Hello Mikee. (@franciekid; @flusshund )

Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. How long have you been on Tragrisso? Have you had an side effects as yet?

Merry

Mikee,

Sorry to hear you've joined the club. I'm guessing you mean "Tagrisso". If not, you can stop reading. 🙂

I'm 63-years-young and have been on Tagrisso for over 3 years. So far, the primary outcome has been that I've been lung cancer-free for 3 years. I have to add the qualifier because a whole-body dermatological scan found a basal cell carcinoma on my cheek that was removed last month.

The only long-term side effect I've experienced is brittle fingernails. 10mg of Biotin daily has helped. Initially, I had the usual diarrhea, plus low sugar and sodium levels. The sugar levels corrected themselves. I was taking up to 2 Imodium a day at one point, but that faded and disappeared after about 6 months. My sodium level was around the minimum normal since before I had cancer, but it got worse. Today I limit my fluid intake to no more than 50 to 60 oz (1.5 to 1.8 liters) of fluid per day, as recommended by my Nephrologist. As long as I do that, my levels are OK.

I had other symptoms that I suspect or know were not due to Tagrisso. My lung cancer metastasized to my brain, and I started Tagrisso a couple of months after having brain surgery.

Let me know if you have any more questions, and I'm wishing you the best!