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Posted 7/31/2014 5:02 PM (GMT 0)
My husband just got his core dose of Firmagon a couple of days ago. And it's been really painful. The welts on his belly are very uncomfortable. Does it get better? He has 6 months of this, plus radiation in a couple of months.

He has low testosterone to begin with. He is 62 years old and in good shape other than prostate cancer. I just thought the hormone therapy would be the least painful of this whole treatment.
Posted 7/31/2014 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
The first one is the worst for injection site reactions. The other five will still bother him but, after the first dose, it will be only one injection instead of two, less total medicine will be injected, and his body will be a little more used to the stuff.

Actually, if he has the typical side effects from the radiation the Firmagon may be the worst part of his treatments.
Posted 8/1/2014 2:01 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Stowal33,

Sorry you have to be here but glad you have found us. As Peter has already stated, the first double injections are bad!!

For me, EVERY injection became very red and was sore for 3-5 days thereafter. This month, I switched to a six month Lupron because of the injections being so sore as the Lupron gives the same results. Seems my injection didn't hurt as bad and long if I was laying down when injected.

Check my signature for dates!

God bless and trust everything works out for your husband and you.

Dave in Bartlett, TN
Posted 8/1/2014 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, Peter and Dave. It's going to be an interesting 6 months. My husband is experiencing manopause at 61.
Posted 8/1/2014 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
Manopause? Yes, it's a lot like that. Between the hormones and the radiation he will feel fatigued and may get moody and depressed. The more active he is the better he will feel during the treatments. Oddly, exercise is one of the best treatments for the fatigue and it also helps hold off some of the side effects of the hormones. Since he is only doing six months of HT then his side effects should be minor and temporary but if he's like me he won't like them.
Posted 8/1/2014 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
Stowal33,

Firmagon has produced significantly better results as a first line HT agent than it's pharma cousins Lupron and Zoladex in a number of trials but the injection site issue is a common complaint. I've been on it for some time and the injection is still very uncomfortable. The subcutaneous poke turns into a time released ball of gel within a few hours and generally stays pretty sore for a few days. Icing the area as soon as possible really does help. The benefits do outweigh the discomfort. Hang in there.

Jim
Posted 8/1/2014 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
I have never taken Firmagon, but a friend who does says the secret is for the nurse to inject the drug very slowly, taking as much as a minute, rather than slam bam him.

LupronJim
Posted 8/2/2014 1:11 AM (GMT 0)
Thank, Jim. The nurse did do it pretty slowly. She even made a point of saying of saying that. However, my husband has such a fear of needles, we thought he was going to faint. Next time, I will tell her to go even slower and give him a Xanax.
Posted 8/2/2014 1:23 AM (GMT 0)
I am reading the literature on Firmagon and it says it is used for advanced prostate cancer. My husband's gleason is 7 (4+3) and his PSA is 8.5. Is this overkill? And he has really low testosterone to start. The low testosterone causing him to be anemic. We live in Los Angeles and have good doctors but I am not sure if they are seeing the whole picture.
Posted 8/2/2014 5:09 AM (GMT 0)
Stowal33,

It is also used to make radiation treatments more effective for men with relatively high risk of recurrence. Since the grade four cell types predominate in his tumors -- he is a 4+3 not a 3+4 -- he is at fairly high risk and the addition of the hormones to the radiation treatments seems sensible to me.

If needles make him nervous a bit of Xanex in the waiting room sounds like a good idea too.
Posted 8/2/2014 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
What PeterDA said, the leading 4 makes his G7 (4+3) very similar to a G8 whereas if he had been G7 (3+4) that's closer to a G6.

So a "honorary advanced", a distinction no one looks for.

LupronJim
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