Hey, So after three years on rebif, I stopped recently and started copaxone a few minutes ago. I set the autoinjector up like my nurse said on 8 mm and did the injection in my thigh. I had no problems when it was going in but about a minute after injecting it I started to get pain in my thigh and muscle twitches and the pain spread down my thigh to above my knee. I’m still getting twitches now but the pain has reduced a bit. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?
I have had problems with my legs since the beginning in May.
I was doing it manually and auto to see if it made a difference but it didnt. The nurse told me to try 6 on my legs but often still painful and huge red itchy lumps that last days. Mine are always even worse the following day.
The only thing I have found to help a bit is to use the ice pack afterwards if too painful.
To me it seems Russian roulette and some are far more troublesome than others…I still wouldnt swap to any of the others though.
I shall look to see if others have got more helpful suggestions for you.
Hope todays goes better for you.
Pip
Hello Louise and I really hope that the Copaxone makes a noticeable difference to your MS; I started a few years ago and there were significant improvements in mobility, cognition and bowel/bladder, within a few weeks/months.
As for injection sites, I agree with you: injecting directly into muscle, even though that is often the easiest place, always leaves far more stiffness/irritation than injecting into “fatty” areas. If I have to inject directly into my thigh, I now squeeze the fat up to form a higher “ridge” and inject into that.
i agree with white reindeer.
pinching the flesh is the only way i can inject my tummy.
i used to feel that i had a dead leg after injecting. not the end of the world but made it tricky to walk downstairs.
my tummy used to feel like i had severe period pains (funny i can remember those, such a long time ago)
my gp encouraged me to adjust the depth and i’ve found the depth thatn works for me.
carole x
Thanks for the replies! I changed the autoinjector to 6 and moved to my bum which has helped. No site marks so far which is good but still experiencing the bee sting feeling after every injection. So far I much prefer rebif. If it doesn’t improve by the end of the first box I may consider moving back to rebif.
Hi Louise,
I’m also on copaxone, and I just started 5 days ago! I’ve had some problems, hives, itching in particular. I am taking an antihistamine an hour / hour half before each injection, for the next week or so, to allow the meds to settle in my system, and since taking the antihistamine, I just have a bee sting feeling and some site redness for a short time. What i have noticed though, is that my skin is really really dry.
This is my first DMD, so I’ve nothing to compare it to.
Jools
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