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Re: controlling Tykerb
I started Tykerb 2/2009. Dr. Slamon prescribed 1000mg of Tykerb plus Herceptin every three weeks. He told me 1000mg of Tykerb, not 1250mg, is the recommended dosage if you are also on Herceptin. If you are ONLY on Tykerb, the recommended dosage is 1250mg. After five days on 1000mg, I had a severe allergic reaction from Tykerb----hives all over my body. Dr. Slamon changed my dosage to 750mg (3 tablets) and that is what I have been on for two years and still NED.
I have diarrhea but it is controllable with diet and lomotil. I know that drugs definitely affect people differently and most physicians do not take the time to fine tune dosage for each patient. When a drug company does a study, they do not try to study different factors like weight, age, other medication interaction, etc. This is true for all drugs---not just cancer medication. My husband is extremely drug sensitive and gets every side effect listed on the information. Half of a standard dose of anything is all he needs to get the same result. I know it is scary to have a dosage adjustment for a cancer drug, but based on my experience you may want to consider this approach and talk to your oncologist.
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