[Debbie D]

I got a call from the drug company to set up my next shipment of Copaxone...which is due the first week of March.
I told her I've been sick so have a bit of extras in the fridge. When she asked how much, I said, "Two boxes..."
Really I have 3 She delayed the delivery, but said I need to keep taking the shots.

I am tired of it. Really tired of it. The shots hurt, and I just don't want to do it anymore. It reminds me that I am sick. I don't see a real decline in my MS symptoms, so why do I have to keep sticking myself?

[Dejibo]

i know EXACTLY how you feel.

I was on Copaxone daily for years and shooting everyday was a royal pain. I used to sit with the needle in my hand and just cry and have to talk myself into poking myself. With or without the auto inflictor didnt matter. Actually I liked manual shots better than the auto inflictor. That thing was violent!

Find a quiet time to do your shot. Take a deep breath. Relax as much as you can. Give yourself a treat after and take a few minutes to get over the sting and burn of it all.

its like brushing your teeth or hair, you do get used to it, and it can become part of your daily routine. If you are not taking it EVERYDAY you are not going to get the benefit of this medicine. As my MD said please do it everyday, or call me and lets talk about finding another med to put you on. Taking it now and again doesnt do anything to halt this disease.

Hang in there.

[mochagirl13]

Originally Posted by Debbie D

I got a call from the drug company to set up my next shipment of Copaxone...which is due the first week of March.
I told her I've been sick so have a bit of extras in the fridge. When she asked how much, I said, "Two boxes..."
Really I have 3 She delayed the delivery, but said I need to keep taking the shots.

I am tired of it. Really tired of it. The shots hurt, and I just don't want to do it anymore. It reminds me that I am sick. I don't see a real decline in my MS symptoms, so why do I have to keep sticking myself?

I take rebif 3x a week and I hate it. At first it seemed so easy with the injector. I chose rebif because it was 3x a week and not daily or every other day. Which ever one is once a week, I just couldn't do. The muscle thing and size of needle scared me. I couldn't give manual shots so I have autoinjector and that darn sound scares me.

I used to sit for 45 minutes or longer sometimes trying to pray my way into shooting myself up. Sometimes I have someone give me the shot and other times I just can't do it. I haven't been on shots for even a year yet and I am sick of it.

That's all they ever say is you need to keep taking shots. I don't see anything getting better. My pharmacy is a joke and can't seem to get my co-pay straight. I hope they hurry up and put more orals that aren't that scary or expensive on the market.

[SallyC]

Just say NO!!

No kidding, if they aren't helping, then stop for awhile. You can always go back on them, if you wish.

[NurseNancy]

if the med isn't helping i'd make an appt to talk to your neuro.
i don't know how long you've been on it.

everyone makes their own individual decision whether to con't taking their med or not. deciding against it isn't a bad decision. you just have to weight the pros and cons.

if you have active or declining disease you might want to consider some type of med. imho. also, there are oral meds coming out.

maybe you could request that the copaxone nurse come to your home. she can evaluate how you're giving the shots and maybe give some suggestions to make it better.

i've been on C since '03 so understand the daily grind.

[Debbie D]

I've been on it for over two years. I guess I'm just burned out. I only had 2 new lesions the last MRI in June, and they were inactive and small. My symptoms dont seem to go away, except for bladder probs. They get worse when I am stressed, overheated, fatigued or sick. And of course the fatigue isn't constant- a week or so here or there.
but the leg issues, now arm issues, cog fog, new intestinal issues...these are seemingly permanent.
DH is an angel to inject me with the autoject. I am just tired of the whole business. MS is a very stupid, unpredictable disease. I am still in denial even after almost 2 1/2 years...I still wonder if it's MS or if it's just my imagination

[NurseNancy]

debbie,

just a thought. i was having a lot of site reactions. i set up an appt and the nurse came out and evaluated that. i had been against manual injection for so long but i tried it and now i find it's better than the autoject. the sites are better too.

you might consider it.

[agate]

Hi Debbie D,
You can't really know how you'd have been doing if you hadn't been taking Copaxone for the last two years. That's always the problem, isn't it?

I was on Copaxone for nearly 3 years but currently I'm off it. Maybe just taking a break--a lot depends on an MRI I'll be having in December.

I don't think that going off the shots because they remind you that you're not well is a good reason to stop Copaxone, though. Your MRI has probably told the story, and it's no fun to have to accept it.

If you're still RRMS, the chances are good that Copaxone might help slow the MS down. It might help you if you have a progressive form of MS too--they just haven't tested it on those types of MS.

I'm pretty old to be taking Copaxone--they don't know much about how it affects older people (I'm 70), either, or people who've had MS as long as I have (at least 30 years). I'm not eager to put up with some of the problems Copaxone created for me but if the MRI shows that my MS has worsened since I've been off it, I'll probably go back on it.

Maybe I'm just grasping at straws, but it's better than doing nothing. I don't enjoy looking at my shrinking brain on an MRI.

[Debbie D]

I was off of it for 3 months last year; I had to go off of it because I was being considered for a clinical study, and the body had to be cleared of it before I went on the study.
Wasn't able to go into the study after all; my thyroid numbers weren't stable enough. So I began injecting again. I don't get many site reactions any longer, except this stupid pain I was getting...it seems to be dissipating now.

Not sure I want to consider manual injection...if I have to I will, but it's just the mental strain of 1)even remembering to inject and 2)I just don't wanna!

[Kitty]

Debbie, when I was on C and also on Beta I had the auto-injector. And I am needle phobic! I decided to try the manual injection and see how it went. I was kicking myself for not trying it sooner. No loud auto-inject noise, virtually no pain and no site reaction afterwards. I almost looked forward to the shot because I knew it wouldn't hurt and I was in control of it. That made a big difference.