My problem today is that my neuro phoned the other day to tell me that I have to come of rebif and I will be starting copaxone in January sometime as I am on holiday for a week early January.I am a bit scared of changing from injections 3 times a week to daily plus giving up my wonderful rebismart machine.just wondered if anybody else has had to do this plus what side affects can I expect.I having a relapse at the moment plus antibodies in blood don’t like rebif anymore so that is why I have to change.Also I wondered what it is like to use the copaxone pen.I also want to wish everyone a merry Christmas.
I’m about to do the opposite, coming off Copaxone due to a bad reaction after 3 months and going on to rebif, the Copaxone injections are easy with the auto injector, rebif injections seem much more daunting.
Hi Annie57, I have been using Copaxone for 10 weeks (first DMD I have used). I just wanted to let you know that my experience has been a positive one and hopefully this will reassure you that the daily injections aren’t so bad. I have only manually injected twice as I have found the autoinject (Copaxone pen) much easier to use and I like the fact that I can alter the depth setting to suit the site I am injecting. I am a bit tender at the injection site for 24-48 hr and occasionally it’s been more painful when I’ve injected my arm/stomach. When I have had a raised lump/welt immediately after injection it hasn’t persisted or itched (though I do know of other users who have had itching). Other than that, no side effects and I even feel like I have more energy. I always do my injection about half an hour before bed and sit with an icepack on it for 20min. I read this as a tip by another user before I started on Copaxone and since everything is going well I keep up with the cold compress. I hope your relapse soon passes and you feel well again very soon. Try not to worry about Copaxone injections, I worried a lot more that I needed to and it wasn’t too long before I felt confident with the Copaxone pen. Best of luck with it all. RedShoes xx
Hi Anne I switched from rebif to copaxone in May after awful side effects with rebif. I was worried about doing daily injections and giving up my lovely rebismart gadget. I am sooo glad I did though. I just feel so much better on it. The auto inject pen is definitely not the lovely hitech device you get with rebif but it is very easy to use. I originally didn’t choose copaxone because I was worried about daily injection and site reactions. However site reactions have actually been slightly better with copaxone for me. I do get the odd lump but rebif made me feel soo ill. For the first few weeks the injection stung a lot. It can take time for your body to adjust to new meds but a few months on and I no longer get the stinging sensation. Occasionally it is sorer than other times but has improved a lot, well worth sticking at. Do remember though we all react differently to meds but for me it is just so easy. Instead of having to plan my life around side effects (including having to change work hours) I just inject and carry on with my day. Good luck with it. : )
Thanks very much for all your kind posts I am a bit still a bit scared as with rebif I had really sore red marks I hope I don’t get the same with copaxone.
Hi So did I with rebif but I don’t get sore red patches with copaxone. That’s one reason I was worried about swopping. I thought if I am sore injecting three times a week what will every day be like! So far it has strangely been better. Not saying I don’t get lumps sometimes but red patches, for me anyway, have gone. Hope you find the same.
Hi Annie I’m due to swap from rebif to copaxone too in February probably - neuro wants me to have a two month medication holiday! I’ll be interested to hear how you get on. They cam to take away my rebismart yesterday - it was sad!
Hi I did 5 years on rebif before having kidney problems (docs unsure if connected). I was relapsing every 9 months on rebif. Been on copaxone for 6 years now and only 2 relapses in that time. The pen is easy to use and copaxone side effects are zero for me with little site reaction. In hindsight I wish I had chosen copaxone 10+ years ago when dx. Take care Neil