Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

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cc07

Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby cc07 » Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:52 pm

does anyone know how often neulasta should be given?

A friend of mine received it after his 2nd chemo and after every chemo thereafter. now he just received it today after his 5th chemo. this past wednesday his blood was perfect except for a little low hemoglobin which has actaully gone up since the week before- my question is why did they give him neulasta again?

isnt only if your neutrophils are low, his havent been low in 6 weeks makes me very angry. also they give him neulasta straight after 5FU disconnect, i thought it had to be at least 24 hours after ANY chemo?

can your body make white cells long after chemo?

anyone know if there's long term side effects of neulasta?

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seussfan
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Postby seussfan » Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:13 pm

I am using Neupogen, so I don't know a lot about Neulasta. Here is a link to information about the drug - http://www.chemocare.com/bio/neulasta.asp
It is a great website to look up any drugs used during chemo.
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Postby sean » Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:17 pm

They give Neulasta here on the day of disconnect and I think this is the common practice with FOLFOX. The label warnings are not to give it 14 days before or within 24 hours after cytotoxic chemotherapy (which includes 5-FU) - but since FOLFOX is a 14 day cycle there would be no day to administer it within those guidelines. My guess is that the disconnect day is the preferred day since the pump infuses at such a slow rate - but it is a question your friend could pose to his doctor.

Odds are his blood is perfect because the Neulasta is working. Chemo kills off the white blood cells and without Neulasta or Neupogen to boost the count you can become prone to infections which can be dangerous on chemo. If your count crashes you can also feel like crap (I skipped it cycle 2 because of bone pain the first time and have been on it since cycle 3).
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9 FOLFOX4, 3 5-FU completed Sep 24 2007
Blockage symptoms, Negative Colonoscopy, Positive PET Oct 2009
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fishingwv

neulasta

Postby fishingwv » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:10 pm

I had neulasta 2 years ago and I have tried to find anyone else with long term bone pain. My bones have not been right since. I am in pain all the time. My cancer doctor just blows it off. My bones were never like this until I had 4 injections of neulasta. Just wondering if anyone else felt this way.

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Postby RobinS » Sat Sep 01, 2007 12:14 pm

I was given Neulasta after my second round of FolFox6. It was always given immediately after the disconnect. After the 4th round the onc decided not to give it to me and then I had to postpone the 5th because my blood counts didn't recover in time. I had it every time thereafter (finished May 23, 2007). I never did have any bone pain from it so I feel fortunate.

Robin

lynng

Re: neulasta

Postby lynng » Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:50 pm

fishingwv wrote:I had neulasta 2 years ago and I have tried to find anyone else with long term bone pain. My bones have not been right since. I am in pain all the time. My cancer doctor just blows it off. My bones were never like this until I had 4 injections of neulasta. Just wondering if anyone else felt this way.

I had neulasta last year, 12 shots. I had terrible bone pain for the entire time I had treatments. My joints hurt terribly for 3 days after each shot. I finished my treatment in October and have terrible pain in my hips which no one can explain. I have told my oncologist, who says he has never heard of this problem from the shots, and a rheumatologist, who does not know what the problem is. I have been looking to see if I could find anyone else that has had Neulasta and has the problem. Are your bones still bothering you?

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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby missjv » Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:58 am

i had 1 shot with neulasta and then refused it and i will never do it again. if i went for chemo and my counts were low i came back a week later and they bounced back on their own and then did chemo. that only happened a couple times. i would rather let my body build up naturally then have some stupid shot especially one that effects the bone marrow. those shots to me are scarier then the chemo itself. if chemo sends your body into a tailspin with low counts then your body is reacting like it is supposed to. when you give a shot to boost the white cells and your spine feels like 10,000 red ants are gnawing at it that to me is way to unnatural to do to my body. let my body recover on it's own is what i do for me i had a couple of delayed chemos and my doc told me delaying treatment a week or 2 is not a big deal. one of my oncos hates those shots and will not push them unless someone is in severe jeapordy. just my opinion on those shots everyone needs to make up their own minds and do some research on the shots and the studies that have been done for them.

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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby Colon2007 » Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:43 pm

i regret my husband taking neulasta. sometimes oncologists are just game players. just guessing. not customizing to each patient. it make sme sick and regretful that my husband took that nonsense. his whites are taking so long to recover beause he had neulasta 11 times. sick doctors. Some are excellent and are truely blessings but some do what they like & then say "oh its you" or "its the chemo" or i dont know but at least you dont have cancer"


just angry now. when i see you all suffering like this.

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bradyr
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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby bradyr » Sun Jul 27, 2008 4:19 pm

i get it on disconnect days - maybe every 2nd or 3rd time - I thought it was to bring up my white cell counts...
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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby missjv » Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:01 pm

well brady i would check and make sure you really need the shot. docs push it way too much and alot of times it is not even needed and it is very expensive which of course the docs love that.

missjv

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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby Magnolia » Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:50 pm

Neulasta and Neupogen are used to bring up white cell counts, and sometimes to prevent them from dropping. It's extremely expensive, and can cause some uncomfortable bone pain because white blood cells are formed in bone marrow. Some people get it with every treatment, whether their counts have dropped or not. I only got it once, when my counts actually HAD dropped. The rest of the time my counts were only mildy low and I didn't need it. I haven't heard anything about long term effects of Neulasta and Neupogen, but I wonder about the wisdom of stimulating bone marrow cell growth unnecessarily. Of course, it's worthwhile if it's needed, but just squirting it in willy-nilly seems to be a waste of healthcare resources and a risk of possible long term effects by overstimulating cell growth in sensitive tissue. This is only my own opinion. I have read nothing in any literature about either of these drugs having any long term risks to date.
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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby PammySue_51 » Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:03 pm

They had to give me Neulasta once because of low white cells. After the shot they rebounded fantastic. The onco that I'm not too fond of wanted me to have another one in spite of this. I refused the shot and didn't have any more problems the entire time I was on FOLFIRI. Not only did I not want the shote because I didn't need it, but it is incredibly expensive! I was lucky in that I had very few side effects the one time I took it.
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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby Magnolia » Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:29 am

I looked these drugs up a while back and they are indicated for use with each infusion. That's why insurance covers it even though it's so wildly expensive. I only needed one dose in my whole course of treatment. I'm hearing there are others who are getting away with minimal use of the drugs. I have no problem at all with using them when they're needed, but like any drug, they're not to be played with. We have a real problem with healthcare costs in the US, and in other countries, just a different way of paying for them, so why are we wasting money this way? Even when private insurance covers it, we end up paying in the long run with higher premiums and lower wages because our employers have to cover the difference. Or worse, more unbenefitted jobs.
Dx Stage IIIC CC 3/10/06
Surgery 3/20/06
Folfox 4/06 - 10/06
Avastin 4/06 - 4/07
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Magnolia
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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby Magnolia » Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:57 am

I discoverd something I had suspected. There is a small increase in the rate of leukemia in patients treated with WBC stimulating drugs. Makes sense, as speeding up production of cells increases the chance of DNA transcription errors. As the article suggests, it's not enough to stop using it for people who truly need the drug, but would certianly warrent caution for everyone else. No drug is risk free, ever. I also did some other googling around. While the drugs ARE indicated for each chemo infusion, they seem to be in most common usage for treating leukemias and lymphomas, where the chemo pretty much wipes out the bone marrow. Again, in those cases, it would make sense to treat more often. Those patinets are severly low, and get low every time. If they have a small risk of a new leukemia, it's a small price for the good chance of a cure for a disease that's highly lethal without aggressive treatment. ( the cells they're stimulating are not the same type as the ones that are malignant, in case you're wondering) We don't always get that low and may not need it. The blurb I read in the PDR knock-off said the stuff can be give with each chemo infusion, but didn't sepcify what kind of chemo or what kind of cancer. Funny what you can come up with when you dig around. In any case, I would definately take the drug if my counts were low. Infection with low counts can be as life threatening as the cancer. In my nursing days, we lost patinets to infections as often as to cancer before we could treat low counts. Antibiotics can't always handle it without the body's immune system to back them up. If they could, AIDS patients wouldn't die. BUT, if the counts aren't down, have a heart-to-heart with your doc. Learn how to be careful with precautions at home and stay away from stuff that can make you sick. Learn to live with marginal counts and stay healthy. Above all , make a decision that makes YOU comfortable. Long term risks vs short term risks. It's up to you. If you're more comfortable having whopping high WBC's maybe you need the piece of mind. Or if you have a lifestyle that puts you at unusual risk, you may be unable to take the precautions. Clean out barns for a living? Pick crabs? Get all the information you can beforehand and have that talk with your doc.
Dx Stage IIIC CC 3/10/06
Surgery 3/20/06
Folfox 4/06 - 10/06
Avastin 4/06 - 4/07
NED!


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Magnolia
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Re: Long term bad side effects of neulasta?

Postby Magnolia » Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:00 am

Seriously, if you pick crabs for a living, I'd take a leave of absence. If you clean barns, you probably already have.
Dx Stage IIIC CC 3/10/06
Surgery 3/20/06
Folfox 4/06 - 10/06
Avastin 4/06 - 4/07
NED!


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