Side effects from Degarelix

I am going to have ADT using Degarelix (firmagon) for probably 4 to 6 months in addition to EBRT. I had my first shots (which are administered in the stomach area) last Wednesday. The next morning my stomach was bloated (felt like I swallowed a small basketball) and very tender. As days went by the two shot sites also became hardened similar to after having a bee sting and the area became itchy. It's the sixth day and the swelling has gone down as have the hardened areas. Still very tender but not as bad as previous to today. The first dose is actually two shots of 120 mg each. The monthly maintenance dose will be one shot of 80 mg.

My question is will I experience the same degree of discomfort each month with the 80 mg shots as I have with the first dosage ?

Jim

I tried FIRMAGON for a few months.

I had site injection reactions every month. Swelling on the abdomen, that formed hard lumps.

For several days, the injection site throbbed like a bee sting. It lingered for a few days, each time. Painful memories of that experience, to be honest ...

LUPRON and FIRMAGON didn't fully suppress my testosterone, so I had spikes and flares in my PSA.

From there, I tried ZOLADEX ~ no residual pain.

I have been on it for several years. It's an injectable "pellet" & they give me a tiny numbing shot of Lidocaine in the abdomen first, with no residual pain afterwards.

Good to know OPTIONS exist, in terms of ADT!

A first-hand experience to share ~
CYCLONE ~ # Iowa State University

A few years ago I was on Degarelix full-time for a year and then I was able to go on break for over a year. That first double shot actually has 3 times the dose of the following monthly shots. What you describe sounds pretty normal to me other than the bloated stomach. I never experienced that. The follow-up monthly shots also sting for a few days afterward, but much less than that first double shot. The shots themselves were painless. The sting would start to set in a few hours later and be most noticeable by the next morning. A marble size lump could persist for up to a month or so, but was painless. I did notice some monthly shots had less of a sting that others. I mentioned it to the nurse and she said it might be due to how deep or to some small quirk of location when injected.

Other than the injection-site sting for a few days, I had no other side effects. When I needed to go back on ADT I would have opted for Degarelix again because of my negligible SE's. But with the arrival of COVID around that time it was safer to go on quarterly Lupron shots to minimize trips to the hospital. I've had minimal SEs from Lupron - which I now have also with daily oral Abiraterone. Occasional minor hot flashes - more like minor warm spells I'd probably not think twice about if I didn't know I was on ADT.
Jim

When I needed to go back on ADT