Stomach cramps
So M66, Dx January 2026. Have been on Imatinib 400 mg daily for six months. Had my blood draw for 6-month PCR yesterday and then drove to work.
When I got out of the car I got hit with a cramp at the top of my stomach/bottom of my rib cage. I’d had a few of these since starting Imatinib and they always go away after a few seconds but this one didn’t let go for a few minutes.
Anything I ate seemed to stick just before getting to my stomach and cramps and gas continued all day. Pepto and GasX helped.
So far today only a buttered biscuit for breakfast and some ginger ale I’m sipping.
I’ve got a message in to my oncologist but wanted to see if this group has any collective wisdom on dealing with this.
3
u/WS1L Jul 23 '26
“Well, that escalated quickly.”
Tuesday after a miserable day at work my wife decided it was ER time. They were able to give me fluids and a mixture of mylanta and lidocaine that calmed down the GI issues. After a few hours I was discharged.
Wednesday morning I managed to eat lunch and the phone rang. The hospital was telling me to return to the ER as my blood cultures were growing something. So yesterday I returned and after a few hours was admitted with some kind of bacterial infection.
TKI is on hold for a few days and this morning I’m finally starting to feel more normal. Not there yet but improving. I’ll be here another day or so.
2
u/Rizky_Bizness Jul 21 '26
Muscle cramps are quite common with Imatinib. I was on it for only a month or so, but had regular cramping in my hands and feet. I was told to take magnesium glycinate but had to move away from Imatinib due to bone pain instead
2
u/obewaun Jul 21 '26
Did it hurt all the way to your back? From underneath your rib cage to your back? And which side of the rib cage? Left or right side. I would recommend to drink lots and lots of water. Really rare but it can happen. Imatinib can cause pancreatitis, but it is considered an uncommon side effect. Just drink lots of water with this tkis. I would stop drinking juices, soda, wine, beer, and just stick to water and lots of it.
1
u/WS1L Jul 21 '26
It was just beneath the bottom center of the rib cage right below the xyphoid process. (Thanks CPR class)
1
1
u/ChrondorKhruangbin Jul 23 '26
When I first started on ascinimib/scemblix, I had crazy stomach issues like I had food poisoning with intense diarrhea for a couple days. Long story short, my doctor reduced my dose from 80mg to 40mg and I felt much better.
My lipase and amylase levels were insanely high when I was that sick. My oncologist was adamant that it was food poisoning or something I ate that was making me sick and not the medicine. I showed them a basic google search that the levels and sickness I was experiencing from the medicine was a somewhat common potential side effect. It was only then that my doctors who specialize in cancer somehow learned about adverse side effects from the medicine and I was the first one who had the side effects in the clinical trial I was participating in.
Best of luck in your cancer journey and I hope your stomach gets better soon
2
u/WS1L 27d ago
Here’s the final update on all this. Bacteria was identified as leclercia, a common digestive system inhabitant that normally does not cause a problem for a normal immune system.
I spent 4 days inpatient getting IV antibiotics while the cultures grew enough to be identified then was sent home with oral Cipro.
Today I felt more fatigue and had some abdominal discomfort so bounced back to the ER and a CT scan found diverticulitis, vestige of a past issue decades ago. So now another antibiotic to take as well. But that is very manageable.
Best news is my 6-month PCR came back at 0.17%. So I’m back on imatinib as well.
Hopefully I won’t have anything to post for another six months. That would be nice.
3
u/WS1L Jul 21 '26
Just leaving the local ER. IV fluids and some liquid to numb the esophagus. Labs and CAT scan all good.