Neulasta

5678dance
5678dance Member Posts: 39
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Does anyone have any tricks to combat the side effects of Neulasta? It used to take 24 hours for them to set in. Now they start withing 3 hours of the shot. My bones hurt, but mostly the ones in my face. I also feel severe flue like symptoms for 3 days. Does anyone know of anything to relieve it, other than the pain killers my onc has prescribed?

Kathi

Comments

  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #2
    neulasta vs. neupogen
    Hi,

    Are you already taking an ibuprofen or a couple of tylenol about a 1/2 hr. prior to getting the shot? If not, definitely start doing that, then continue taking it as needed. If you are already doing that & still having troubles, then you might ask about switching from neulasta to neupogen shots. Neulasta is one shot, and neupogen is a series (usually 3-4) of shots, one each day over 3-4 days. From what I have read in the past, it seems that neupogen seems to give most people less problems. I, however, am the exception. My onc started me off on neupogen and I had the horrible pain- so much in my sternum that I even thought I was having a heart attack the one day. My doctor said some people have pain with one and not the other. I was switched to neulasta the next time I needed something for the white count & fortunately, have had no problem whatsoever with pain. Maybe you'll be the opposite- worth checking into. Also, if you're paying out of pocket at all, the series of neupogen shots are less expensive than just one neulasta.
    If you still have problems and the ibuprofen or tylenol doesn't help, you might ask if you can take a prescription strength painkiller.

    Best wishes,
    Lisa
  • HollyID
    HollyID Member Posts: 946 Member
    #3
    lisa42 said:

    neulasta vs. neupogen
    Hi,

    Are you already taking an ibuprofen or a couple of tylenol about a 1/2 hr. prior to getting the shot? If not, definitely start doing that, then continue taking it as needed. If you are already doing that & still having troubles, then you might ask about switching from neulasta to neupogen shots. Neulasta is one shot, and neupogen is a series (usually 3-4) of shots, one each day over 3-4 days. From what I have read in the past, it seems that neupogen seems to give most people less problems. I, however, am the exception. My onc started me off on neupogen and I had the horrible pain- so much in my sternum that I even thought I was having a heart attack the one day. My doctor said some people have pain with one and not the other. I was switched to neulasta the next time I needed something for the white count & fortunately, have had no problem whatsoever with pain. Maybe you'll be the opposite- worth checking into. Also, if you're paying out of pocket at all, the series of neupogen shots are less expensive than just one neulasta.
    If you still have problems and the ibuprofen or tylenol doesn't help, you might ask if you can take a prescription strength painkiller.

    Best wishes,
    Lisa

    Agree with Lisa...
    I never tried Neupogen, but I do take Neulasta and haven't had any pain whatsoever.

    Neulasta is very expensive. At least it is for me. My onc's office charges $5015.00 per shot. My out of pocket is nearly $300.00 but that's OK... It does it's job very effectively!

    Good luck to you!!
  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    #4
    HollyID said:

    Agree with Lisa...
    I never tried Neupogen, but I do take Neulasta and haven't had any pain whatsoever.

    Neulasta is very expensive. At least it is for me. My onc's office charges $5015.00 per shot. My out of pocket is nearly $300.00 but that's OK... It does it's job very effectively!

    Good luck to you!!

    Holly
    OMG Holly, $5,015 for one shot, I can't believe it. George never had to have them. That is just crazy. I almost fell out of my chair when I read the cost. If they do the job then you just do it but you could go to the poor farm just paying for shots. I'm sorry you have to pay some of the cost, it's just not right.

    Take care Tina
  • idlehunters
    idlehunters Member Posts: 1,787 Member
    #5
    geotina said:

    Holly
    OMG Holly, $5,015 for one shot, I can't believe it. George never had to have them. That is just crazy. I almost fell out of my chair when I read the cost. If they do the job then you just do it but you could go to the poor farm just paying for shots. I'm sorry you have to pay some of the cost, it's just not right.

    Take care Tina

    Neulasta
    I had the shots every 2 weeks for 6+ months. Yes, the cost is at $5000.00 but luckily cost me nothing...thanks to awesome insurance. I never had any side effects although they did said the larger bones would suffer most. Since I have stopped the shots, I got an CT that is showing a bursitis in both hip areas. I have NO pain from it though and Onc said it would eventually subside when ALL Nuelasta has gone from my body. I am so glad I got the shots though as I NEVER had a problem with my white count. Good luck to you.

    Jennie
  • pf78248
    pf78248 Member Posts: 209
    #6
    Neulasta side effects
    Somewhere a year or so ago when my husband David first starting getting Neulasta shots there were posts that taking a Claritin pill (regular claritin, not Claritin D) really helped that lousy achy feeling some get with Neulasta. So we tried it by taking it the day before the shot and for a few days later. Don't know if there is science behind it but it did seem to help. Those shots are wonderful for keeping the blood numbers good.

    You might do a search for Neulasta on this website and read some of those earlier posts. Several people, if I remember, had good results with this. The oncologist told my husband he'd never heard of it but it wouldn't do any harm. So always check with the doctor first.

    Priscilla
  • HollyID
    HollyID Member Posts: 946 Member
    #7
    geotina said:

    Holly
    OMG Holly, $5,015 for one shot, I can't believe it. George never had to have them. That is just crazy. I almost fell out of my chair when I read the cost. If they do the job then you just do it but you could go to the poor farm just paying for shots. I'm sorry you have to pay some of the cost, it's just not right.

    Take care Tina

    OH yeah....
    It's gonna take me forever to pay my copays. I'll be on the poor farm for sure!! I have pretty good insurance, too!

    It's all good though. It keeps my WBCs up and that makes me happy.
  • Daffodil324
    Daffodil324 Member Posts: 59
    #8
    pf78248 said:

    Neulasta side effects
    Somewhere a year or so ago when my husband David first starting getting Neulasta shots there were posts that taking a Claritin pill (regular claritin, not Claritin D) really helped that lousy achy feeling some get with Neulasta. So we tried it by taking it the day before the shot and for a few days later. Don't know if there is science behind it but it did seem to help. Those shots are wonderful for keeping the blood numbers good.

    You might do a search for Neulasta on this website and read some of those earlier posts. Several people, if I remember, had good results with this. The oncologist told my husband he'd never heard of it but it wouldn't do any harm. So always check with the doctor first.

    Priscilla

    Neulasta
    I had WBC problems and I've been having Neulasta injections after each treatment for several months. The first time I went in for an injection, another woman who was also there for Neulasta told me that she always took Extra Strength Tylenol beforehand and that she hadn't had any pain problems. She had Tylenol with her and offered me some, which I took, and I took more that night at bedtime. I had no pain at all.

    So I've been taking Extra Strength Tylenol before every injection and again that evening, and Neulasta hasn't ever bothered me. The nurse who does the injections agreed that the Tylenol seems to really help some people and encouraged me to continue taking it since it was working well for me.
  • 5678dance
    5678dance Member Posts: 39
    #9
    Daffodil324 said:

    Neulasta
    I had WBC problems and I've been having Neulasta injections after each treatment for several months. The first time I went in for an injection, another woman who was also there for Neulasta told me that she always took Extra Strength Tylenol beforehand and that she hadn't had any pain problems. She had Tylenol with her and offered me some, which I took, and I took more that night at bedtime. I had no pain at all.

    So I've been taking Extra Strength Tylenol before every injection and again that evening, and Neulasta hasn't ever bothered me. The nurse who does the injections agreed that the Tylenol seems to really help some people and encouraged me to continue taking it since it was working well for me.

    Thanks!
    Thanks everyone! My onc has me on Vicodin, which does work, but I was looking for something that was not a narcotic. Extra Stength Tylenol just doesn't do it for me, and I can't upgrade to Motrin, because I have an ulcer. I will give the regular Claritin a try, and let you know how it works.

    Kathi
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #10
    pf78248 said:

    Neulasta side effects
    Somewhere a year or so ago when my husband David first starting getting Neulasta shots there were posts that taking a Claritin pill (regular claritin, not Claritin D) really helped that lousy achy feeling some get with Neulasta. So we tried it by taking it the day before the shot and for a few days later. Don't know if there is science behind it but it did seem to help. Those shots are wonderful for keeping the blood numbers good.

    You might do a search for Neulasta on this website and read some of those earlier posts. Several people, if I remember, had good results with this. The oncologist told my husband he'd never heard of it but it wouldn't do any harm. So always check with the doctor first.

    Priscilla

    Claritan/Zyrtec
    Hmmm... I mentioned above that I've never had problems w/ the neulasta shot. I do take Zyrtec on a daily basis for allergies. Maybe that's helped with not having the problems.

    Lisa

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