First Faslodex shot (s)

[Stage4Gir]

Just found out that faslodex is given in 2 shots as it’s a large dose. Anyone else have two at a time?

Thanks

Debbi

[breezie]

I haven't had two at the same time because I lie on my side for them. I just have one straight after the other

[Wintervt]

Hi Stage4Girl,

I've always had two at the same time. It is helpful if they warm it up prior (the shot) and that you walk immediately after the injections.

Best,

Jade

[Stage4Gir in reply to Wintervt]

Hi Jade. They did warm the shots and did them at the same time and I’m happy to say it wasn’t a problem phew!

[Wintervt in reply to Stage4Gir]

It really helps when they warm the shot. I'm glad it wasn't a problem!

[Zebra2018]

Yes , I do! It is 500 mil and get 250 on each side.

[Sparky95]

I had to ask them to break up the 500 ml into 4 shots of (125 ml each). That was because after a year of no problems with getting 2 shots I developed sciatica when my sciatic nerve was impacted. After 20 months of being on fasoldex I am changing to Letrozole.

[Stage4Gir in reply to Sparky95]

Thanks for the reply. I just got off Letrozole and Ibrance. I’m happy to see it worked for 20 months for you!

[TammyCross in reply to Sparky95]

This makes me so angry. There is a new way or place to give the Fulvestrant injections. The first one I had near my sciatic nerve and they didn't hit it, but it made me nervous. The next 16 were given higher up and further out, not near the nerve. Then two months ago, I had a nurse who said the other nurses were wrong, and she gave it lower, and incorrectly, so I developed lumps that have not gone away. (The two small lumps from the next two injections were gone within days.) After that bad experience, I looked up how it is supposed to be given. The old way was in the large part of the buttocks. They divided each buttock into 4 and then injected it in the upper outside quadrant. A number of studies found that it is absorbed better where there is less fat, is less painful, and is less risky in regard to hitting the sciatic nerve if the injection spot is located a different way. It is the ventrogluteal, rather than dorsogluteal. They are supposed to find the spot by placing their index finger on the spine and making a V with the middle finger, and doing it in that triangle. My last nurse knew this method. She felt for my hip bone instead, and then moved in a few inches from the top of the hip bone. So much easier. I wish I could attach the articles I found on proper injection.

[Barbteeth in reply to TammyCross]

I was taught as a student to inject in the upper outer quadrant of the buttock and that was in 1972!!... nothing newBarb xx

[TammyCross in reply to Barbteeth]

Yes, that was the old way, but as early as 1970 a report said the ventral gluteal (I had to ask where this was) is better than the dorso gluteal, so just below the iliac crest (whatever that is). Not the 4 quadrants, but putting index finger for on the left anterior iliac spine, and splay middle finger as far as possible along iliac crest, and give the injection in that triangle. It seems to put the injection higher and more precisely, more in the hip than the butt. Another article said the ventro gluteal site is safer than the dorsogluteal site because it is further from sciatic nerve and major blood vessels. Does that make sense to you? I just looked them up, and the picture had an X over the dorsogluteal, and a picture of a hand making that V. Looks like it is more on the side.

[Sparky95 in reply to TammyCross]

Thanks for the reply. I was getting the lumps that you mentioned. It was beginning to take a long time for them to go away. Then in March of this year when the sciatic nerve was impacted it took me three months to be able to go on walks again and for the lumps to disappear.

Thank you for explaining where the shots should have been given. I'm glad to be taking a break and changing to Letrozole although I do wonder what the effectiveness will be having been on an aromatase inhibitor for over 15 years (aromasin and arimdex).

[TammyCross in reply to Sparky95]

Oh, so no more Faslodex. I was too late. That never should have happened to you. Has your sciatic nerve recovered? Seems it has.

This makes me angry, as I said. I couldn't convince the head nurse to make sure all her staff was trained correctly. This is at a hospital that claims to be #4 in the country. My oncologist said she had no control over the injection unit. Everything is so fragmented at this hospital. It is just not right that nurses are injuring people because they aren't well trained or curious enough to learn on their own.

[Red71]

I got two at the same time also, but I would have to amend that to one at a time in the opposite hips. Can’t do two at a time with only one nurse!🤣 or I wouldn’t want two at a time with one nurse...rather awkward for her, I would think!

[333Stevens]

Yes, I believe that is standard - 2 injections.

[AnnaP668]

Just have to reply to all. It's 500mg--milligrams, not milliliters. There are 1000 milliliters in a liter which is similar to a quart, so you can imagine 250 ml per shot would be about a cup! Whoa--really painful! Sorry to be such a stickler but I'm a nurse. 🙂

[Gizwil in reply to AnnaP668]

So funny, you gave me my morning laugh 😁. I got my shots yesterday and she injected them so fast that I now have two golf balls of pain, one in each hip. This has not happened in awhile, must have been a newbie!

[SeattleMom in reply to Gizwil]

Hello, Giz,I tell the nurses that I have to lay on my sides during procedure as I get queasy from shots (which is true). As a result, they are extremely gentle and SLOW with injections. I’ve never had any after-effects. Try that next time! 💗

Linda

[TammyCross in reply to Gizwil]

Yes, it is supposed to take 1 to 2 minutes per injection. The reason you have the lumps is that she injected too fast so it all didn't get in to the muscle. Some stayed in the fat where it remains. I am not a nurse (thanks for the correction) but I think it is something like that. I have also read that the large lumps are hemotomas. Tell them where to do it (hip more than butt) and remind them it must be slow. This nurse is not well trained. So we have to train them. I take some articles on this kind of injection with me every time, just in case I run into a nurse who doesn't know what she or he is doing.

[Gizwil in reply to TammyCross]

Will my lumps eventually go away? I still have them after 4 days. And, more importly will the medicine eventually work its way to where it needs to be?Thanks for the info Tammy 😋

[TammyCross in reply to Gizwil]

As I understand it, even if the injection is given incorrectly and the Faslodex pools in the fat, it still gets into your system. What I have found is that typically I have a small hard knot that goes away within a week. When it is given incorrectly and the knot is more like an egg than a walnut, it takes months. That is what other people have said. I am only in the third month and one lump is still there, but not as big or painful as it was.

[Gizwil in reply to TammyCross]

I guess I am in for a few months. Thanks for explaining Tammy. Now it’s time to teach the nurses!

[TammyCross in reply to Gizwil]

Yes! I am thinking a lot about how to do that. I am failing at just one hospital. There are many many articles about why nurses do it wrong and how to train them to do it right. So, if we each train our nurses....Not enough!

I feel funny being called Tammy. That was one of my cats who died of lung cancer last year. And she was named for the rescue organization person who helped me get her spayed. So I am using someone else's real name. I keep seeing other names here that are more a propos for me! Like Chris, and Irish, and Martha's Vineyard.

[Gizwil in reply to TammyCross]

Tammy, my name, Gizwil, comes from my 2 rescue cats, Gizzy and Willy. I lost Willy this year at age 17. I still have Gizzy. She is 14 and such a little love, wanting to cuddle all the time. It’s strange how we select our names!

[Sparky95 in reply to AnnaP668]

Thanks for the correction. You are right - although I think 250 mg is still a lot in one shot. Out of curiosity as a nurse do you know what the maximum mg is for a IM injection?

[AnnaP668 in reply to Sparky95]

An IM injection can be any amount pof milligrams. It depends on the drug concentration but the max milliliters you would want is about 5 ml or cc. That's about a teaspoon. Seems like much more going in, doesn't it? The Faslodex concentration is 250 mg per 5 cc or ml. The total dose is 500 mg, so therefore, 2 injections of 5 cc each. Got it?

[TammyCross in reply to AnnaP668]

A teaspoon is a lot for my little butt. I wish they scaled meds for the size of the person. It is working, and the pain is tolerable, so I will stick with two teaspoons a month.

[queeneee]

Yes, that is standard... one in each cheek!

[Hesgotus4sure]

Sorry to see this text after yu got the shots. Hope it went well with no side effects. I get one in each cheek also once a month. I truly hope it will work for you.God Bless

[Stage4Gir in reply to Hesgotus4sure]

Thanks for your reply. Hoping it

Works too! Trying to beat

out this pandemic so I can live a little again before....

[8576]

Chiming in late here as I just saw this. Yes, both shots, one on each side, given one after the other. No problems.

I am developing scarring on one side from the needles. Is there anyway to reduce scar tissue or stop it from forming?

Cheers, June S.

[mariootsi in reply to 8576]

Good question.

[cpidacks]

I have been on Faslodex since March of 2019. I have two nurses give me a shot in each bum at the same time. I have had bruising and itching after the shots. I find it helpful to walk after the shots. Also my heated seats in my car help. Good luck to all of us in our journey.

[mariootsi]

Oh yes. That is normally how it is given.

[8576 in reply to mariootsi]

I only have one nurse doing both sides herself. One after the other. No problems except some scarring at the left injection site.

Cheers, June S.

[mariootsi in reply to 8576]

Yes. I have one nurse doing both sides also. One at a time. Some are better at administering shots than others!

[Adele_Julia]

I too have two at a time. One on each hip

[diamags]

Yep, 2 at a time. I get my Xgeva at the same time too, so my saying is: 2 in the butt, one in the gut!

[hopefulinadks in reply to diamags]

me too!

[TammyCross in reply to diamags]

I get Xgeva in my arm. I guess it is optional, gut or arm. When I started, I was very skinny from cancer, and I think they found more flesh in the arm. I got severe eczema from the Xgeva when I was getting it every month. Now I get it every three months, so my reaction is mild.

[blms]

Yep, I have had the 2 shots three times so far. None of which I had any problems with.

[blms]

How did your shots go and what is your current situation.