Faslodex Girls

I have the much-coveted 10:30 slot. Late enough to miss rush hour. Early enough that they aren't running late. [Didn't think Pam was on our schedule. She is normally a Wednesday Woman. Isn't it funny the things that the brain chooses to remember?]

*susan*

Luck, luck, luck, Teresa!

Tina

I'm new to Stage IV and will be having my first Zometa infusion and Faslodex shot(s) on Thursday. I haven't made it all the way through this thread but have noted the following as suggestions for making things easier and just wanted to know if I'm missing anything or got anything wrong.

1. Stand or position yourself so the side you are receiving the injection in is as relaxed as possible;

2. Warm the faslodex with your hands before getting the shot (the warmer the better);

3. Have the nurse do the injection slowly;

4. Some people have less pain getting the shot higher up and some have less pain if it's given lower on the buttock;

5. Walk around, stretch and/or massage the area after getting the injection to get it moving through your body;

6. Heat is good for the injection site; cold is not;

7. Drink lots of fluid the day before, the day of, and several days after getting the injection.

I also have a couple of questions.

1. How much fluid do you drink each day to get sufficiently hydrated?

2. How many days after the injection day do you continue to hydrate?

3. Are you hydrating because of the Faslodex or the Zometa or both?

4. If you have pain afterwards, is it just injection site pain for the Faslodex and the potential for whole body pain from the Zometa?

5. Will Advil be enough to take care of any pain I may have afterwards or should I ask for a prescription for something stronger?

Sorry for all the questions but I like to be prepared.

Pat

add me to the thurs club. 8am then off to work. Hoping is doesn't make me too tired. I have meetings all day

Teresa,

Congratulations on completing your move! Bow is a lovely little town. I am sure that you will enjoy it tremendously. Good luck with your new clinic.

*susan*

Pat,

You are a star student! Here are my reactions and answers:

1. Correct.

2. My onc's RN gets my Faslodex out of the fridge first thing in the morning so it's plenty warm when I arrive. If she's not there, all bets are off as to when it gets out of the cooler, but I make sure the substitute RN knows it must be warm.

3. Yes.

4. Yes.

5. I'm with Susan on this one, too.

6. My onc's nurse has told me every time I've asked that heat on the area during the first three days is verboten because it interferes with the proper absorption of the drug. (Cold? Dunno. Not interested in cold. Want heat. Can't have it until fourth day, when I stand under the shower as hot as I can take it and present my happy butt to its ministrations.)

7. I hydrate like mad because if I do not attempts to draw blood result in multiple painful stabs and lots of bruising.

My answers to your questions:

1. I drink a lot of water the night before and more on the morning of my appointment, maybe a total of two liters max.

2. I don't intentionally hydrate after the injections. Unlike Susan, I notice no thirst afterward. I do crave salt, though! My post-injection comfort treat usually involves pita or nacho chips and hummus.

3. See 7 above.

4. If there is pain, it is usually at and around the injection site, with some additional stiffness and aches in my back and hips later. I am not on Zometa.

5. The pain from the injection is normally not serious, so I usually take nothing. When I do it's just regular Tylenol.

I've learned from this thread that everyone has different reactions to this drug and its method of administration. You know all our tips, and you may have none or just some of the SEs you've read about here. I have mild nausea, but not every month. I have hot flashes, seemingly more lately. One thing not yet mentioned here is the possibility of an itchy skin reaction complete with raised welts. I'm not sure what causes this, but it's happened to me a numberl of times, most at the beginning of treatment. Solution: anti-itch cream. I slather on a generic for Caladryl Clear and it works beautifully.

Hope this is helpful. Bottoms up!

Tina

Hey there Pat! I also am on Zometa and Faslodex on the same day. I've been on the Zometa since Feb 2011 monthly and started the Falsodex in July 2013. I notice more fatigure for a few days after, related to the Faslodex, probably since that's newer. The hydration is good for both (and good for life as mentioned by someone else!). So my last injection, the nurse gave it higher up than usual and I thought it hurt a little bit more BUT (yes pun intended) I did not have the bruised pain feeling afterwards that I've had before. Before I felt bruised at the injections sites for more than a week. That last time, did not have that! So I may be asking them to keep it in that area. Also, for me, I noticed a strong odor in my pee after the injections that lasts a few days. If this happens to you, don't worry, it will go away after a few days, and then be back when you get your injections the next month! I don't know if it ever goes away, and it seems not all people have that.

Good luck! Take a nap afterwards!

P.S. Teresa, I hope your new clinic turns out to have wonderful people, good judgment, and nurses who know to warm up the shot without being asked.

I love our Fanny Pack!

Tina

Thank you all for your very helpful comments! As you can probably tell, I'm anxious about getting my first treatments, but your recommendations make me feel as prepared as I can be and that helps calm me down. I will be thinking of the Fanny Pack tomorrow and all your great advice and will let you know how it goes (probably after my nap)!

hello my fanny pack friends from lovely, quiet, serene Bow, NH. I think I'm beginning to miss Cambridge. But that's another story.

I met with my new Onc yesterday. He's a young guy, pretty knowledgable from what I could tell, and he knew my onc. In Cambridge as they worked together as interns at Beth Israel in Boston, MA. Small world, but I already knew that. Small world I mean.

Any way, he made a comment that kind of took me back a bit. I said to him, " the latest cat scan seems to show that I have no more cancer in my lungs". "Yes" he said. "It did. But it will come back. The cancer will come back. And there will come a time that these present meds you are on will stop working and we'll have to think of other meds." I said, " I'm not ready for chemo".

I've been depressed ever since. Any suggestions?

Hmpf. Double hmpf. Pessimist, isn't he? And not terribly appropriate or sensitive. I foresee a style clash. Did you respond at all?

If you want to or need to stick with him, I suggest telling him you like to worry about things when they happen, but not before. Maybe he's trainable.

Please don't be depressed. Don't borrow trouble. The lung mets MAY come back, some very distant time in the misty future. Or they may NEVER come back.

I prescribe tea and chocolate.

Pam

I would bow at your feet except that (a) I'm not male and (b) I can't bend that far. . .

True that if he's young enough, he hasn't followed a wide variety of patients long enough to realize that some last a long, long time. He certainly wouldn't during residency -- they only see the really sick patients, and during fellowship they follow people for three months. Still doesn't excuse him.

Tree 3 you go girl. I got my shot today and the nurse said you know we have women on the treatment for over 5 yrs. I instantly felt optimistic. And they weren't so bad today

Ai yi yi, Tree. What a callow guy. His delivery was poor, to put it mildly, but in essence was what my experienced and compassionate onc has told me more than once, gently but firmly. Here's the gist of it: "Even if treatment renders the tumors in your lungs inactive, I believe that you do have cancer elsewhere in your body. You must stay in treatment, but we have many hormonal treatments to go through before we go to chemo."

It's interesting to note that he always gives me this reality sandwich with no provocation from me; I have never indicated that I think I can stop treatment. Maybe he doesn't want me to get my hopes up that I'll be cured, which is a little insulting, but who knows? He sees a lot of people. Maybe he forgets that I understand what Stage IV means.

Which brings me back to your young man's behavior. He doesn't have a lot of experience with people, particularly those who are defying the odds. And, while it's no excuse, perhaps he may have been thinking aloud, or showing off his "knowledge" for some grizzled and tough-on-interns senior oncologist he imagined was standing behind him, or maybe he wants to make sure--in his young and clumsy way--that you don't think you're cured.

God knows how and what they teach oncologists about dealing with real people, but I like Pam's thought that your guy might be trainable. Seems to me you'd be just the right (smart, understanding, funny) person to do it.

Tina