HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HIVES FROM FEMARA or Repronex??????!!!
15 Replies
KDR - August 21

Has anyone had an allergic reaction to femara or repronex???
I have been waking up every morning with an awful rash that tends to fade by the end of the day but always reappears in the morning. This has been going on now for almost 3 weeks. It started after I finished my last dose of femara my last cycle. Some days I hardly notice it. But on Saturday I took repronex shot and my last dose of femara for this cycle and not yesterday but TODAY I wake up with rash/large bumps/hives ALL over me. And my lips are swollen. THis is first time the rash has been this bad. I called RE and the nurse said to take benedryl and not take my second shot of repronex today and they'll see me for my follicle scan on thurs. They also said that they have never had anyone have this happen before. SO I feel like an idiot!
Has anyone ever had this happen or heard of this happening to anyone else????

 

KDR - August 21

bump

 

Mega - August 21

I've not had this happen on either of those drugs, but I do break out (very mildly though) on Provera. Definitely sounds like you are allergic to something in either the Femara or Repronex, or both. Maybe the FSH? Allergies to these drugs may be rare, but definitely happen. It's not your fault, don't feel like an idiot. I hope the Benedryl helps you feel better. Hang in there!

 

KDR - August 21

HI Mega,
Thanks sooo much for responding. I spoke again to RE, the actual man himself and not an RN, who said not to take the repronex again because I could be having a compound reaction to both of these drugs and taking the second shot could make it worse. I spent $320 on this repronex too bc my crappy insurance doesn't cover it- I work for a hospital too! What other drugs are available if I can't take these????

 

Mega - August 21

You're welcome. Good, I'm glad your RE stopped your Repro doses before making things worse. Yes, Repronex is quite spendy, I'm sorry you're out that much $. There are lots of different kinds of injectibles out there you could take if you're allergic to those particular types. First of all it sounds like maybe you might want to stick to 1 type of drug, not a combo next time. Some other injectibles out there are Gonal F and Follistim, they're pure FSH meds however. But anyways, I'm sure your dr will figure something out for you. Fortunately there's no shortage of fertility meds. So you have your next u/s appt. on Thurs. to see how the follies are responding? Good luck. How's the rash doing now?

 

KDR - August 21

Hi Mega, Rash is better but still making me a little nuts. Going to my family doc later this afternoon to see what I can take other than benedryl to knock this thing out. Yes, thurs for u/s- last 2 cycles of femara only I had only one follicle. So that's why he put me on the repronex. Glad to know there is something else. I know you've been around this site for a while. HOw are things going w/ you?

 

Mega - August 21

Glad the rash is better. Hopefully the family dr will help knock it out for good. I think you'll find you will respond much better to an injectible (one that you aren't allergic to). I'm curious on how many follies you have this cycle. Update us after your appt. on Thurs., please. You're right, I have been on this board for over a year now. :) Things are progressing well for me, I think. Thanks for asking! I just started my 1st IVF cycle, I'm on day 3 of the stims, I'm taking Follistim and hoping I'll respond a lot better to it than Repronex. Oh, I just thought of something, how were you taking the Repronex? Sub

 

Mega - August 21

Sorry about that. Hit submit by accident before I was done posting. Grrr! Are you taking the Repro subq (in the belly) or IM (in the butt)? I'm wondering if you took it subq if that was what was irritating you? Proably not. It was probably an allergic reaction, but that's something that just occured to me.

 

KDR - August 21

Hey... I took the shot IM. I got one of my nurse friends to do it. The wierd thing is I have had the HCG shot and nothing bad happened after that IM injection, but after this one my leg was unusually sore and that night I couldn't sleep because my leg was throbbing. And now this. Probably not connected, but who knows. Just got back from doc and she told me she'd give me a steroid shot but I dont want that because I have type1 diabetes and that will make my bs levels go through the roof! So I am just going to hope benedryl helps. She said it was good to have the reaction documented and that I didn't overreact. :) IVF round 1 for you? I hope that it is going well and that it works! I know nada about the IVF stuff -is follistim different that repronex?

 

Mega - August 21

Hmmm, maybe she hit a nerve? That can/does happen. I've only had 2 IM shots where I had really bad leg pain afterwards, once after a PIO shot & another time after a HCG shot so in my case I think there's a sensetitive spot there. Both times I was sore there for over a week. Not fun. So even if it's a coincidence for you, I can see why you'd wonder about a correlation. Anyway, no, you definitely didn't overeact re: the rash. Thanks! So far I think my IVF cycle is off to a good start, but I have to remain just cautiously optimistic. It's early still. :) Follistim is pure FSH, not FSH & LH like Repronex. I have PCOS so from what I've read/heard Follistim is a much better drug for me. I'm wondering if b/c you have type 1 diabetes if the same might not hold true for you as well. All conjuncture on my part, but that's a possibility I'd say. You mentioned that you work in a hospital. What do you do there?

 

KDR - August 21

I am a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator for a hospital in SC. So I teach classes and do hospital in-patient education. We also do a lot of community oriented education programs. What do you do?? That's interesting about hitting a nerve...I will have to avoid that spot in the future. I am still glad she did it for me b/c I am a chicken when it comes to those 1.5 inch 25 gauge needles! I have done one HCG shot myself and it took a big glass of wine for me to get up the nerve!- That's dumb, I know! So you think the FSH is what I could be allergic to? I wonder what drug he'll put me on next... :-)

 

Mega - August 22

KDR--I'm just grasping at straws. You could be allergic to anything in Femara or Repronex. I hope it's not the FSH b/c that's key in all injectibles. Once you mentioned though you were diabetic it was more the lh aspect though that I wondered about which is why I then thought maybe Follistim might be better for you, but only if you're not allergic to FSH. If you can even be allergic to that. :) But as I said before, there's bound to be something the dr can prescribe for you that you won't break out on. I hope so. Your job sounds really interesting. And being that you have diabetes yourself I'd think you'd make more of an impact with your patients that way. Where in SC do you live? I love the Carolinas. I lived in Charlotte, NC for a year & now I'd love nothing more than to move back there. I'm in land-locked OH now. I work for a software company, I'm in lead generation, I find companies looking for ERP & CRM solutions and let the account execs do the hard part, close the account. :) Good for you for doing the HCG shot yourself. My DH always did mine. I think I could if I had too, (probably with a big glass of wine too LOL!) but he's always been around to do it. I like the shots I'm on this cycle, the subq shots in my tummy, much easier.

 

KDR - August 22

That's nice of your DH to give your shots! I tried to get mine to but he freaked. It would be easier for me if they were SQ- that I can handle. I guess for the SQ ones your doing now the needles aren't as long and thick? We live in Clemson, SC. Charlotte is a really nice place too. You've got mountains, beaches- all kinds of terrain. Your job sounds interesting also- so is it like you're a sales rep? When do you get to do your actual IVF procedure? BTW, still a few hives on my legs but NOTHING like yesterday!!!!!!!!

 

Mega - August 22

Yeah, I'm lucky that my DH doesn't mind shot duty. Sometimes I think he likes it. Just kidding, he doesn't like hurting me but he does it no problem. Yes, the SQ needles are really thin esp. the Lupron needles. The Follistim is cool b/c it's dispensed in a pen device, with the smallest, thinnest needle. DH doesn't like the pen, but I do, it doesn't hurt at all! No, I'm not really a sales rep per se, though it is
an inside sale position, more like sales development, I help the sales reps prospect. It's a living. :) How far from Charleston do you live? I LOVE that city, DH almost interviewed for a job there but ended up not doing it in hopes something in Charlotte would come up. Never did, & now that ship has sailed. *Sigh* :) Oh well maybe one day in the not so distant future. As of now, my egg retrival is scheduled for 8/31, around Labor Day weekend, which is nice. We'll see though, it might happen sooner. I should get a better idea of the timeframe this weekend. I'm glad the hives are starting to fade a little bit for you. Thank goodness the dr put a stop to last night's Repro shot.

 

Mega - August 24

Good luck today on your follie check. I hope they kept growing though you had to stop the Repro shots. Keep me posted!

 

Mega - August 28

How's this cycle going for you? Anything new? All your hives are gone now I hope.

 

Message:


New to the forum?

Sign Up Here!


Already a member?
Please login below.





Forgot your password?
Need Help?