Hi Everybody,

I'll be starting Copaxone again on Wednesday. I took it before and I recall a lot of it but could you all give me a refresher on your best helpful tips?

I'll do manual injections because that worked best for me and I had less site reactions that way too.

I look forward to your replies and thanks in advance.

Tummy and hips..good luck.

They changed the gauge on the needles so the site reactions are less (at least for me).

I do mine right after a warm shower as I have less trouble. (You know, warm the fatty tissue up before injecting. Hey, doesn't fat melt? LOL).

I don't have enough fat on my thighs to be shooting anything in there. I kept hitting muscle.

Remember, don't inject it cold. Let it sit for a bit or even overnight before injecting. Trust me, cold Copaxone = shooting pain.

Use gauze and not a cotton ball. You don't want cotton ball fuzzy getting in the injection site.

Remember it will take a while for your body to get used to it again. You will experience some uncomfortable site reactions until then. Benadryl cream helps with the reactions - wait a day before putting it on.

Massage the lumps after a couple of days if needed.

That's all I can think of right now. C has been a brain saver for me. I hope it works out well for you too!

Don't do your arms!!! Ugh I had the worst time with my arms I would hit the muscle every time! Even though it was not on the list of approved sites... top of my backside... Hey i got plenty of cushion back there!

I liked the autoject, it was one of the things I missed when I started Avonex... I have no problem hooking up IVs or sticking other people. I have no problem watching other people stick me (Lord knows we do it enough!) but I had a very hard time watching ME stick me. Plus I had to do it twice the first 3 times until I learned to control my automatic "ow that hurts, and my hand just jerked back" response.

Good Luck!

1. DONT RUB, press down FIRMLY on the spot you inject. This will hopefully help with the lump that can form after injection.
2. Rotate, rotate, rotate! If you're not sure or having trouble with a location, call Shared Solutions
3. If the 90 degree angle doesn't work (I was hitting muscle... yeow!), 45 degree can get around this

Good luck my dear!

i had less site reactions as time went by. i also found i had to inject a bit deeper with the autoject and that helped.

ice for a few minutes after the shot can help with reddness and the reaction.
everyone else's advice is great too.

good luck with that wiz. i've been injecting for 6 yrs and my MS seems under control.

Rotate! Rotate! Rotate!

The new smaller needle is wonderful.

Use the side of your thighs, not the tops.

DONT RUB! push firmly, but dont rub.


Be patient with yourself as you relearn it. The burn WILL go away.

-unless you have good padding, the arms are a horrible shot spot
-I use the stomach as two areas--right and left side
-deeper can be better for avoiding skin reactions, as long as you avoid muscle
-the butt is an awesome area to inject in, tons of fat
-on another forum I read a thread that massaging the area vigorously 24 hrs in advance reduces pain (but massaging too close to the shot time increases it, so do it the day before). I've been too lazy to try this, but I probably should.

Thanks for this thread Wiz . I just decided today to give C another try. I won't be using the autoject either because of severe, long-lasting site reactions. I really hope it works for us this time .

I should have it by tomorrow so I'll be shooting up soon after. Joelle, it worked ok for me before and the clinical trial results are good for it and with a long track record for safety. We can compare notes this time.

I was thinner before so maybe I won't have quite as bad reactions this time.