Ouchie!! It sounds like you hit a muscle! I did that once, and it was the day we were riding in the MS150. It made a tough day even worse, my leg ached for hours!

I did it in my arms a couple of times too but the leg was the worst.

I believe IPIRs feel like you're having a small heart attack...shortness of breath and it usually goes away in about 5 or 10 minutes. Scarry, but not life threatening (so they say) I never had one, but others here have.

You probably hit a nerve.....Feel better..

Sounds like you hit a muscle to me. IPIR's are very different. They usually involve difficulty breathing, chest pain, etc. If you are having an IPIR, you will know it. I would begin to turn bright red,was extremely hot, and would experiencing crushing pain in my chest and back before the needle was even out. By the way, mine last between 15 and 20 minutes.

The legs are the most painful for me as well. Call SS and ask them about shortening the needle depth to a 4.
Hope you feel better soon...make sure to call them

I shoot manually.

I'm running out of areas to shoot up, the skin on my thighs is getting weird, and the same goes for the stomach.

I'd take a break from the C if I could. Cant exactly do that...if I dont get my box of C ordered at the same time every month, the pharmacy and shared solutions get all freaked out because SS pays for my C...they called me once a few months back when I missed their phone call and didnt call back for two weeks, and pretty much accused me of slacking off on my shots because I didnt order on schedule, and they threatened to tell my neuro and take away the special deal that SS pays for.

(I've always been a box or two ahead on my C...when I first started it, the nurse who trained me didnt show up for 2 months, so I already had a backlog of two boxes when I started)

Does anyone know if the skin changes really are permanent, or will it go back to normal if I take a break for awhile?

I got bad site reactions with both Copaxone and Betaseron. It got to where I didn't have anywhere to inject and I'd have no choice but to wait it out. Once I stopped all shots my skin did eventually return to somewhat of a normal condition....although I do have several marks that I think are permanent. I think the medication and constant stabbing causes necrosis especially in tender areas like the stomach and arms.

I wonder if people who have other diseases that require daily shots (like diabetes) have the same problem with the skin changing?

IPIRs do NOT include difficulty breathing - if you ever have that happen call 911 immediately.

Umm Bird, I beg to differ. It is listed on the literature and the nurses at SS did not suggest I call 911.

The IPIR I had included shortness of breath. My chest was heavy, and I felt like I couldnt get air in. It was scary! The SS nurse also did NOT suggest I call rescue. As time passed, it got better, and better.