Neupogen

Today was the first day I had to have my neupogen injections.  Neupogen, or filgrastim as it is know generically, is used to stimulate the production of stem cells in the bone marrow so when it comes time to harvest I will have plenty to collect.  The most common side effect is bone pain but luckily I have not got any of that.

In all honesty, the injections are quite straight forward.  The most confusing thing about it is the instructions.  There were pages explaining the process from preparing the vile and the syringe,  but most of it was redundant as the neupogen comes in pre filled syringes.  So the process, which was really quite simple involve taking the syringe out of the sterile packet, removing the rubber stopper, wiping down the injection site with an alcohol wipe, insert and depress in the fatty tissue of the belly (which my wife reminds me I have plenty of).

At the hospital Amy said that it was simple and she was right.  The instructions were really more confusing than helpful.  However, there was one more obstacle I didn't foresee.  The hospital had provided an at home sharps disposal canister.  We couldn't figure out how to put the syringe in the container as the hole was not big enough.  We figured it out in the end.

Thanks to my mother who helped me with the injections.  Until next time, stay well:)