Ashton Kutcher.


  • Myra1211
    Myra1211 Member Posts: 532
    edited April 2015

    Hi Hope, platelets were in the 200 range. Lunch with Ashton Kutcher? Can I come....LOL

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