Imatinib and leg pain side effects

Hi I was diagnosed with Chronic myeloid leukaemia in October and have been on Imatinib a few weeks now side effects haven’t been as bad as I feared but one new one the last couple of weeks is awful awful pain in both legs …like an ache all the time and muscle pain when they move particularly bad on the thighs …anyone experience this and any tips apart from taking paracetamol as advices by my haematologist

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Hi @Lisa1971 sorry I cannot help you, but let’s hope others can.
Have you got a specialist nurse you could talk to, if not perhaps you might try your GP.
Good question, really be kind to yourself and I hope you can feel better soon.

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Hi @Lisa1971,

Welcome to our forum. Sorry to hear about your diagnosis and the side effects you have been experiencing on Imatinib. This sounds really difficult.

Imatinib unfortunately can cause muscle and joint pain and is a known side effect. I have linked in some information on Imatinib from Cancer Research UK here which you may found helpful (Imatinib (Glivec) | Cancer information | Cancer Research UK

I would suggest talking again with your haematology team and letting them know that your symptoms are not improving with paracetamol and causing you a lot of discomfort. They may be able to advise an alternative painkiller that can help.

Let us know how you get on.

Take care
Fiona ( support services nurse)

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