[barb02]

I restarted copaxone yesterday afternoon after more than a year off. I manually inject and did not even feel the needle. I thought -- great! I experienced the normal burning and pain for about 30 minutes, but did not have an IPIR. Last night about 6:00p.m. (3 hours after the injection), I began to experience cold chills and shaking. After about 90 minutes of this (uncontrollable shaking), I called S.S. and they told me to take tylenol or advil and to keep injecting. They said this might just be a temporary reaction and maybe it would help if I predosed with tylenol or advil. They were aware of my past problems. The nurse did not seem to understand why I stopped the last time. Perhaps they need to simulate an IPIR in each one of them. She did say she understood why I was so frustrated and that she would be screaming and cursing.

I said I was going to call my neuro today considering the problems I have had with copaxone in the past. At 8:30 I went to bed and took my temp, it was 101.2. When the nurse took it prior to my injection it was 97. I usually run low. About 11:30 I got up to take some more tylenol and it was 99.5. The shaking stopped around 10:00.

My temp seems to be back to normal today, but I am now aching all over. I am sure this is due to the shaking. I called my neuro's office at 8:00, but they have not returned my call.

I am so upset, disgusted, and depressed. I do not think I am going to inject that "stuff" one more time regardless of what my neuro says.

Flu like symptoms is not a normal reaction to copaxone like it is for the interferons. I also experienced a similar shaking/cold chills after the IPIR's I had in the past. But they "only" lasted about an hour.