I had my first injection this morning, and after hardly sleeping last night, I just wanted to reassure anyone about to start, it really was simple.
You don’t see the needle at all if you don’t want to, and I hardly felt it.
I’ve felt a bit queasy at points this afternoon, but nothing too terrible and to be honest that could just be due to lack of sleep. I’m only on the 8.8 dose for the first 2 weeks, followed by 2 weeks at 22 before moving up to the full dose so I’ll reserve judgement on the side affects for a while, but certainly feel sooooo much better about the injection itself.
I’m starting my 6th week on Rebif today and have been on the 44mcg dose since last Monday. I also have to give a big about the fab machine that is the Rebismart - I have a needle phobia anyway and you’re right Shuffler, you don’t see the needle (if you don’t want to).
Since my first injection I haven’t had any serious side effects, albeit a slight nagging headache on occasion but nothing a couple of co-dydramol doesn’t cure. I have a slight redness post injection but again, nothing too major. I take my medication around 6pm and I’m usually in bed by 9pm anyway (I’ll probably be in bed by 7pm tonight though as I’ve just finished mowing the grass and I’m absolutely shattered )
I spoke with my MS nurse last week and mentioned that I hadn’t had any serious side effects and she said if I hadn’t experienced any by now, then I’m probably one of the lucky ones who won’t.
Hopefully you’ll be side effect free too
Sara - speak with your consultant next time you see him/her - it was the fact the Rebismart looks nothing like a needle/syringe/epipen that I went for it
Laura - it’s fab (if you can “like” something like this) - it even reminds you when your due your injection, although my problem is actually pushing the button to start the injection - the first time I did the injection on my own it took 18 minutes before I pushed it - how pathetic is that
Laura - you don’t say if you are nervous about injections, but if you are it really was so simple. I feel a bit daft for having been awake most of the night now!
Pen - lol, 18 minutes! I’m hoping the second one will be even easier. Glad you’ve not had any serious side effects, here’s hoping I can say the same in a few weeks time.
Sarah - as Pen said, it was the Rebismart that really made my choice of DMD for me as it didn’t look like a typical injector. It will even monitor your injection sites for you if you want it to. Great for brain fog moments when you can’t remember where you injected last. I have trouble some mornings remembering if I washed my hair the day before so I’m expecting to make great use of this feature once I work out how to set it up.
I agree, I find the Rebismart very easy. Not been so lucky regarding side effects but have been told they should pass over time so am hopeful. I like that it tells me where I am due to inject each time, I would not remember otherwise.
I agree with Shuffler, the Rebismart is really easy to use. Not sure why injecting on one side leaves a faint pink mark but injecting into the same place on the other leg leaves a big, purple bruise ?!
I’ve been on Rebif for almost 4 years now (anniversary in August) and used a different auto-injector for the first 6 months. My local nurse suggested I switch to the Rebismart device as I had previously used the Rebiject II which was a very long, slim auto-injector which used single use syringes. It fired the needles in like darts and. because of my dexterity issues with pressing the soft touch start button, was leaving me with huge bruises. She contacted the hospital for me and arranged the switch over.
I’m so glad she did because the Rebismart is so much kinder. I played around with it adjusting the settings until it was more comfortable. The main benefit to me was the big button at the top which only needs the lightest of touches to start the injection so even with fingertips which have little or no feeling it’s a doddle. No more bleeding or bruising. I still get the red injection marks but they fade eventually and are painless.
I’m glad your experiences are all positive. I used to get a bit achy and a moderate headache after the injections. These lasted from injection at bedtime until lunchtime the next day but were easily controlled by paracetomol and ibuprofen. They eased off after the first few months just as I went up to the full dose of 44 mcg.
I have lasted 3.5 years without a relapse and had one this year in March which was much milder than previous relapses. I’m still in the recovery phase but am recovering much better than I did before as well so I do feel that Rebif is working as it should.
I was swayed by the gadget as well, like you say it’s great for those of us who suffer with brain fog! I am not looking forward to it per se, but it is what it is, so i am trying to stay calm and positive about it! Really helps hearing others experiences, so thanks to you all! x
Another Rebismart user here. I’ve been on Rebif for about 4 weeks now - I’ve got my last 22 tonight before going up to the full dose on Thursday. So far pretty impressed with how easy it is.
I agree that it really is very simple to use. I’m also one of the lucky ones that has so far not had any side effects - though I’m still on the lower doses so I’ll reserve judgement until Thursday and first of the big ones.
18 minutes! 3 minutes and the whole thing’s done (save the cold pad which my nurse told me to use to reduce the marks and it seems to be working)
Still not quite my head around that this is (semi) permanent and not a short term medication for a couple of months.
Another Rebismart user here. I’ve been on Rebif for about 4 weeks now - I’ve got my last 22 tonight before going up to the full dose on Thursday. So far pretty impressed with how easy it is.
I agree that it really is very simple to use. I’m also one of the lucky ones that has so far not had any side effects - though I’m still on the lower doses so I’ll reserve judgement until Thursday and first of the big ones.
18 minutes! 3 minutes and the whole thing’s done (save the cold pad which my nurse told me to use to reduce the marks and it seems to be working)
Still not quite my head around that this is (semi) permanent and not a short term medication for a couple of months.