Eligard Injection in Arm?!: My father... - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

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Eligard Injection in Arm?!

ThisIsForMyDad profile image
20 Replies

My father has always received his Eligard shots in his abdomen. For whatever reason, the nurse who injected him gave it to him in his arm.

Is this a cause for concern? I already asked his oncologist in an email but no response.

I looked up that Lupron is given intramuscularly but Eligard is subcutaneous, just an under the skin…. which makes the abdomen make more sense.

Has anyone else ever had an Eligard injection in the arm? I’m so concerned.

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ThisIsForMyDad profile image
ThisIsForMyDad
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20 Replies

Was it SubC in his arm? What dosing?

Monthly is a small dose, might be fine, can you see the depot bulge under his skin?

ThisIsForMyDad profile image
ThisIsForMyDad in reply to

The shot was given about 5 hours ago. No bulge under skin yet— it was a 3 month dose. 😬

in reply to ThisIsForMyDad

eligardhcp.com/injection-sites

Should be fine

ThisIsForMyDad profile image
ThisIsForMyDad

What a great find.

Thank you so much for your help!

cesces profile image
cesces

That seems not quite right.

You should be able to find the specific directions on the online FDA label.

Go see what it says. Please post back what you learn.

PacMan1950 profile image
PacMan1950

Hi, I've been on Eligard for 3 years now. They have their own nurse that comes to my house every 3 month. Injection is always in the belly flab. Problem is now my weight has dropped from 80kg down to 67kg so I'm running low on flab 😳

When I began treatment in 2019, my Urologist was giving the injection in my belly. In October 2020 I began seeing an oncologist at a Cancer Center, and they've been administering it in my arm ever since. I prefer the arm. I'm every 3 months and rotate between L and R arm . One arm gets the Eligard, the other gets the XGEVA

michael00 profile image
michael00

I get eligard every 6 months. For 5 years always got it in the arm. Only time it hurt was when one nurse hit the muscle but subQ it's never hurt

Bandit99 profile image
Bandit99 in reply to michael00

I stand corrected. Even if the instructions use belly fat as an example and that's where my nurses always do the injections, instructions do say "subcutaneous". Apologies for my jumping to conclusions.

Bandit99 profile image
Bandit99

It's supposed to be injected into a layer of fatty tissue where a "depot" is created for gradual release over three months. That won't work IM. I had to do my own injection during COVID-19 isolation and I read the instructions. 😃 But some nurses don't get it right. I've had to complain about their failure to follow the instructions.

EDIT - Please see my correction below.

cfhny profile image
cfhny

I have been on Eligard 6 month injections since July 2021. They have always been given in the arm under the skin, alternating the arms each time. It must be effective as my PSA has been around .04 almost since the beginning. I started out with PSA 1410. No other treatments or drugs, other than the initial 30 day Firmagon abdominal shot. The Eligard shot does include a few minutes of a nasty bee sting type of pain.

Note that this is only my experience and I have not read the product administration instructions.

SteveTheJ profile image
SteveTheJ

Mine has always been in my butt.

pjd55d profile image
pjd55d

always given in the arm

Atdabeach profile image
Atdabeach

Belly fat here, every three months, alternating sides. Next one is this coming Tuesday, and I don't look forward to the "bee sting." Always leaves a hard lump, which gradually disappears over the 3-month duration, but there's always a little residue from the last dose when I get the next on the opposite side. Can't imagine how that would feel if it was in the arm (unless one has very fat arms -- and I'm not meaning to shame anyone).

But the picture above is from the Eligard web site, so I guess there are many options.

injection sites for Eligard
j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

You gotta say yes, you gotta say no, got me in the middle and you won't let me go....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 07/15/2023 11:48 AM DST

erjlg3 profile image
erjlg3

Elgie's use to be given in his butt.

cancerfox profile image
cancerfox

I also got mine in the butt. I was given a choice between butt and abdomen, and I figured the abdomen would hurt more, since I don't have much fat there. There was definitely no problem with the shots working the way I got them. 🦊

Bret5 profile image
Bret5

In the belly here. Wasn’t really given a choice. I’ve learned that putting a cold pack on the area for a good 5 minutes before and after makes a huge difference in taking away that “cigarette burn” feeling as a nurse described it.

docbulldog profile image
docbulldog in reply to Bret5

I've used the same pre-shot routine since 2016, ice the belly flab. I get my Xgeva shot in the arm. We alternate L to R every 3 months.

Har036 profile image
Har036

ELIGARD® is administered subcutaneously and provides continuous release of leuprolide acetate over a one-, three-, four-, or six-month treatment period (Table 1). The injection delivers the dose of leuprolide acetate incorporated in a polymer formulation.

As with other drugs administered by subcutaneous injection, the injection site should vary periodically. The specific injection location should be an area with sufficient soft or loose subcutaneous tissue. In clinical trials, the injections were administered in the upper- or mid-abdominal area. Avoid areas with brawny or fibrous subcutaneous tissue or locations that could be rubbed or compressed (i.e., with a belt or clothing waistband).

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