Nuelasta

[Babs]

Has anyone taken Nuelasta and if so what were your Sid effects if any?  My last chemo treatment was halted due to an incredibly low white blood count.  It is rescheduled for this coming Monday, depending on my numbers, however the Dr wants to add Nuelasta.  I suffer from bone pain with the Chemo treatments already and my understanding is one of the common side effects of Nuelasta is bone pain!  
 

Thanks for any info,

Babs

[Tom Galli]

Babs,

Yes, I've had injected Neulasta many times after Taxol and Carboplatin Infusions. I had to report to my infusion center 2 days after each infusion for a blood test to check red and white counts. If my red counts were low, I'd receive an injection of Procrit. If whites were low, I had Neulasta. I didn't experience any side effects with Procrit, but Neulasta was a different matter. First, the injection itself was uncomfortable. The drug needed to be injected very slowly and the long duration was unsettling. Plus, there was immediate arm pain after the injection.

But the most troubling side effect was pain in my long bones (arms and legs). This was due to amping up white blood cell production in bone marrow. The pain lasted about 24 hours.

I also had bone pain and more troubling joint pain after infusions. The latter was disabling for a couple of days; it was very painful to move my joints. This pain was related to chemotherapy, not Neulasta or Procrit. But Neulasta added to my discomfort. Procrit wasn't a problem for me at all.

What worked to reduce the pain? Unfortunately, nothing really helped. We tried hot and cold baths, analgesics including narcotic types, anti-inflammatory drugs, topical lidocaine. Nothing really addressed the pain. My bone pain started about day 3 after infusion and was over by day 5.

I believe there are time-release devices that release Neulasta into your blood stream over a course of days. These do, I'm told, lesson the bone pain symptom. You might ask your doctor about this delivery method. 

Stay the course.

Tom

[Babs]

Tom,

Thanks so much for the info!  I will definitely ask about the time release method.  So if I am understanding you correctly, the bone pain from Nuelasta was a day or 2 at the most?  Thanks - Babs 

 

 

 

 

[BridgetO]

Hi Babs,

I had chemo for a non-lung cancer and after having low white blood cells I had Neupogen after each of my remaining two infusions. Neupogen is like Neulasta, but while Neulasta is long acting and only requires one shot, Neupogen is short acting and requires several daily shots (maybe 5? I can't remember how many.) I had to give them to myself, with a little needle in the belly. I think it's similar to how diabetics give themselves insulin. I didn't have any trouble giving myself the shots and I didn't have any side effects. I think Neupogen is slightly less likely than Neulasta to cause bone pain, but  it's still a possible side effect. I consider myself lucky to have gotten through without pain.

Bridget O

[Rose Kaiser]

I receive a Udenyca shot the day after treatment to boost my white blood count. It is administered either in the flab of the upper arm or stomach. I used my arm for over a year and my main side effect was a bruised feeling in my upper torso. It would start about 3 to 4 days after and last maybe 2 days. I switched to the stomach and I'm not having the bruised feeling any longer. 

[Judy M2]

The things you learn on this crazy journey: the stomach area has fewer nerve endings and injections there aren't so painful. While I was in a rehab facility after my abdominal surgery, I had daily injections of a blood thinner in my stomach because I wasn't mobile enough and they wanted to prevent blood clots. 

[Steff]

Babs - my  mom just had a Neulasta injector "installed" on 10/31.  My mom has low blood counts due to her leukemia chemo regimen.  The injector gave an infusion on 10/31 and 11/1.  She did not report any side effects from it.  And it did work for her, her WBC went from 8.6 to 67.4, but then 2 days later had already dropped to 12.8 (due to the leukemia chemo).  So, 

[Tom Galli]

Babs,

My bone and joint pain lasted two days regardless of Neulasta. I can't recall a difference in duration with Neulasta but my leg bones particularly were more painful for a time. But, Neulasta is essential because with such low counts, any "flavor of the month" illness would land me in a hospital ICU.

Stay the course.

Tom

[Babs]

Thanks everybody for your replies.  That’s one of the wonderful things about this forum/family.  There is someone that has the answer and is willing to share.  We’ll see what happens on Monday.  Hopefully I can have the treatment. 
 

Babs

[JamesB]

Babs I do hope it goes well!

[Banana]

Thank you for posting and sharing! My Dad just got Neulasta too recently, so it is nice reading about other experiences.