Hi. Ive recently been diagnosed with CIS so have started on Avonex injections in September…To begin with had no problems and so lucky had no bad side effects only headaches which now seem ok!..but the last few inj have been very painful at inj site with bad bruising and swelling!!..does anyone else have this problem and any advice would be much appreciated…Thanks Emma x
hi emma, i take it your using the pen? and your alternating legs and injection sites? i found that when i first started out with avonex i noticed bruising and the reason was pressing down on the leg to hard a year later and now no probs!!! gd luck. Tony.
Thanks for the advice and yes I do alternate legs but we were wondering if it was too much prssure as my husband does them as I couldnt do it!!! Bit of a wimp even though I cant see the needle lol!
emma, does sound like to much pressure on the pen, it does take a few to get it right. Tony.
Hi. When i do my injections i usually have a shower about an hour before and don’t use any deoderants that can mist onto where i am gonna inject unless i’m covered up, and don’t use any body creams cos when you inject it may cause more irritation. Hope this helps.
Hi Emma
I’ve been using Avonex since August this year. I work with a diabetic nurse and she told me to only inject in the outer thigh. She told me to imagine a line down the middle of the upper leg and only go for injection sites to the outer thigh. So I mentally divide my outer thighs into six areas and rotate each week. The first few I did were a bit of a disaster, bleeding, bruising etc. Since following the nurse’s advice, I’ve not really had any problems.
Good Luck
Lynne
Hi Lynne Thanks for that advice maybe they are too high up Im not sure?!..have you had any adverse reactions to the Avonex?..Ive been luckly and only really suffered headaches some weeks wore than others!..are you just diagnosed too?..Emma
I think you should learn to do it yourself, until you know how to do it right, how can you teach anybody else? Plus, you’ll immediately find out if it’s his technique or your body that’s the problem since you will be unlikely to apply the pen at the same angle or pressure as your husband.
Set it up, put it on your thigh and then stop, watch some tv or have a conversation, then just press the button. The only other advice I could give you is ensure your legs are relaxed, massage them after sitting or lying down, just because you want them to relax doesn’t mean they will, one of the gifts of ms are messages not getting through properly.
The less the pen moves once injected, the less likely you will bruise the skin, any movement by the pen on the outside is like stirring a pot on the inside.
Come on girl, toughen up, the Avonex pen is considerably easier than all the others!
Hi Emma. Yes, I’m fairly new to MS as well, diagnosed this April. I tend to aim for the tougher parts of my thighs, not the soft parts. It always is nearly painless then. I never thought I would be able to inject myself but I find using the Avonex pen really easy. Home from work on a Wednesday, upstairs, prepare everything, injection, tissues in case of bleeding etc. Both feet firmly on the floor, pen against the thigh, press enough to allow it to trigger, push the button, all done. Normally I back down stairs in 5 mins.
The actual injections are no problem at all, it’s the flu like symptoms I struggle more with. Thursday is just a wipe out!! I’m now about 4 months in and it’s getting slightly better.
Lynne