Copaxone tips

Everyday living
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Good afternoon all, I am due do start copaxone in a couple of weeks. It has been delayed due to having a hysterectomy a couple of months ago and the COVID vaccines. I am having my 2nd one on Saturday. I just wondered if anyone had any tips or experience of it please. Many thx, orchid

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Hi Orchid! I hope you’re recovering ok after your hysterectomy :slight_smile:

I started copaxone in January 2020 and it took me a little while to get into the swing of things, but now I’m doing much better - you may have already been given some/all of this advice by your copaxone nurse but hopefully some of it’s helpful!

  • Warm your skin for 5-10 minutes before injecting - this made a huge difference for me. I tried using a microwaveable wheaty but I was ending up scalding the area a bit and it made the injection worse, so now I fill an old glass jar with hot water and roll it over the area.

  • Leave the injection out of the fridge for several hours beforehand, and warm it in your hands before use.

  • Gently shake/tap the injection/injector pen just before use to remove any drips of medication.

  • Have a tissue/some kitchen roll on hand ready to dab away any medicine or specks of blood that are present after the injection - if the medicine gets on your skin it will make it more sore so a swift dab is very helpful!

  • Keep the injection site uncovered for several minutes rather than putting clothing straight back on - I often leave my sites uncovered for about 30 minutes.

  • I was advised to try using witch hazel cream to counteract the itching and soreness in the following days, and I also tried aftersun lotion and savlon - none of these helped me (and some seemed to make it worse?!) so now I do nothing except wash the area with soap and water each day and that works really well.

  • Keep your skin moisturised and hydrated but don’t use moisturiser just before injecting, or in the day or two after (I find it traps the heat and makes it worse!)

  • I rotate my sites by doing arm, hip and thigh of one side, then changing to the other side of my body the next week - this means I always have a good side to sleep on :slight_smile:

  • Make sure you feel for lumps under your skin and avoid these areas when injecting, otherwise it’s very painful.

The injections will feel quite stingy and sore at first, and the sites may be itchy/sore for a few days afterwards - once I started following all the above advice I found that things settled down really quickly and now I often don’t feel the injection and have minimal side effects.

I hope that’s helpful - sorry for the essay and good luck with your injections! :slight_smile:

Sarah

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I have been on several different therapies throughout the years. When I have shots I warm the shots to body. temperature and this also helps.

Good luck with your injections!

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Hello everyone. Been taking copaxone now for over a month. The itchiness and sore is getting better. But I feel like it’s starting to affect my mental health. I noticed that my mood are worse once I take it …I’m starting to take care of my depression and I’m worried that if I continue to take it I will be worse. I wanted to ask, am I thinking too much and copaxone isn’t affecting my mental health or should I just wait a bit longer before jumping to conclusions. Thank you

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I seem to remember I felt more emotional and struggled more psychologically when I first started taking copaxone, but I’m not sure if that was a side effect or if it was the impact of learning to inject myself and coping with the soreness! I’d recommend checking the known side effects to see if depression or mood changes are mentioned, and then perhaps contact your copaxone nurse or MS nurse to discuss your concerns. My copaxone nurse told me that all side effects should settle down after six months (he was right), so it may be that you’re advised to keep going unless it becomes unmanageable as it’s best to give everything a while to settle down - and in the meantime keep accessing support for your depression :slight_smile:

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Thank you so much for replying my concerns. I will do that x

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Hi all
I’ve been taking Copaxone for over 15 years now
Stated with one shot every day then moved on to the 40 ml three times per week
I now take the generic Brabio
Issues I’ve had over the years are indentations in the upper thighs and under arms and lumps at injection site.
I now only injection on my tummy
Started with the autoinjector but kept on getting bruises so now I self inject … not that bad after you learn to relax.
Worset experience was injecting after a bath😱 got a taste of what they call MS HUG but it did t last long. Fair to say I will never do that again. I now take it even before getting out of bed along with other meds.

My MRI has been stable for years and I only get a few symptoms such as feeling my brain is on :fire:, and fatigue and more recently itchy right sole.
Hope my experience helps others but do remember Just as MS I’d different for everyone, so will any meds you take. But worth a try.

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Hi Orchid, hope you are feeling better after op, I have been Injecting Copaxone for 15years & don’t have too many probs, I take x3 out of fridge each week & store them in injection bag with Autoject as they can be left out of fridge for 30days, then when I do Injection it is already at room temperature I do it at bedtime & dab it with kitchen roll then sleep it off & by the morning I don’t feel like I’ve had it. Hope this helps

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I get the same bad injection site reactions. Ive almost run out of space wjere to inject. But i cant brinf myself to inject in the tummy. Im scared ill get the same reaction there