Today is the last day of Cycle 1 of the trial I’m in (NVL-520). There are 28 days in each cycle. Today was a quick in & out. Up at 4:30AM for our 6:35 flight and we arrived at Sarah Cannon at 8. I had labs, saw the PA, then the trial nurse. It usually takes close to 2 hours for lab results, and if everything is OK they give me my meds and I can leave.

Overall, it’s quick and painless and today mom and I got to share a Nashville hot chicken salad at the airport. It’s delicious!

My liver enzymes (ALT & AST) have been rising each week since I’ve started this new drug. That’s very common with these type of drugs. Most of the time the body adapts and they level off, but sometimes a short break may be needed for the liver to recuperate.

My ALT started at 38 and has consistently gone up 10-20 each week. It’s now up to 113. The high end of normal is 55 so this is so a grade 2 side effect. The trial allows 2.5X increase before requiring a break so my buffer window now only 24.

I don’t have much control over this besides avoiding Tylenol, smoking cigarettes, and alcohol. I didn’t drink anything this last week but I’m going to abstain for a few more weeks to see if it makes a difference. I’m guessing it won’t but it’s worth a try.

ps: Tampa airport has cool art