Starting Copaxone any advice

Everyday living
1

Hi,

I am starting Copaxone in about a month. I didn’t do too well on Rebif.

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice they could give me?

Thanks very much,

Adrian x

2

Hi The only advice I can give you is not to use the autojector, just manually inject. In my experience I have found that manual injections don’t leave any site marks at all. All the best to you x

3

hi adrian

you need to keep your skin in good condition because it helps the injections go in easier.

get some double base gel, its not heavy and isnt perfumed.

also bio oil is supposed to be good for massaging in the day after you inject.

its a doddle in my opinion

carole x

4

Thanks Carole. I appreciate that. x

5

Hope it goes well I have just come off rebif and am waiting to swop to copaxone, so thank you for tip too. Mish x

6

Hi Adrian, just wanted to say I hope it goes well. I had 7 years on Copaxone with no ill effects after a ropey time on Rebif and am about to start Gilyena now cause I’ve had too many relapses so it’s not doing the job for me anymore. I found it much easier than Rebif cause you don’t have those horrid flu symptoms. I have to confess I found my sites that were most comfortable and rotated them - I found arms sore so avoided them. I did used to leave 7 injections at a time out of the fridge which meant it was always body temperature when I injected. Apart from that no wisdom to impart. Good luck. Maxine x

7

Hi,

Thanks a lot. Any advice is welcome. I was just wondering what time you took the injection?

Hey Mish, hope it goes well for you too.

Thanks,

Adrian x

8

Hi Adrian, I always did it before bed but that was because I had already got into that pattern with the Rebif to sleep off the symptoms of flu but honestly Copaxone was symptomless for me so if morning is better for you that shouldn’t be a problem.

Max x

ps - Good luck to Mish from me too!

9

Thank you both. Have always worried about Copaxone because of possible sight reactions but having battled with the rebif for six months am now looking forward to the change. The only thing my nurse said was once you pick a time you must stick to it, within an hour, as you have to leave 24 hours between each injection. Good luck.

10

Hi Adrian, When I was on Copaxone I used to jab approx same time every day about 2.00pm. But the most important thing is to be relaxed when injecting. Have a cup of tea and wind down beforehand. Do not massage the area straight after injecting, wait at least 24 hours. I found the cool pack helped with any itching on the injection site. Don’t inject straight from the fridge or you will get bad stinging. Remember to tap the autoinjector when you load the syringe and before injecting to get rid of any surplus fluid or air bubbles on syringe. When you put the autoinjector on skin you’re looking for a light pressure, nothing too heavy or you may get fluid coming back out of the skin when you take the needle out. You may need to adjust the depth of the needle depending on how much fat there is on different areas. Tip for injecting the back of arms: sit on a chair/couch with arms, place a cushion under your armpit ( bottom half of cushion will be resting on the arm of chair ) and this will help bulge the fat bit at the back of you arm out so you can reach it easily with the autoinjecter in you other hand. Hope it all goes ok with you.

11

Thanks Fudgey. That’s very informative. :slight_smile: x