Question about Neulasta

determinedljp
determinedljp Member Posts: 1
in Ovarian Cancer #1
My mom is taking chemo for ovarian cancer once per week for 3 weeks. The day after the 3rd treatment, she gets a Neulasta shot. Then she has a week off before the cycle starts over again. For the last 3 months, she has developed a fever of up to 103 approximately 7 days after the Neulasta shot. She has been hospitalized each time. They have run all kinds of cultures xrays,etc, and have found nothing. They put her on a cocktail of antibiotics, and slowly her fever decreases. It takes about a week for her to be free of fever once it starts. Has anyone else experienced this after a Neulasta shot?

Comments

  • lovesanimals
    lovesanimals Member Posts: 1,366 Member
    #2
    My Experience Was Different
    My experience with Neulasta was different from your mom's. The only thing I noticed was muscle aches in my legs for about two or three days right after receiving the Neulasta shot, and I don't think I had a fever; I definitely don't remember feeling overly warm at all. I got the shot four times total, the day after treatments two through five. (As a 50 year old stage 2b ovarian cancer patient, I received six treatments total of carbol/taxol; each treatment was about three weeks apart.) I hope the doctors figure out why your mom is getting a fever and I hope things get better for her soon.

    Take care,
    Kelly
  • LaundryQueen
    LaundryQueen Member Posts: 676
    #3
    lovesanimals said:

    My Experience Was Different
    My experience with Neulasta was different from your mom's. The only thing I noticed was muscle aches in my legs for about two or three days right after receiving the Neulasta shot, and I don't think I had a fever; I definitely don't remember feeling overly warm at all. I got the shot four times total, the day after treatments two through five. (As a 50 year old stage 2b ovarian cancer patient, I received six treatments total of carbol/taxol; each treatment was about three weeks apart.) I hope the doctors figure out why your mom is getting a fever and I hope things get better for her soon.

    Take care,
    Kelly

    Hidden infection
    I'm just guessing here: the most common place for a hidden infection is in a tooth and/or the bone around an infected tooth. If your mom has any teeth that have been "root-canaled," then that's something to investigate. Most people are unaware of these infections and carry them for years.

    My opInion is that there was/is a latent infection SOMEWHERE and when the immune system was stimulated by the Neulasta, the body tried to deal with that infection. Maybe your mom wears dentures, in which case, you have to look somewhere else for the infection--like a joint replacement? Or maybe the infection permanently cleared up after the antibiotics. Watch out for the nasty C. diff infection that can follow antibiotic use in cancer patients...the main symptom is nasty-smelling diarrhea.

    Hopefully, your mom will be fine from here forward.
  • Mwee
    Mwee Member Posts: 1,338
    #4
    Neulasta shots
    I get a neulasta shot once a month and ususally experience severe muscle, skin and bone aches. It can feel like a fever, but I don't have one. This sounds to me like an infection and I hope they find out what the underlining cause could be. 103 is an awfully high fever. I'm so sorry she has been going through this.
    (((HUGS))) Maria

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