struggling with sensipar

[sumodidit]

My doctor has started me on sensipar. I have been on dialysis for 3 years now and my pth has always been high. I just started sensipar but I am having a hard time getting use to it. Feeling some of the side effects. I wanted to know if anybody had any issues when they started using sensipar? thanks in advance

[greg10]

I am sorry to hear about your problem with sensipar.  What is your dosage?  I know most people seem to be okay with 30mg to 60mg daily.

There are indications that slower and longer dialysis may help, in fact most in center dialysis patients could do with slower and longer regiments of dialysis, but the reality of in center is that they want a quick turn-over and optimize their labor cost per patient.  Look into in center nocturnal or even home dialysis for the long term solution if possible.  Your nephrologist would likely tell you that your pth level has nothing to do with adequacy of dialysis, but it is more complicated than that.  Most neph do not fully understand the complicated cycle of pth-ca-phosphorus-vitD regulation and the effect of dialysis and they will refer you to an endocrinologist instead.
http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=3366.20

[Restorer]

Thanks for reminding me to take my Sensipar! 

I have to take it (30 mg) with a big meal or it upsets my stomach and makes me feel almost like I have a cold for hours afterward.

[sumodidit]

thanks to ev1 that has given me input @restorer you just pointed out something when you mentioned you felt like you had a cold, it is some of the same symptoms I have been having, maybe I should try what you do and eat with a heavy meal

[Stoday]

I'm allergic to Sensipar.

That's a great shame because it could have kept me from an eventual parathyroidectomy.

[RichardMEL]

I've been taking 30mg in varying doses (eg: 4x/week up to daily now) for about 2 years with no side effects and it keeps my PTH at a reasonable level. Once my PTH got too low and we had to cut back!  Sorry to hear some of you are feeling the side effects - for me it's been a bit of a miracle drug!

[Marina]

I've  been taking  sensipar  for  a few yrs now,   I  works  beautifully.               
Although  when I  first  started  taking it  my  B/P  was  always  really  low, I  read  that  sensipar  can  lower  B/P.   I  was  getting  ready  to  tell my  Dr  I  didn't  want  to  take it.  But,  I  gave  it  time.
At  first  I would  have to  take it  with  a  heavy  meal,  or  I  would  have nausea  for  a few  hours.
Lately  I've  started  taking  it  at  bedtime  and  I have  no  nausea  at  all.

[sumodidit]

To everyone, thank you for sharing your experiences and advice. I just started taking at night with a heavy meal. so I'll see how it goes. The dietitian told me to give it a few weeks and I was like "for real!!" cause I really don't want take it at least not in the daytime

[del]

Hubby has been on sensipar for about 3 months now with no side effects.  He started with 30 mg and it has increased to 60 mg. He takes it with his breakfast - was told to take it with meal.  His PTH has gone from 1300 down to 800 and waiting for the results from this months test!!

[sumodidit]

Hello everyone, I had to stop taking sensipar, they got the results and said nothing is happening. I had told them the side effects do more damage than help. I had really become unusually weak which is one of the side effects. I usually try to go out on the days off but it made me so lazy that I would lay in bed all day. I was taking 30 mg and they said if it doing that much damage that it would be best to stop taking it. I've been taking it for 3 months. I stop about 2-3 weeks ago and started getting my energy back. It really set me back alot. So for the new year my resolution is to play turbo and catch up on alot of things I missed.

[KICKSTART]

Ive recently been put on Cinacalet , our doctors dont rate Sensipar at all ! My side effects for the first few weeks were  then my legs turned to jelly and a total  lack of energy. Now in this last week its all starting to change and i can tell , i feel a lot brighter for one and my joints seem to be a lot better. My knees kept giving way when going up and down stairs and now they are fine. My bloods are being monitored and ive been told that they have never seen such rapid changes !!! Do you not have Cinacalet over there? Its worth going through the side effects for a few weeks (about 4-5) to get the end results ! After all you dont want your bone structure to change so much that nothing can be done.

[greg10]

Ive recently been put on Cinacalet , our doctors dont rate Sensipar at all ! .. Do you not have Cinacalet over there? Its worth going through the side effects for a few weeks (about 4-5) to get the end results ! After all you dont want your bone structure to change so much that nothing can be done.

Cinacalcet is the generic name for Sensipar, although as far as I know, it is still under patent and there are no authorized generic manufacturer, perhaps why it costs upwards of $15 to $30 per pill (30mg to 90mg).  I believe your spelling of Cinacalet is that of the generic name, dropping the third 'c'.  It is sold by Amgen under the trade name Sensipar in North America and Australia and as Mimpara in Europe

Cinacalcet is perhaps the only commercial drug capable of reducing serum calcium levels independent of Vitamin D effects.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinacalcet

Code: [Select]

Summary

Cinacalcet is an oral calcimimetic indicated for the treatment of
secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) in patients on dialysis with end-
stage renal disease (ESRD), and in patients with parathyroid carcinoma
to reduce hypercalcaemia.
Three key phase III studies have investigated the use of cinacalcet in
patients with ESRD on dialysis. A pooled analysis of two of these studies
involving 741 patients reported that 43% of patients on cinacalcet
achieved the primary endpoint of a mean parathyroid hormone (PTH)
level <250pg/ml compared to 5% of those on placebo (p<0.001). The
effects of cinacalcet were consistent across a range of subgroups and
independent of vitamin D dosage.
Several unpublished studies have investigated the use of cinacalcet for
parathyroid carcinoma. The largest of these, which included 78 patients
with primary HPT, reported cinacalcet to be more effective than placebo
in reducing serum calcium levels to within the normal range, with
concurrent significant reductions in PTH levels.
The most common adverse effects associated with cinacalcet are nausea
and vomiting; these are usually transient and of mild to moderate
severity but lead to discontinuation of therapy in some patients.
The use of cinacalcet represents a potentially important therapeutic
development in the treatment of these two groups of patients. However,
efficacy has generally been assessed on surrogate markers of disease. A
retrospective analysis showed significant reductions in parathyroidectomy
and fractures in patients treated with cinacalcet compared to placebo,
but these results need to be confirmed in larger, prospective studies.

[KICKSTART]

My bad ..my spelling ! missed a c ! According to our dietician Cinacalcet and Sensipar are 2 different things (same objective) As she said to me they didnt rate Sensipar and it didnt seem to be very effective as compared to Cinacalcet . So that to my understanding points to it being 2 different things ! Is Cinacalcet a newer upgraded version then ? Its certainly having great and fast results for me !

[RichardMEL]

Umm... the dietician? What the hell would they know? It's definitely the same thing. If you like I can scan in my sensipar package that shows the active ingredient......

[Stoday]

Amgen manufactures cinacalcet and markets it as Sensipar in America and Australia.

NICE didn't rate Sensipar presumably because it's not available in the UK under that name.

[KICKSTART]

Isnt that strange ? RM ..our dieticians obviously have a lot more power than yours , as they can get you put on it !