Hello,
I am a 53-year-old man and new to this site. I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (Chronic myeloid leukaemia) in January 2025, and I am currently taking nilotinib 600 mg. After one year of treatment, my latest BCR-ABL result is 0.03. However, I struggle with anxiety and panic attacks. I find myself crying easily and having difficulty managing my emotions. My family doctor recently suggested starting an antidepressant, but I am still hesitant. Are there any people here who take antidepressants at the same time as their Chronic myeloid leukaemia treatment? I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences or feedback.
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Hi there @riad, and welcome to the Forum, though I’m sorry about the diagnosis that brings you here.
What you’re describing is such a common response to a blood cancer diagnosis. You’re dealing with something enormous, and your mind and body are responding to that, it’s more than understandable.
Although we can’t give medical advice here, I’m really hoping some of our members who’ve navigated the question of antidepressants alongside their Chronic myeloid leukaemia treatment will see your post and feel able to share their experiences with you. I also wanted to share this link to a page about blood cancer and emotions which I hope might help.
Please do talk to your healthcare team about this. Your GP has already suggested an antidepressant, which shows they think it could help you, and your haematology team can confirm there are no issues with your Chronic myeloid leukaemia treatment. Please don’t struggle alone with this when there’s support available that could make such a difference.
Our Support Line is also there if you need someone to talk to while you’re making these decisions and it’s staffed by some fabulous clinical nurses who can also help with questions around medication. You can call them on 0808 2080 888 or email support@bloodcancer.org.uk.
Take care, and do let us know how youre doing,
Ceri - Blood Cancer UK Support Services
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Hi @riad.
Are you worried about how it will react with your medication or just anxious about taking antidepressants?
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Hi.
My mental health fell off a cliff when I was diagnosed with Chronic myeloid leukaemia 2 years ago. I have found the impact on my mental health much harder to manage than the impact on my physical health. I was diagnosed 2 years ago and I have had to make some changes to my personal and work life in order to get my mental health back to a “good” place. By all means give antidepressants a try if you think they will help and your haematology team say they’re ok, but if youre worried about taking them then try amd make some changes to other aspects of your life first and see if that helps to improve things.
I still get down when I think too much about my situation and I am definitely less emotionally resilient than I was 2 years ago, but I am in a much better place mentally than I was 6 months ago.
Hope this helps
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