A quick disclaimer, please remember that the subject matter in this blog post is specific to my experience while taking iBrance for Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer. If you are about to start or take the same medication, your experience may differ from mine, so please keep that in mind.
On days thirteen thru eighteen, I continued to have issues with nausea; it was not as severe or as frequent but still annoying. I called the nurse’s line at my oncologist’s office, and my doctor prescribed an anti-nausea medicine for me since the one I have is three years old and has expired. It is comforting to know that I have a current drug that I can take should I need it.
On days nineteen through twenty-one, the nausea, for the most part, had stopped, but my heartburn was getting worse. Every night after dinner, I would get heartburn from mild to severe, and it didn’t seem to matter what I ate. I had the same scenario as I did with the medicine for nausea; my heartburn medicine was expired. I rarely ever have heartburn, so I know that just like the nausea, it is a side effect of the iBrance.
Today is day three of my seven days off of iBrance, and I feel much better. I still have slight nausea, but it has stopped for the most part. My heartburn continued, so I called the nurse’s line yesterday, and my doctor prescribed a new med that I will be taking every day. I took it last night before dinner, and I was very pleased to finally not have that dreaded pain in my chest after eating.
On Monday next week, I am starting back on iBrance, and I have an appointment to see my oncologist, have my bloodwork done, and get my Faslodex injections. I am curious to see where my white blood cell count is now that I have completed my first twenty-one days on iBrance. I know it could be potentially low, but I hope it won’t be too low because it puts me at risk of having issues with a weakened immune system.
I will update again after my appointment next week. Thank you for being here! 🙂