Sally,

Ouch, it hurts like crazy! I took my last Avonex shot last Saturday and it's nice to have a break from shots. I'm ready for some relief.

Hugs,
Becky

Sandy, BFF, GBA,

This has not been a good year for me. It may go down as one of my worst years. I'm ready for a break from all the drama.

I still can't believe that the needle caused this kind of damage so fast and in both thighs!! The muscle and nerve pain is just awful. I have lived with back pain and sciatica for 17 years and this is just the worst.

Dr. Husain thinks the Gabapentin might help my sciatica along with the thigh pain so I'm hoping it will. She said it will take several weeks to kick in. I'm so ready and feeling so sorry for myself. It's just pitiful!

If I go on Copaxone, which is probably what I will do in October, I'm not even worried about those site reactions. Nothing compares to the Avonex shot mess I have going on.

Tell those doctors to quit using Jim as a guinea pig and get him on the right med. I hope his new Neuro is a good one. Copaxone is the one Dr. Husain is now recommending, she said it had none of the bad side effects like the other DMD's. She did mention Beta having side effects but I don't really remember what she said about that.

I had my note pad with all my questions written down but was so stunned, I didn't write down her answers!

Love Ya,
Your BFF

Beary,

My optimism is a little down today. I'm feeling sorry for myself and in pain. It's just a passing phase and won't last long. I refuse to be in a bad mood for very long.

My optimism should be back tomorrow.

I called the Avonex Access program today to tell them that I was going off Avonex. The rep. was extremely nice and very sympathetic. She transferred me to the nurse and I told her what had happened to my muscles and nerves in my thighs. She was very sympathetic also. I asked both the rep. and the nurse if they had heard of this problem and they said no.

They asked me the normal questions about how I was giving myself the shots. I told them I started last August and was doing everything the same and followed the instructions. No problems whatsoever. They asked me if the problem shots were from the same batch of Avonex. I said no that I had reordered a shipment in May after the first reaction and had spoken to the nurse at that time. The second shipment came in mid May and the problem continued and became worse.

I told them that my blood work came back fine and my Neuro said it was not from the Avonex but it was muscle and nerve damage from the needles.

The nurse transferred me to a woman who said she wanted to make a report and submit it to the FDA. I asked her if she had heard of this and she never really answered me. It was strange.

She kept trying to minimize the reaction I was telling her about. She was trying to interpret it as a site reaction in a small area at the shot site. I kept telling her that if she spread her hand out just above her knee and went all the way up her thigh to the end of the muscle towards her torso, that was how much area that was affected on both my thighs. All of the top thigh muscle! I also have tenderness, pain and swelling on the outer sides of both knees.

I told her that my skin on my thighs was tight and did not feel like my skin. If anything touches it, it hurts. It is burning underneath the skin and sharp shooting pains are all over the place. The skin also looks weird and dimpled.

Anyway, she seemed to be trying to end the conversation with an attitude that it was not a big deal (my words not hers). I wouldn't hang up until she heard me out. It is a big deal to have muscle and nerve damage from a shot and they need to know that I might have permanent damage after 50 Avonex shots in my thighs.

I have read all the fine print about Avonex and have not seen one thing about needle damage. If I had a clue about this after talking to the Avonex nurse after the first reaction, I would have called my Neuro and stopped the shots before it became so serious.

I guess I am ranting but I am po'd about this. I have no intention of suing anyone or causing any problems but they need to let people know if this is a possible side effect. If MS patients have site reactions to shots like I do, then maybe they should not be injecting into the muscle and should be warned.

I'll stop now. I'm working on getting my attitude back on the good side.

Aww, Becky. Well, they say that laughter is the best medicine so I hope there's a FO marathon on today. I have faith that Jeff and Zoila can bring you around.

NO need to feel apologetic or regretful about your conversation!!! I think their reaction is absolutely to be expected. Unfortunate, but true. I'm glad you had the opportunity to speak your mind and didn't back down!!

Becky

Becky, I keep reading this thread and wanting to respond, but I haven't been able to research anything intelligent to add.

From what I've read:

"Most complications of intramuscular injections are a result of the drug injected and not the procedure. However, it is possible that localized trauma of the injection site may result as part of the process."

http://www.enotes.com/nursing-encycl...ular-injection

And, this is a good site for describing some of the complications from intramuscular injections:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/464467_3

The part that has me stumped is that you had a reaction in the left side, due to the injection in the right side. The other issue is that the doctor says you are not having a reaction to the med itself.

I don't understand what could be happening here, but clearly you are in a lot of ongoing pain. I hope this heals and you improve quickly.

Cherie

A huggy bear for you, Becky....

Beary,

Laughter is absolutely the best medicine. The best way to find humor on TV is watching reality TV, right? LOL Mindless TV is quite amusing!

Yes, Beary and I are addicted to Big Brother and we are not embarrassed to admit it!!

I don't regret making my point with the shot problem but I seriously doubt that it will change anything. I wanted the woman to know what happened to me and made her listen. She had no choice since I kept correcting her and although I wasn't nasty, I was quite firm to put it mildly. LOL

Hugs,
Becky

BFF,

Thank you for the hugs. Hugs right back at you.