Started Imbruvica on Friday February 1, 2019. Ok for a couple of days and on Sunday nausea overcame me and I was quite ill. Started taking nausea pills (Ondanestron) and that helped a lot but very poor appetite. On Thursday I realized it could be because of acid/gas. On this site I read about similar issues, called pharmacist Friday am, started t
aking Tums and then Omeprazle each day and I am doing great. Thank you to the help from this website.
Hi glad to hear you are feeling better.
Have tried Gaviscon I find it very helpful. It comes in liquid and tablet form.
I used to use eseprozole for tummy problems until I started ibrutinib.
There is some recent research that suggests esomeprozole can interfere with ibrutinib.
I don’t know if the same is true for omeprozole, i would check this out with your specialist, just in case.
Best to be on the safe side. Keep us updated.
Good luck
Ann
I have been very lucky on Ibrutinib, only a small amount of reflux for which I take lansaprosole 15 mg this seems to do the trick.
June
That’s great June.
Ann
Than you from Bay Area
Whilst Omeprazole and Esomeprazole (both produced by AstraZeneca) contain the exact same active compound there is a difference in the dosing. The reason for this is that the compound in Omeprazole is co-joined with a mirror image of itself, but the mirror image part is inactive so in practice only half of the drug is active. Esomeprazole on the other hand only contains the active part of the compound and was released as a new drug (Nexium) when the license expired on Omeprazole. If one were cynical one could believe that this was a deliberate manipulation of the licencing regulations to double the length of licence for what is essentially the same drug. The curious thing here in the UK is that whilst both are prescription drugs one can buy Nexium, which is Esomeprazole 20mg, over the counter, even though this represents a 40mg dose of prescription only Omeprazole. In any case I am very grateful for both of these as it has revolutionised my GERD issues which I have struggled with long before I started on Ibrutinib but which became much worse since. I know there is discussion and a range of opinion on whether or not taking a PPI is compatible with being on Ibrutinib but for some with severe GERD issues it is probably the only effective option. In discussions I have had with my Haematologist he has not been at all negative about the Esomeprazole that I am taking daily.
Hi thank you for that information interesting. My specialist would prefer me to keep PPI’s to a minimum or change to another medication. Maybe that is because I am on the Flair trial? I think I will ask again as other medications not so good.
Ann
Over a +/-15 year period I have migrated from Rennie type (chalk) tablets to low dose Ranatidine, to high dose Ranatidine and now more recently PPI's. None of the medications were as effective as the PPI's are now, which for the first time in years allow me to eat and drink almost normally. Once I started on Ibrutinib the Ranatidine was considerably less effective than it had been. I am a little concerned by the long term side effects of PPI use but for now I am happy for the relief they give.
You come back this is a great site....we want to know how you are doing....I especially somas I started Imbruvica on January 5th. I had a slight case of Petechiae the first 10 days but they pull me off of the baby aspirins and it cleared right up. The baby aspirin was for aorta stenosis that I have but they said with the plateletsmbeing on the low side the felt it would be okay. So I am on the Happy Trail once again! ☘️ 🙏 💕
Hi BobTerry,
Welcome to the forum.
It's good to know you're now doing well on Imbruvica.
I too have had problems with nausea and stomach acidity since taking Imbruvica, and it seems this is quite a common problem. Omeprazole (and Lansopraxole) work well for most people, but if taken for longterm they can give unwelcome side effects
uspharmacist.com/article/pr...
If you want an alternative to Omeprazole, ask your doctor about Ranitidine. It’s not as powerful as the other drugs but has less side effects. Works reasonably well for me, though I sometimes need Gaviscon as well.
Best wishes,
Paula
(in Sheffield, UK)
Thank you, PaulaS
Take care of all the side effects as they grow with time.
2. Don't ignore any treat nausea and reflux.
3. This drug will be great if you could handle the side effects
4. Put a timer and eat even if you don't feel like.
Hope this helps
Ibrutinib is very variable with its side effects, Vick07. They don't always increase with time, often they get less. 
Paula
Thank you Vick07 from Bay Area
New to CLL in Canada
CLL Support Newsletter 
