Hi @pamdg, You’re wondering if Jakafi can cause irregular heartbeat.
I’m looking at the Drugs.com website for the side effects of Jakafi. There is no listing for irregular heartbeat. But it can cause fast or slow heartbeat as a “more common” side effect.
In the “less common” column of side effects are anxiety and gas. Anxiety/stress has been known to cause irregular heartbeats. But if this is frequent you should discuss this with your medical team.
I know gas sounds like an odd thing to bring up, but I had a medication that created gas which actually felt like my heart skipping a beat as it moved through an area of my gut. My chemo nurse with a stethoscope had me listen. 😆 Anyway, that’s just a thought.
I’ve not taken Jakafi personally so hopefully someone in this group who is using it will have some information for you.
Were you recently diagnosed with myelofibrosis? Is Jakafi a new prescription for you?
@miguy, I don’t have any doctor recommendations, but want to let you know that you can get loads of support, your questions answered and more about BMT from others like @loribmt who have been there. You and your buddy may be interested in joining this discussion where the time is right:
- My Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT/SCT) story: Will you share yours? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/my-bone-marrow-transplant-bmt-story-will-you-share-yours/
Thanks for the info Colleen. His wife signed him up for the U of MI center on Monday. Said it may take 7-10 days?!? So, we are In a bit of a holding pattern. He did get his Jakafi today and started on that! Praying that eases the pain! Thank you!
Thank you for the response and information! Truly appreciated! We are 8 hrs away from Mayo. The dr’s there said the U of M hospital in Mi is a great place too. Just don’t know if any Dr’s. But doing research! Appreciate your response.
@miguy, I don’t have any doctor recommendations, but want to let you know that you can get loads of support, your questions answered and more about BMT from others like @loribmt who have been there. You and your buddy may be interested in joining this discussion where the time is right:
- My Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT/SCT) story: Will you share yours? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/my-bone-marrow-transplant-bmt-story-will-you-share-yours/
Good morning, @miguy Your friend has a bit of a blood cancer journey ahead of him but there is hope on the horizon. I’ve put a link in my reply from our Mayo Clinic website which gives a better understanding of the disease itself. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/myelofibrosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355057
Your friend’s bone marrow is no longer producing healthy blood cells from a mutation that happened at some point in the DNA of few of his blood cells. His current immune system is not recognizing these cells as cancerous and they are allowed to replicate and replace healthy cells. That is where a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor comes into the picture. Your friend will need a donation of stem cells from an unrelated donor (allogenic transplant) so that he has an entirely new immune system which will then recognize cancerous cells in the blood and snuff them out.
I had a stem cell/bone marrow transplant coming up on 3 years. It’s not a walk on the beach but it was an absolutely life saving procedure and well worth the effort.
I had my transplant at Mayo-Rochester and had to live there for 4 months. We live 4.5 hours from there so for follow up appointments we do have to make the drive 4 times a year. So I can understand your wanting to find a location closer to home.
Your friend’s best bet is to look for an accredited teaching hospital with a large university, or other large hospitals who have a reputation for doing a substantial amount of allogenic transplants. Maybe another Connect member will pop in with an answer for you. The key factors to look for would be the reputation of successful transplants, the continued follow up of transplant patients as this doesn’t just end after your friend is discharged.
Your friend will need to be near that hospital for 100 days after transplant as that is the risk period for side effects to appear and need to be dealt with quickly.
He’ll also need a dedicated caregiver, as that first hundred days will require someone to be nearby for assistance and to accompany to appointments. This is my experience at Mayo and I have other cohorts who have had transplants at other facilities and this is the norm. That makes finding lodging nearby a critical factor in the transplant.
I’m happy to answer any questions you or your friend might have regarding the transplantation process, what to expect, recovery, graft vs host disease, meds, etc.
Since he must have a hematologist/oncologist locally, perhaps his doctor would have knowledge of a reputable transplantation center. Your friend will also be returning to his home clinic for routine bloodwork to be sent to the transplant hospital if he does not live near that hospital. Has he conferred with his doctor?
Thank you for the response and information! Truly appreciated! We are 8 hrs away from Mayo. The dr’s there said the U of M hospital in Mi is a great place too. Just don’t know if any Dr’s. But doing research! Appreciate your response.
My buddy was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis at Mayo a few weeks ago. He will start on Jakafi on Tuesday. He is at a medium/high level (2). Just got the bone marrow test back and the Dr wants to start working immediately on starting the stem cell transplant process. We went to the Rochester MN Mayo and live in Michigan, so are looking for the BEST Dr at the University of MI for this process. Would love to get a recommendation for a Dr in Michigan and also Any info on what to expect from the stem cell transplant would be appreciated! Thank you!
Good morning, @miguy Your friend has a bit of a blood cancer journey ahead of him but there is hope on the horizon. I’ve put a link in my reply from our Mayo Clinic website which gives a better understanding of the disease itself. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/myelofibrosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355057
Your friend’s bone marrow is no longer producing healthy blood cells from a mutation that happened at some point in the DNA of few of his blood cells. His current immune system is not recognizing these cells as cancerous and they are allowed to replicate and replace healthy cells. That is where a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor comes into the picture. Your friend will need a donation of stem cells from an unrelated donor (allogenic transplant) so that he has an entirely new immune system which will then recognize cancerous cells in the blood and snuff them out.
I had a stem cell/bone marrow transplant coming up on 3 years. It’s not a walk on the beach but it was an absolutely life saving procedure and well worth the effort.
I had my transplant at Mayo-Rochester and had to live there for 4 months. We live 4.5 hours from there so for follow up appointments we do have to make the drive 4 times a year. So I can understand your wanting to find a location closer to home.
Your friend’s best bet is to look for an accredited teaching hospital with a large university, or other large hospitals who have a reputation for doing a substantial amount of allogenic transplants. Maybe another Connect member will pop in with an answer for you. The key factors to look for would be the reputation of successful transplants, the continued follow up of transplant patients as this doesn’t just end after your friend is discharged.
Your friend will need to be near that hospital for 100 days after transplant as that is the risk period for side effects to appear and need to be dealt with quickly.
He’ll also need a dedicated caregiver, as that first hundred days will require someone to be nearby for assistance and to accompany to appointments. This is my experience at Mayo and I have other cohorts who have had transplants at other facilities and this is the norm. That makes finding lodging nearby a critical factor in the transplant.
I’m happy to answer any questions you or your friend might have regarding the transplantation process, what to expect, recovery, graft vs host disease, meds, etc.
Since he must have a hematologist/oncologist locally, perhaps his doctor would have knowledge of a reputable transplantation center. Your friend will also be returning to his home clinic for routine bloodwork to be sent to the transplant hospital if he does not live near that hospital. Has he conferred with his doctor?
My buddy was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis at Mayo a few weeks ago. He will start on Jakafi on Tuesday. He is at a medium/high level (2). Just got the bone marrow test back and the Dr wants to start working immediately on starting the stem cell transplant process. We went to the Rochester MN Mayo and live in Michigan, so are looking for the BEST Dr at the University of MI for this process. Would love to get a recommendation for a Dr in Michigan and also Any info on what to expect from the stem cell transplant would be appreciated! Thank you!
There is a lot of amazing info in this group. Kudos to many of you have researched experimented and brought forward alternatives to expensive and many times harmful drugs that may or may not help in our fight against MF. My father passed in June from MF, he was in later stages of MF when diagnosed though numerous symptoms existed for years prior. His experience with Jakifi was horrendous, coming off Jakifi nearly killed him and he never fully gained his previous level of health.
Seeing and knowing the symptoms of MF I pushed my oncologist for further testing of my enlarged spleen that was discovered during a follow up ultrasound post melanoma treatment. It took pushing the oncologist to complete a simple JAK2 test, which I have. My new oncologist ordered a bone marrow biopsy and further genetic testing. Confirmed PMF, though early, it is present. At 47 I am young for the disease and am still wrapping my head around the diagnosis. Prognosis from Dr. this week and will discuss options then, but will certainly be discussing some of your experiences and alternatives to the "approved" methods.
Thank you all for sharing your stories and being on the forefront of alternatives.
There is a lot of amazing info in this group. Kudos to many of you have researched experimented and brought forward alternatives to expensive and many times harmful drugs that may or may not help in our fight against MF. My father passed in June from MF, he was in later stages of MF when diagnosed though numerous symptoms existed for years prior. His experience with Jakifi was horrendous, coming off Jakifi nearly killed him and he never fully gained his previous level of health.
Seeing and knowing the symptoms of MF I pushed my oncologist for further testing of my enlarged spleen that was discovered during a follow up ultrasound post melanoma treatment. It took pushing the oncologist to complete a simple JAK2 test, which I have. My new oncologist ordered a bone marrow biopsy and further genetic testing. Confirmed PMF, though early, it is present. At 47 I am young for the disease and am still wrapping my head around the diagnosis. Prognosis from Dr. this week and will discuss options then, but will certainly be discussing some of your experiences and alternatives to the "approved" methods.
Thank you all for sharing your stories and being on the forefront of alternatives.
Congradulations on your tenth anniversary.That is amazing!! Yes, quercetin is becoming a Swiss Army knife. I came across this article regarding eye health benefits with quercetin. As I posted earlier, my wife went on Jakafi and off most of the supplements. Today I asked the doctor if he would approve quercetin. No, I'm not familiar with it was his reply. I try again at the next appointment. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5685256/
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Hi @pamdg, You’re wondering if Jakafi can cause irregular heartbeat.
I’m looking at the Drugs.com website for the side effects of Jakafi. There is no listing for irregular heartbeat. But it can cause fast or slow heartbeat as a “more common” side effect.
In the “less common” column of side effects are anxiety and gas. Anxiety/stress has been known to cause irregular heartbeats. But if this is frequent you should discuss this with your medical team.
I know gas sounds like an odd thing to bring up, but I had a medication that created gas which actually felt like my heart skipping a beat as it moved through an area of my gut. My chemo nurse with a stethoscope had me listen. 😆 Anyway, that’s just a thought.
I’ve not taken Jakafi personally so hopefully someone in this group who is using it will have some information for you.
Were you recently diagnosed with myelofibrosis? Is Jakafi a new prescription for you?
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsCan Jakafi cause irregular heartbeat?
Thanks for the info Colleen. His wife signed him up for the U of MI center on Monday. Said it may take 7-10 days?!? So, we are In a bit of a holding pattern. He did get his Jakafi today and started on that! Praying that eases the pain! Thank you!
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@miguy, I don’t have any doctor recommendations, but want to let you know that you can get loads of support, your questions answered and more about BMT from others like @loribmt who have been there. You and your buddy may be interested in joining this discussion where the time is right:
- My Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT/SCT) story: Will you share yours? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/my-bone-marrow-transplant-bmt-story-will-you-share-yours/
Any luck with your doctor search?
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Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionThank you for the response and information! Truly appreciated! We are 8 hrs away from Mayo. The dr’s there said the U of M hospital in Mi is a great place too. Just don’t know if any Dr’s. But doing research! Appreciate your response.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionGood morning, @miguy Your friend has a bit of a blood cancer journey ahead of him but there is hope on the horizon. I’ve put a link in my reply from our Mayo Clinic website which gives a better understanding of the disease itself.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/myelofibrosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355057
Your friend’s bone marrow is no longer producing healthy blood cells from a mutation that happened at some point in the DNA of few of his blood cells. His current immune system is not recognizing these cells as cancerous and they are allowed to replicate and replace healthy cells. That is where a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor comes into the picture. Your friend will need a donation of stem cells from an unrelated donor (allogenic transplant) so that he has an entirely new immune system which will then recognize cancerous cells in the blood and snuff them out.
I had a stem cell/bone marrow transplant coming up on 3 years. It’s not a walk on the beach but it was an absolutely life saving procedure and well worth the effort.
I had my transplant at Mayo-Rochester and had to live there for 4 months. We live 4.5 hours from there so for follow up appointments we do have to make the drive 4 times a year. So I can understand your wanting to find a location closer to home.
Your friend’s best bet is to look for an accredited teaching hospital with a large university, or other large hospitals who have a reputation for doing a substantial amount of allogenic transplants. Maybe another Connect member will pop in with an answer for you. The key factors to look for would be the reputation of successful transplants, the continued follow up of transplant patients as this doesn’t just end after your friend is discharged.
Your friend will need to be near that hospital for 100 days after transplant as that is the risk period for side effects to appear and need to be dealt with quickly.
He’ll also need a dedicated caregiver, as that first hundred days will require someone to be nearby for assistance and to accompany to appointments. This is my experience at Mayo and I have other cohorts who have had transplants at other facilities and this is the norm. That makes finding lodging nearby a critical factor in the transplant.
I’m happy to answer any questions you or your friend might have regarding the transplantation process, what to expect, recovery, graft vs host disease, meds, etc.
Since he must have a hematologist/oncologist locally, perhaps his doctor would have knowledge of a reputable transplantation center. Your friend will also be returning to his home clinic for routine bloodwork to be sent to the transplant hospital if he does not live near that hospital. Has he conferred with his doctor?
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionMy buddy was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis at Mayo a few weeks ago. He will start on Jakafi on Tuesday. He is at a medium/high level (2). Just got the bone marrow test back and the Dr wants to start working immediately on starting the stem cell transplant process. We went to the Rochester MN Mayo and live in Michigan, so are looking for the BEST Dr at the University of MI for this process. Would love to get a recommendation for a Dr in Michigan and also Any info on what to expect from the stem cell transplant would be appreciated! Thank you!
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2 ReactionsGlad you popped over to this discussion group, Scott. I'm tagging fellow myelofibrosis members like @teriberi123 @stimme @wellness3070 @stevehurlburt @onamission
Given that you are only 47, you might be interested in this discussion started by @rspriggle who was diagnosed in their 40's.
- Primary Myelofibrosis diagnosis in 40’s https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/primary-myelofibrosis-diagnosis-in-40s/
What questions will you have for your doctor's appointment coming up to discuss treatment options?
There is a lot of amazing info in this group. Kudos to many of you have researched experimented and brought forward alternatives to expensive and many times harmful drugs that may or may not help in our fight against MF. My father passed in June from MF, he was in later stages of MF when diagnosed though numerous symptoms existed for years prior. His experience with Jakifi was horrendous, coming off Jakifi nearly killed him and he never fully gained his previous level of health.
Seeing and knowing the symptoms of MF I pushed my oncologist for further testing of my enlarged spleen that was discovered during a follow up ultrasound post melanoma treatment. It took pushing the oncologist to complete a simple JAK2 test, which I have. My new oncologist ordered a bone marrow biopsy and further genetic testing. Confirmed PMF, though early, it is present. At 47 I am young for the disease and am still wrapping my head around the diagnosis. Prognosis from Dr. this week and will discuss options then, but will certainly be discussing some of your experiences and alternatives to the "approved" methods.
Thank you all for sharing your stories and being on the forefront of alternatives.
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Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionDid your Dr. approve taking quercetin with Jakafi? Thanks