I'm interested in conversations about and I want to talk about
Know exactly what you want?
Show search

Notification

Error


Degarelix (Firmagon) after

Email this conversation Print this conversation
User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 12:14

Hi 

i have been on Degarelix for over a year now and had the usual side effects such as hot sweats and injection site bruising and pain, which goes away after a few days. Over the last three injections I have developed severe chills that comes on several hours after the injection and lasts for a day. I now that chills are a known side affect but is it normal to experience them so far into the course of treatment?

Roy

User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 13:17
As a general rule, HT symptoms can appear almost immediately and disappear very quickly when HT is stopped OR they emerge over a long period of time.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 16:13

You could ask about switching to one of the GnRH Agonists - Zoladex, Prostap, or Decapeptyl.

Degarelix is slightly different in being a GnRH Antagonist, the main feature of which is it starts working very quickly when you first start on it. However, having started, you could now switch. It is also sometimes used for people with cardio issues, as it has less significant side-effects in that respect. The others all last longer too, so you wouldn't need monthly injections.

Something you might discuss with your oncologist.

User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 17:58

Roy, has anything else changed, like the nurse that does it? Degarelix should always be injected under the skin in the abdomen but they are supposed to vary the site every so often - has it been injected in exactly the same place since you started?

Also, worth reading through the instructions here to see if you think the nurse prepares the vial properly - for example, it must not be shaken (see section 6.6)
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/6537/smpc#USEHANDLING 

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

Show Most Thanked Posts
User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 13:17
As a general rule, HT symptoms can appear almost immediately and disappear very quickly when HT is stopped OR they emerge over a long period of time.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 16:13

You could ask about switching to one of the GnRH Agonists - Zoladex, Prostap, or Decapeptyl.

Degarelix is slightly different in being a GnRH Antagonist, the main feature of which is it starts working very quickly when you first start on it. However, having started, you could now switch. It is also sometimes used for people with cardio issues, as it has less significant side-effects in that respect. The others all last longer too, so you wouldn't need monthly injections.

Something you might discuss with your oncologist.

User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 17:13

Hi Lynn and Andy

Thanks for the replies.

Lynn I thought it was odd that after more than a year this symptom would appear, as up until now apart from the symptoms I described I have tolerated it well and it is still bringing my PSA down, albeit slowly.

Andy they did try to get me on another drug that would last the 3 months you describe due to the Covid situation, but I refused as my opinion is if it's working why change. in the past I have been on Decapetyl and that never Mantained me at castrate level and the side affects weren't pleasant, so didn't want to go there again.

 

All the best

 

Roy

User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 17:58

Roy, has anything else changed, like the nurse that does it? Degarelix should always be injected under the skin in the abdomen but they are supposed to vary the site every so often - has it been injected in exactly the same place since you started?

Also, worth reading through the instructions here to see if you think the nurse prepares the vial properly - for example, it must not be shaken (see section 6.6)
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/6537/smpc#USEHANDLING 

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 04 Sep 2020 at 20:45

Hi Lynn

i was wondering the same thing. It seems I am the only one that wouldn't change to the longer 3 month injection and I sense that my choice hasn't gone down well. I always make sure I alternate injection sites, but this is the first time I have bled and even though they only see a patient every 30 min it does seem rather rushed.

I don't know if these other symptoms are related but I was extremely delirious all night and part of the next day accompanied with a sever bout of diarrhoea which I put down to an undercooked bacon cob which had been kept on a hot plate but was barely warm in the hospital canteen.

all the best

Roy

Edited by member 04 Sep 2020 at 21:49  | Reason: Not specified

 
Forum Jump  
Email this conversation Print this conversation

Join the online community now.

Click through to become a member and gain access to support, information and real time replies.




MenuTop ▲
©2025 Prostate Cancer UK