Neulasta injection

Hello:
I had neulasta on the second day after every chemo.  It is a "treat".  Sarcasm.  Although I've read some people had very little pain, mine was very bad.  On the first rounds I made it through without painkillers, but it was horrible for about 2-3 days afterwards.  I finally got a prescription for tylenol 3 for the remaining shots.  Just remember to take one before the shot is administered.  It's doable though.  You do what you have to to get through treatment and neulasta makes it possible for you to go in dose dense chemo.  Good luck!

Feroza, just re-read my post and I do not intend to scare you.  The bottom line is it is all DO-ABLE.  I'm done treatment and even though it was all within the past year, it is SO already a distant memory.  Don't worry about side effects, you will be okay.  Stay strong!

Hi feroza~

I had the nuelasta shots and because of bone pain and sterum pain they switched to neupoge shots which was every day for 5 days after chemo, not every one has to get them, and not every one has any pain what so ever, some swear by clairatin, it didnt help me i was prescribed darvaset, i liked it because i didnt feel High from it but it really took the pain away, it was for me the only thing that did- the shot itself does not hurt, you can have it in the arm or tummy and as bad as the tummy sounds it didnt hurt at all, my onc nurse said if it is warmed up before they put it in and do it slowly is what makes a difference- i hate needles and i promise this did not hurt at all- just make sure you have some pain pills on hand in case you have some discomfort, which usually effected me either late that night after the shot or the next day- good luck

debbie

I just finished 8 chemo treatments and I had a Neulasta injection the day after each one.  I never had any side effects or pain at all with them.  Sounds like a lot of people have had pain with them but I was lucky.  Everyone is different and hopefully you will find them easy too.  The oncology nurses here swear by Neulasta.  My counts were always good through chemo but I was careful as well - lots of hand sanitizer and I didn't go out to busy areas on the weekends.  Good luck!

I've been doing Neulasta shots on the days after my AC.  My bones, especially my hips, ached terribly for a couple days after the first one, but it wasn't unbearable and regular Aleve (what my onc recommended) helped tremendously.  I was achy after the second one, but not nearly so much as the first, and to be honest, I don't remember it happening at all with the third one last week.  I haven't been going to the gym since I started, but that's because I'm a total germaphobe right now and I have an elliptical, dvds, some weights, etc. at home.

I had the Neulasta shots after each AC treatment and had bone pain in my hips, legs and feet the day after the shot.  I tried Claritin, didn't help.  The first shot I was able to handle the discomfort w/o prescription meds, but by the second round I needed more than what OTC meds offered.  The bone pain only lasted for 3 days and on the 3rd day it wasn't too bad.

Feroza - I go the results of my biopsy and was diagnosed with IDC (invasive ductal carcinoma) on 11/9/09, had a mastectomy 11/11/09, and I started chemo 11/30/09, though everyone said I was seriously fast-tracked.  The first one took a LONG time.  I'm sure it's different for different drugs.  I'm on Adriamycin/Cytoxin for the first round by the time we did bloodwork, appointment with onc, and the actual chemo we were there 3 1/2-4  hours.  I ate a light breakfast a couple hours before my appointment, as much as my nerves would allow!  I drink LOTS of water before my treatments and it helps tremendously.  You can call your oncologists office and ask the nurse what he/she recommends you do.  My nurses are always very happy to answer any questions.  They don't want us sitting around worrying over things.    Subsequent appointments have gone faster and I snack right up until treatment if I want.  Everyone's different.

Feroza, I just pm'ed you my contact info. 

I'm not sure if that is a long time to wait, to heal from surgery and then begin chemo.  I had chemo first.

Big hug to you tonight!
Christine

Feroza - I had a woman in my Chemo Group who has the same type of cancer (metaplastic). She is over a year out and still doing well.

Chemo would be necessary for you though as it is really your only weapon - you cannot take Hormonals or herceptin.

 Feroza - The unknown is the hardest part, next to the waiting.  I was diagnosed June 19th - also a TN, surgery on the 25th, but didn't start chemo until Aug 7th.  The delay in starting surgery was because I joined a trial with Avastin and they had to be sure all of my incisions were completely healed - something about the Avastin can cause wounds to reopen.  I just finished chemo 12/18 and will start radiation in the next week or two.  It is very overwhelming at first - hurry up and learn.  There are times you feel you can't do it, but you can and you will.  Although all of the drugs including the Neulasta come with SE's remember everyone is different.  Some of us have no SE's, others not so good and a lot fall in the middle.  Like I said earlier I did have discomfort with the Neulasta, but it's worth it - it really helped keep my WBC up and I never got sick while getting Neulasta.

Come here when you have questions, need to vent or just ramble - you'll find plenty support.

I only had one and thank God I didn't have any more, I hurt so bad I thought I was going to die. When I called my oncologist he said to take Tylenol, it didn't help at all. Then when I went in to see him he said you should have taken Benadryl for the SE's.

Feroza - My chemo treatments lasted between 3 to 4 hours each time.  I took some reading material and a portable dvd player.  The dvd player was in case I couldn't get a chair that had a tv.  The cancer center I went to had 10 chairs and 6 tvs.  My mom went with me and would go out at lunch time and pick up lunch.

Unless your doctor has told you otherwise you should be able to eat whenever and whatever you want.  Be sure to drink a lot of liquid though. 

Feroza - I had to wait awhile between my diagnosis and the start of my chemo too.  The waiting truly was the hardest part.  I was diagnosed in June and then had to have another surgery and didn't start chemo until early August.  It was "only" a month and a half but it felt like a year and a half. 

What chemo are they recommending?  I did 8 treatments - 4 of FEC and 4 of taxotere.  It usually took about 3 hours or so each time so you might want to bring a book or someone to keep you company.  I found that helped.  As far as eating before chemo, I would recommend having breakfast for sure but wait and see how you feel for lunch.  I didn't usually eat lunch the day of my FEC treatments but during the taxotere I did. 

I hope this helps.  Hang in there!

I felt achy; but it kept my blood counts up and kept me well. Yes, go to the gym if you're up to it. I walked a lot and did some light weight workouts, ab. stuff etc. when on the chemo/neulasta run. I think exercise actually helped to conteract some of the achy feelings, and for sure it helped me mentally. Good Luck!!