My first shot

Today I had my first shot of Sandostatin LAR Depot. I learned a lot!

Firstly: I didn’t realize that they no longer allow accompanying children in the clinic. My almost-10-year-old-daughter came along to keep me company but then she had to stay in the waiting room the whole time. I felt bad for her, but she was happy watching Netflix on my phone.

Secondly: I thought this would be “a quick shot”, but between checking in, waiting for the injection warm to room temperature, and the additional blood draw, it took 1.25 hours for me to be in and out. Not exactly lightning fast, but manageable now that I know to expect it.

Thirdly: The needle was bigger than I thought it would be, and it hurt going in. The nurse took 30 seconds to do the injection, which wasn’t too bad. I did feel a bit dizzy by the end, but that might have been from the stress. I rested for five minutes afterward, and they checked my blood pressure one more time before I was released to go home.

Fourthly: The injection went into my upper right “cheek”. It’s sore, stings a bit still. Has a band-aid on it. I’m to keep an eye out for any side effects, the most common being nausea. Which I hate. Hopefully I won’t feel any.

I’ll most likely be taking these Sandostatin shots once a month for the rest of my life, so I need to get used to them quickly. I wonder if they will give me another one while I’m in the hospital. That would be a good question for my doctor. I have an in-person pre-op appointment on Thursday, and I’m getting a list of questions together to ask.

Oh, and here’s an interesting fact: my oncologist originally wanted me to take Lanreotide injections, but my insurance (Regence BlueShield) denied that, saying I had to try Sandostatin first. So, she re-submitted. And the insurance rejected it again, saying I had to try 20mg for two months before I could start the 30mg she wanted. So, that’s why today I had 20mg of Sandostatin. It’s so bonkers that the insurance industry has to do double duty of medical professionals, and prescribe/authorize treatment and medications. It’s really messed up, actually. I hope other countries have a better system than we do here in the United States.

One more update: I had an echocardiogram last week because neuroendocrine cancer can cause buildup on heart valves, but the results came in yesterday and all looks fine. So, that’s good news that I’m happy to hear!