nulasta sucks...

You're not wrong there, it's horrible, isn't it? My first one was the worst for pain. Thereafter I proceeded with extreme caution, taking Benadryl (I had used a generic brand the first time) every night before bed, plus ibuprofen every 4 hours. I stuck with the Benadryl for the full week after the neulasta injection, and the ibuprofen for the first 4 or 5 days. I was not going through that pain again!  It seemed to work & I had the occasional twinge (cue taking more ibuprofen) but nothing on the scale of that first dose.

My chemo is all finished now (4.5 weeks since the last one), & in the past I rarely used meds. I learned during chemo to stop "toughing it out", & became an enthusiastic popper of pills

Best of luck

I did not take Clariton and had no pain from Neulasta at all but the RN who gave it told me to start the Clariton the night before if I had any problems with the first injection.  Also not to use the 'long lasting' form.   I had a different SE (wasn't bad) from it that I've never heard anyone else having.  2 hrs (almost to the minute) after injection' I would go to sleep for 2 hrs and wake up with no other SEs.  Yeah - I'm weird!  LOL

As to the location of the shot, I was doing it myself (the shot was delivered the day before, & stayed in the fridge. The needle does bounce & not break when dropped. Don't ask why I know that. I learned that I would really struggle to be a self-injecting junkie!). 

After reading all the instructions very carefully at least 3 or 4 times, (some may call it procrastination), where the locations suggested were stomach or thigh, I opted for my thigh as I'd had DEIP flap reconstruction & have a lovely big scar across my tummy.  I don't recall if it included the arm, & I didn't keep the paperwork, sorry.

If your nurse is insistent on the arm location, you might ask to see the instructions as I'm guessing they receive the injection in the same packaging I did? It is quite educational to read all about the injection, the side effects etc, etc. Knowledge is power after all.

My Neulastas were in my arm.

My husband had to give me the neulasta shot since my chemo day was Friday and my mo's office was not open on Saturday.  The thigh seemed to be the best spot to give the injection.  Once we read all of the literature it was pretty easy to do.  However, I know I would have struggled if I had to give it to myself.  I did not take Clariton beforehand and I only had pain after the first injection.  I woke up in the middle of the night with the most incredible pain in my sternum.  My MO had suggested I take an oxycodone that I had left over from surgery.  That knocked the pain down and I was able to go back to sleep.  Each following injection  was pain free.

I think we are very fortunate to have access to this drug.  It is relatively new and very effective (and expensive).  I was hospitalized once during chemo due to a low wbc and fever.  My counts quickly returned to an acceptable level because I had just received the shot.  I didn't miss any chemo appointments because my blood counts were good.

Try adding alleve with the claritin. Made the difference for me.