Forum Discussion
Abemaciclib Verezenio side effects
Hi Ladies, I have recently started on Letrizole/Hormone Therapy, and Verenio / Abemaciclib and am struggling with the side effects. I am in the fortunate position in that both these drugs are bein...
Hi Jenni and everyone else interested in the Abemaciclib thread. I have mets in the spine and have been taking Abemaciclib and Letrozole since January with ongoing diarrhoea which has worsened lately. I am on 150mg and hoping to have either a reduction of break when I next visit my oncologist in two weeks time. I'm very interested to hear of others experiences and wonder if anyone else would like to contribute to and renew this discussion. Thanks in advance.
Hi Shirley0411
I've been taking abemaciclib and letrozole since the end of August last year as part of my preventative treatment.
The initial dose of 150mg 2 times a day did not agree with me at all, the diarrhoea was pretty bad and never settled down, just kept getting worse, which then caused fatigue and I felt pretty awful. After persevering for 5 weeks my oncologist paused the treatment for 4 weeks, and then started me on a lower dose of 100mg twice a day.
The lower dose made a big difference, I get occasional diarrhoea, which seems to happen every few weeks. I also noticed that I can't tolerate much dairy since I've been taking abemaciclib, particularly milk, and I've switched to lactose free milk. I've also reduced my coffee intake to occasional. I originally thought coffee was causing me issues, but after lots of experimenting it turned out to be the milk that caused my stomach to rebel.
I also get hot flushes and general muscle aches, mainly in my legs, but I'm blaming the letrozole for that. Exercise and stretching helps a lot with the muscle aches.
I'm finding the abemaciclib manageable, but I definitely couldn't have taken it at the higher dose for any length of time.
Hi Katie,
Thank you for your reply. Your side effects are similar to mine.
My oncologist has reduced my dose to 100mg and I think I am already feeling the benefit of that. Here's hoping life will take on a brighter outlook each day with the change.
It was difficult for me to determine whether it was the abemaciclib or the letrozole causing the majority of the problems for me.
All the best to you Katie.