Has anyone taken the targeted therapy osimertinib (Tagrisso)?

Posted by nursed2075 @nursed2075, Mar 27, 2020

Has anyone taken Osimertinib before?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Lung Cancer Support Group.

Hi. I have been taking Tagrisso for a couple of months. Shortly after I started it, I noticed numbness and tingling in my fingertips and horizontal ridges on my fingernails. Has anyone else had these side effects? I'm wondering if the symptoms could be from something else and they just appeared coincidentally when I started Tagrisso.

REPLY
@eeileen

Hi. I have been taking Tagrisso for a couple of months. Shortly after I started it, I noticed numbness and tingling in my fingertips and horizontal ridges on my fingernails. Has anyone else had these side effects? I'm wondering if the symptoms could be from something else and they just appeared coincidentally when I started Tagrisso.

Jump to this post

Yes, my fingernails had the same ridges. They also kept breaking. I have been taking Biotin pills. With less than one bottle, I am happy to say, my nails look great and are strong.

REPLY
@fivec

Yes, my fingernails had the same ridges. They also kept breaking. I have been taking Biotin pills. With less than one bottle, I am happy to say, my nails look great and are strong.

Jump to this post

@eeileen and @fivec, I've been on Tagrisso for three and a half years now. Nail splitting was the second symptom I noticed. I take 10mg of Biotin daily and occasionally rub Vitamin E oil into the nails and cuticles. My Oncologist approves of the Biotin and assures me it doesn't interact with anything else I'm taking.

@eeileen, There is no numbness or tingling, though. I've never heard of that as a Tagrisso side effect. I recommend letting your doctor know.

REPLY
@fivec

Yes, my fingernails had the same ridges. They also kept breaking. I have been taking Biotin pills. With less than one bottle, I am happy to say, my nails look great and are strong.

Jump to this post

Thanks. I will look into it.

REPLY
@flusshund

@eeileen and @fivec, I've been on Tagrisso for three and a half years now. Nail splitting was the second symptom I noticed. I take 10mg of Biotin daily and occasionally rub Vitamin E oil into the nails and cuticles. My Oncologist approves of the Biotin and assures me it doesn't interact with anything else I'm taking.

@eeileen, There is no numbness or tingling, though. I've never heard of that as a Tagrisso side effect. I recommend letting your doctor know.

Jump to this post

Thanks. Yes I think I need to discuss this with my doctor.

REPLY

The steroid pack just finished and was extremely helpful. His appetite is coming back and his cough and energy level is improved. Tagrisso is approved for his EGFR marker following surgery and two rounds of chemo. His doctor is waiting for tests and improvement after chemo. He received the tagrisso pills and reviewed the side effects. He's scared. Any advice?

REPLY
@carrmb

The steroid pack just finished and was extremely helpful. His appetite is coming back and his cough and energy level is improved. Tagrisso is approved for his EGFR marker following surgery and two rounds of chemo. His doctor is waiting for tests and improvement after chemo. He received the tagrisso pills and reviewed the side effects. He's scared. Any advice?

Jump to this post

I took the 80mg everyday same time for a little over a month. I couldn’t handle the side effects which included fatigue, occasional diarrhea, skin dryness, itchiness, and almost constant mild headache. My oncologist dropped me to one 80mg pill every other day and I feel so much better. The side effects do come back on the day I take the pill but overall I’m much better. I’m stage 1b cancer with no Mets and an upper lobectomy a 3.5 months ago. So the Tagrisso is purely to help stop any cancer returning. I hope the lower frequency works 🙏🙏🙏….Stay strong !!

REPLY
@mollie2

I took the 80mg everyday same time for a little over a month. I couldn’t handle the side effects which included fatigue, occasional diarrhea, skin dryness, itchiness, and almost constant mild headache. My oncologist dropped me to one 80mg pill every other day and I feel so much better. The side effects do come back on the day I take the pill but overall I’m much better. I’m stage 1b cancer with no Mets and an upper lobectomy a 3.5 months ago. So the Tagrisso is purely to help stop any cancer returning. I hope the lower frequency works 🙏🙏🙏….Stay strong !!

Jump to this post

Thanks for your update, Mollie. It sure is helpful to know other people's experiences. Appreciate it. My best to you.

REPLY
@babs1956

Northwest biotherapeutics is coming out with a vaccine for cancer right now. It’s approved in the UK. The FDA should be approving it Soon in the states, you should look it up.

Jump to this post

That would be wonderful, but I wonder if the oncologists are going to accept it. They may lose money. I wonder if they know about it I’m sure they do

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.