How long does bone pain last from Neulasta injection?
I had my first TCH on Friday 12/16 and then Neulasta on Sunday 12/28. I haven't had too many side effects except pain in my hips and lower back that is not relieved by Ibuprofen and Tylenol. I have chronic pain in those 2 areas anyway and usuallytake 1/2 dose NyQuil to sleep. This pain is much worse and just throbs continuously. Just wondering how long this will last and if anyone experienced same and what helped. Thanks so much!
Leslie
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Scorpio girl - I was advised ahead of time about Claretin. Start taking it the day of chemo (before Neulasta) and take for several days afterwards. It really worked well for me. Note - regular Claretin and not the "D".
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Scorpio, the pain lasts for about 48 hours (that's 48 hours from when the pain starts, not 48 hours from the chemo). They say Claritin helps but for me it didn't do much. Just keep in mind it will be gone soon and try to distract yourself in the meantime.
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When I had Neulasta, the pain was so severe, I couldn't get up off the toilet or the couch! When I told my Onc, changed it to Leukine. No more pain after that
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Usually lasts a day or two at most. Claritin did help me, but I took it three days before my injection and three days after. There was one time that nothing helped and I thought I was having a heart attack. When I called my MO and told him about my chest and hips, he said that meant the Neulasta was working because most of the work takes place in the big bones of the body. I do remember going home early that day.
Best of luck to you!
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ScorpioGirl- Good advice already. I was advised to take Claritin and Naproxen for 5-6 days starting day of chemo each round. Did it religiously and had no pain except....round 3 took them meds for several days only- a day or two later had pain so started back on them and had no troubles. Good luck!
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I'm suffering from lower back pain as I type this. I had my first Chemo treatment on Dec 15th. I took the Claritin the day before treatment and followed through for 5 days. It seemed to work as I only had minor aches and pains. Then this morning at 1am I woke up with a racing heart and some serious lower back pain. I took 2 Tylenol which did nothing. I took a Claritin 2 hours later hoping it would kick in and provide some relief. Nothing happened. Luckily, I had a follow-up scheduled today with my MO so she could see how I was faring after my first treatment. When I mentioned to her that I had really really bad back pains she stated that she wasn't surprised and the back pain actually aligned with the Neulasta kicking in and taking effect (I'm 7 days post treatment). Since she didn't want me taking too much Tylenol (liver enzymes elevated) and since Tylenol didn't help she wrote me a low dose prescription for Oxycodone (sp) 5mg to hopefully provide some relief. I was initially hesitant to get it filled as I don't like taking more meds, especially a narcotic, but I'm glad I did get it filled I just took one and I'm hoping that it provides some temporary relief until this phase passes as I'm a little fatigue from lack of sleep but I can't sleep with the back pain. Here's hoping that the pain subsides in 48 hours.
Maybe your Dr can provide something a little stronger for pain relief? I hope you feel better. I honestly thought I had dodged this SE. I think I'll stay on the Claritin for a few extra days around my next treatment to see if that helps.
Feel better
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Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I had been taking the Claritin, today was better. Still constant throbbing but not as severe. I just ordered a heating pad from Amazon, hoping it helps me sleep. I am going to talk to MO before 2nd round because I think pain should be more manageable. Thanks to all of you on this site, it has helped tremendously with info and has given me more of a hopeful outlook since I was diagnosed. Prayers for all to have a Healthy and Happy 2017!💜
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hi Scorpiogirl,
I remember that my first dose of neulasta was painful, everything hurt even the muscles of my neck. It lasted for a couple of days and then the pain fainted. The second dose wasn't as bad as the first one, perhaps the body wasn't shocked as the first time. The doses after that weren't painful at all just like a post workout soreness.
The bone pain came back when I was on Taxotere (and it started about a week after chemo) but it was due to Taxotere rather than neulasta. I kept myself wrapped in blankets to provide some heat for the long bones and relief. I didn't take anything other than tylenol.
Wishing you a better experience with Neulasta next round.
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Thanks Lolis! That would be great if the first was the worst. I did order a heating pad from Amazon and am going to start going to chiropractor on a regular basis during chemo. Haven't needed chiropractor since my last pregnancy 14 years ago but thought it might help. We'll see
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FWIW the Oxycodone did the trick in about 2 hours. Not only did it provide complete relief, but it made me a little drowsy resulting in some pretty good sleep
. Thankfully I only had to take it for 2.5 days and I was able to stretch out the dosing as I didn't want to be taking such strong medicine every 4 hours. I'm hoping that my next Neulasta shot is less painful. My preference is not to take addiitonal meds on top of chemo, etc..
~Dee
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HI DC:
As far as NEULASTA, it is tough to deal with for some. I had no relief with Claritin or ibropfren. I just called out Jesus Help Me, and I had to ride out the horrendous pain. They told me the shot was working.
I remember the pain in my hips almost knocked me down from a standing position to the floor. My pain lasted about one week.
Just try to remember the reason they give it to you is to build up your white blood count and strengthen your immunity.
When the pain hits, say thank you that this med is doing its job.
Maybe try Zyrtec.
I wish there was more positive advice for you. This is just a temporary season. Always have Hope
Hugs and Prayers
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I had my first Neulasta shot on 12/11/17. Three days later on 12/14/17 I started experiencing excruciating pain in my thighs and lower back. My nurse navigator said it was okay to take some Hydrocodone I had left over from my port surgery. Pain lessened after first dose and was completely gone in about a day and a half.
I had my second Neulasta shot on 1/2/18. Today is three days post injection and so far no pain! I started taking Tylenol, Claritin, and Pepcid two days before the injection and plan to continue it for a week post injection. This was recommended to me by a fellow warrior and so far seems to be working! At least I have passed the point where the pain started after the first injection.
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I had a lot of problems with Neulasta despite taking Claritin. It also made my WBC go super high (37,000). I ended up switching to Neupogen shots. They weren't as convenient, but they were better tolerated for me.
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I took Claritin and rubbed some doterra blue rub on my thighs and slept with one of those rice filled microwave heating pads on my lower back
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I had severe leg pain after my first injection of neulasta. Tylenol didn't even touch the pain. My doctor prescribed oxy 5mg and it helped but he also cut the doses there after in 1/2 and i didn't have any pain. My nurse said it was unusual to "waste" 1/2 the dosage but Dr.s orders and it worked.
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I also had severe bone pain from Neulasta. I didn't dare to try it one more time after that. For my second round of chemo the mo just monitored the wbc and when they dropped, he put me on antibiotics as a preventive measure. I didn't like this either, so for the third chemo I had Neupogen (Zarxio), which didn't give me any trouble. However, in one of the remaining infusion ( I think #4), the wbc where low despite the shot, so I ended up again on antibiotics.
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