I have had anxiety for many years, and had it well controlled, until...I started Copaxone. I had MASSIVE anxiety attacks during the first three months. it was awful. I was so panicked at shot time. Waiting for this one to be the IPIR. As time passed, the anxiety has softened. My dreams have calmed, and things are in a better groove. It was a rough first year, and adjusting to this stuff was enough to make me sit and suck my thumb in the corner. With time, and patience your body can adjust, and regain many of the normal habits and patterns that you were used to before Copaxone. If you are having tons of trouble, please see your MD. If its interfering with your life, then you may need half doses for a bit till you get adjusted. DONT do it without approval and guidance from your MD.

Confession...I refused to inject myself last night. DH was so disappointed in me.
I will do it tonight...just couldn't handle it...too upset.
I see the neuro on Tues. I need to take some notes...

Kay, how do you know when you go from RRMS to SPMS?

My poor DH...lots of hand holding, hugs. Trying to help me get through this crabbiness/crying. I just don't feel right. And I want to...so much.

thanks for words of support. It helps so much!

Taking a night off isn't something to be ashamed of. Nor is it going to hurt you in the long run. Clearing your mind to be able to move forward is a good thing, don't worry about it .

well, there's no clear demarkation... no border that is crossed, so it's usually hard to tell.

the way it was explained to me was "rearview mirror diagnosis"

I used to have relapses like clockwork, one or two a year, with obvious new symptoms, but as the years rolled past, there was less and less "full remission" and more and more pile-up of "residual deficits"

particular symptoms began lasting for years, and not remitting, or only partially remitting, and instead of *weeks* (like I remember flares lasting back in the late '80s) flares may resolve very slowly, taking months to settle down into the "new normal" (naturally, your mileage may vary... )

for me, the 2002 flare which involved my right side, only halfway went away, leaving my right hand feeling like I'm wearing a thick glove, .

the neuro said that eventually, there's less and less room to rebuild neural-signal pathways AROUND the damaged area of the myelin sheath.

but remember, I've had MS for almost 21 years now, so this was fully expected, and calmly planned for.

here's the brutally blunt numbers and percentages:

After 5–15 years of relapses and recovery, the relapses start to dwindle in frequency, and disease symptoms worsen during and between attacks. These changes may take months or even years to notice, and then only in hindsight. No tests or imaging studies can absolutely confirm the onset of SPMS, but a diagnosis is generally based on the history of worsening MS over the course of a year in a patient who previously had clear relapses and recoveries. About 50% of individuals who begin with RRMS have SPMS within 10 years, and 90% within 25 years.

http://www.neura.net/channels/1.asp?...e=&cps=0&cpp=0

I remember being very unhappy with hearing this answer back in 1994, because it's so vague and uncertain, and what I *wanted* was certainty and clarity...

my neuro told me... "Well, my dear" (he was an elderly gentleman, so I let him get away with THAT, lol!) "There IS no clarity in life, just go ahead and do what you CAN, and live your life the best you can..."

so, I followed his advice, and most days are full of good, if I *LOOK* for it, and *FOCUS* on it, instead of getting bogged down in carp.