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Filgrastim pain and EC chemo. Has anyone else experienced this?

Redhotchilli
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Hi

My first time on here. Im on EC chemo and having 5 days of Filgrastim injections. The first time round I had horrendous pain in my lower back, hips and legs on days 4 and 5. This time round again I had the pain on days 4 and 5 then I was ok for 5 days then the pain has returned. Ive had it fir 5 days now. Has anyone else experienced the pain returning like this? Thank you for any help 

  • Hello Redhotchilli and welcome to the forum.

    I'm sorry to hear about the really bad pain you've been experiencing in the lower parts of your body on days 4 and 5 of your treatment. This must be incredibly difficult, and frustrating.

    If you haven't done so already, make sure you speak to your medical team about this as they will be best placed to advise and may be able to provide you with something to help with the pain.

    Hopefully some of our members who have had a similar experience will share their tips and advice with you soon but we also have a team of cancer nurses you can talk to on 0808 800 4040. Their phone lines are open Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m and they will do all that they can to help.

    In the meantime, we're sending you all our support Redhotchilli and hope the pain starts to become more manageable soon.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Offline in reply to Moderator Steph

    Thank you. I have spoken to my oncologist and he has prescribed co codamol. Im hoping it helps this time round

  • in reply to Redhotchilli

    That's great. Fingers crossed it works and you experience less pain this time round Redhotchilli.

    All the best,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Offline in reply to Moderator Steph

    Hi sorry to hear you are going through this pain.

    i had the same meds as that one only thing is it works pretty well.

    and will be worth it.

    I had lung cancer in both lungs almost five years ago .

    and still chugging along.

    positive thinking helps..

  • Offline in reply to maggie_1234

    Thank you! Yes it works well but the pain is agony! Im a very positive thinker and am coping with the side effects of chemo it's just these injections that floor me. Starting them again tonight and hoping my stronger pain killers will  help this time.

    Well done to you going through that must have been really tough!!! 

  • Offline

    Hi it’s also my first time on the cancer chat Im 69 lady with cll cancer in my bone marrow cells and had lots of issues with treatment I’ve a very weakened immune system and also have GCSF injections I’ve had horrendous pain in my back and leg it was so painful I was particularly paralysed I was admitted to hospital last year and had to have a morphine driver in my back   The doctors never said it was Filgrastim but it can cause pain  Im now trying it again and again had really bad back pain Im taking a 5mil gem tablet twice a day for bone pain and parisetermol every night before bed to help with the pain  Im try other things like drinks to boost my immune system and plenty of fruits Hope this helps you as Im in the same situation kind regards 

  • Offline in reply to RIC31

    Hi, sorry to hear that youre going through such a terrible time. I appreciate your reply. I started on my injections again last night but am now on codeine and paracetamol which im hoping will help this time.

    Sending good wishes to you x

  • Offline in reply to Redhotchilli

    So sorry to hear the problems people are having taking Filigrastin injections.

    I have just joined the forum to share my wife’s exprience dealing with excruciating pain following an Filigrastin injection last night and also a few months ago.

    She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 9 months ago and experienced a  low neutrophil count after her 3rd round of chemo. She was then prescribed Filigrastin injections to take for 7 days following her 4th round of chemo. After reading up about the possible side effects the only advice from most of the forums seemed to be to take ibuprofen or paracetamol but with many instances of these not working. We stocked up on the painkillers but I also noticed online several vague mentions of using anti histamine products with the active ingredient Loratadine.

     There were one or two studies suggesting it had beneficial effects but to be honest not very much else online. However after checking with the specialist oncology nurse that it was safe to use we decided to buy some just in case. We ended up buying the brand name Claritin but I’m sure there are several other brands of Loratadine.

    Following the fourth round of chemo some months ago, a few hours after her second Filigrastin injection, my wife experienced a very sharp throbbing pain at the base of her spine. It was just as painful lying or standing and worsened over the course of about half an hour. We decided first to try the Claratin tablet with no pain killers. Within 20 minutes of taking the tablet the pain completely disappeared. She continued to take the Claritin, one a day, and had no further pain following the next injections. Following the fifth round of chemo she took no Claritin and did not experience any pain. Because this first episode of back pain was so fleeting and resolved so quickly after taking the Claritin we almost dismissed it as too good to be true.

    Unfortunately my wife has recently had to start another round of different chemo for a recurrence of the cancer. Her first round this time was followed by Filigrastin injections again with no side effects. However after the second round of chemo her second injection last night  led to much much worse lower back pain. She was in tears with it and described it as throbbing and ‘clawing’ at her spine. With very low expectations we tried one Claritin tablet again followed about 10 minutes later with 400 mg ibuprofen and the expectation of having to use more pain killers.  Approximately 20 minutes after taking the Claritin and only 5 to 10 minutes after the ibuprofen the pain disappeared completely. It has not come back yet. She will continue to take the Claritin for the next week or so.

    I know this is scant evidence that Loratadine will work for everyone (or indeed anyone) else but I thought I would share our experience just in case. I think it is fairly harmless to give it a try but would definitely recommend checking with your oncology team first,

    Hoping this might be of help to someone. 

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