Octreotide Injections - Skipping One or More?

Posted by markmark007 @markmark007, Nov 17, 2023

Following completion of PRRT treatment, my wife has been receiving monthly octreotide (Sandostatin LAR) injections.
She will be out - of -town when the next injection is to be done.
Question:
Has anyone skipped an injection (s)?
If so, did this result in negative impacts?
All comments will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark

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@markmark007

Thanks for sharing -
God Bless you!!
Mark

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Many Blessings Mark.

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@kwan

@kjstein
Thanks for sharing your experience. It makes going forward with the treatment more optimistic. Is the shrinkage more visible from ctscan and not from petscan dotatate?
My son is following the Mediterranean diet. He tries to avoid beef which to me is a good source of protein to help with blood count.
All the best to you.

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Mayo did a dotatate scan about 4 months after completion of PRRT that showed significant shrinkage--my oncologist said it was best to wait 2-4 months after completion to see the effect as they know it keeps working for several months. Subsequent scans (both dotatate and CT/PET) have shown continued lower levels of shrinkage and the last test showed stable size from previous test and no new or worsening disease.

Related to diet--after meeting with a dietician, I asked my oncologist about diet as it was recommended that I increase protein. I specifically asked about red meat as I too have been avoiding it. The advice was to consider adding very lean beef or pork loin (organic and grass fed if possible) only if you want to add it--to help provide nutrients that are hard to get in fish and chicken and that might help with blood count. Lean because fat is often difficult to tolerate for NETS patients. I'm experimenting with adding about once a week to see what happens. Otherwise, I too eat most a Mediterranean diet with modifications for anything that causes digestive problems!

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@kwan

@phyllisden
Thanks for sharing your experience. If PRRT helps to " stabilise the disease" in my son's case, it's one big step forward.
Do you avoid eating beef?

Best wishes to you.

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Did you read something or did someone advise your son against eating beef? I'm not a doctor or a dietician who would be your best source of information, but everything I've read over the years focuses on eating a healthy diet while avoiding foods that do not agree with you. So, yes, if I want a good hamburger, I eat one. I lost 21" of my intestines (small and large) so no spicy nor creamy foods. I attended a Zoom conference about neuroendocrine tumors and the general consensus was you can eat whatever you want, just try to make it healthy. I admit, that's something I do need to work on.
One last thought - protein is the word. We forget there are other forms of protein other than beef so maybe that would be a good place to start some research. (Salmon, cheese, etc). I'm sure his doctor would make a referral to a dietician if you all would like to do that.
Good luck!

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@kjstein

Mayo did a dotatate scan about 4 months after completion of PRRT that showed significant shrinkage--my oncologist said it was best to wait 2-4 months after completion to see the effect as they know it keeps working for several months. Subsequent scans (both dotatate and CT/PET) have shown continued lower levels of shrinkage and the last test showed stable size from previous test and no new or worsening disease.

Related to diet--after meeting with a dietician, I asked my oncologist about diet as it was recommended that I increase protein. I specifically asked about red meat as I too have been avoiding it. The advice was to consider adding very lean beef or pork loin (organic and grass fed if possible) only if you want to add it--to help provide nutrients that are hard to get in fish and chicken and that might help with blood count. Lean because fat is often difficult to tolerate for NETS patients. I'm experimenting with adding about once a week to see what happens. Otherwise, I too eat most a Mediterranean diet with modifications for anything that causes digestive problems!

Jump to this post

@kjstein
Thanks a lot. Best wishes

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@phyllisden

Did you read something or did someone advise your son against eating beef? I'm not a doctor or a dietician who would be your best source of information, but everything I've read over the years focuses on eating a healthy diet while avoiding foods that do not agree with you. So, yes, if I want a good hamburger, I eat one. I lost 21" of my intestines (small and large) so no spicy nor creamy foods. I attended a Zoom conference about neuroendocrine tumors and the general consensus was you can eat whatever you want, just try to make it healthy. I admit, that's something I do need to work on.
One last thought - protein is the word. We forget there are other forms of protein other than beef so maybe that would be a good place to start some research. (Salmon, cheese, etc). I'm sure his doctor would make a referral to a dietician if you all would like to do that.
Good luck!

Jump to this post

@phyllisden
Thanks a lot. Good luck to us all.

REPLY
@phyllisden

Did you read something or did someone advise your son against eating beef? I'm not a doctor or a dietician who would be your best source of information, but everything I've read over the years focuses on eating a healthy diet while avoiding foods that do not agree with you. So, yes, if I want a good hamburger, I eat one. I lost 21" of my intestines (small and large) so no spicy nor creamy foods. I attended a Zoom conference about neuroendocrine tumors and the general consensus was you can eat whatever you want, just try to make it healthy. I admit, that's something I do need to work on.
One last thought - protein is the word. We forget there are other forms of protein other than beef so maybe that would be a good place to start some research. (Salmon, cheese, etc). I'm sure his doctor would make a referral to a dietician if you all would like to do that.
Good luck!

Jump to this post

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I like to hear any feedback on this. My doctor recommended stopping lanreotide injection after 2nd PRRT treatment. I have been having flushing feeling since then. My third treatment has also been more challenging with more flushing. Any thoughts on this reaction?

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Sorry to hear about this -
1, What reason(s) did doctor recommended stopping the injections?
2. Did the doctor's recommendation make sense to you? - I believe this important as you are the final decision maker for your health. Do you need additional explanation?
3. Do you have additional carcinoid syndrome symptoms?
4. Do you have any thoughts about getting a second opinion?
Note: I am not a trained medical professional - the above are the result of our own (wife & my) experiences.
All the best to you,
Mark

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@markmark007

Sorry to hear about this -
1, What reason(s) did doctor recommended stopping the injections?
2. Did the doctor's recommendation make sense to you? - I believe this important as you are the final decision maker for your health. Do you need additional explanation?
3. Do you have additional carcinoid syndrome symptoms?
4. Do you have any thoughts about getting a second opinion?
Note: I am not a trained medical professional - the above are the result of our own (wife & my) experiences.
All the best to you,
Mark

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Thank Mark for your question and comments. My doctor recommended stopping the lanreotide because of lowered blood platelets and because he felt that I might recover quicker from PRRT if not combined with lanreotide. This has not proven out on the recovery side based on the treatment I completed since stopping. There's also no clear evidence yet of it improving my blood platelets. I have appointment with him next week and will be revisiting this recommendation. I'm seeking input from anyone that may have advice based on experience.

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