Ah, thighs are tricky. That lil chart they give only shows the FRONT side of the thigh. I roll over and take the SIDE wall of the thigh. Grab the fat on the front of your thigh, now reach over to the side and grab a hand full. Which one offers you a better fat pad? I have even gone as far as to almost reach UNDER the thigh, as far as I could see and still reach. TONS of fat there, where as the top side of my thigh is so muscular.

I PROMISE it gets MUCH better. The bee stinger feeling gets less and less. Slap an ice pack on it, and try to do something, any thing to distract yourself. Watch a movie, sew, knit, talk on the phone, do a puzzle, play on the computer, have your activity ready before hand, so you can grab your ice pack and just go plop down and do it. In the early days I would yelp and tell the husband to MOVE! Just get out of my way! It was hard to pick something after the shot to distract me, so I started setting something up before hand. After a few months, you will be able to stand and wash dishes, or play with the animals, or talk comfortably on the phone. The sting gets MUCH less intense, and lasts for a much shorter period of time.

DONT RUB! If you must do something, you can PUSH directly into the injected area. If you have an area that is not very cushy, and more muscle, you will have to shoot shallow, and that leaves a white lump on the top of the skin. Grab your cotton pad or wet paper towel (which I use to wipe away any med that leaks out, that also helps stop the burn) and PUSH directly into the injected area. DONT RUB, dont wiggle, just push straight into it, and hold for 15 or so seconds. This pushes the meds from the top layer of skin into the deeper layer of fat. Firm direct pressure, no rubbing. After your 15 seconds of pushing, plop an ice pack on it, and distract yourself. DONT do this in areas where you have a big ol fat pat to shoot into. Only in those places that needed a shallow poke, like the top of your thigh.

I havent shot the topside of my thigh in a long time. Not enough fat there. Grab the side. Same for your arm, dont shoot straight at the bicep area, go for that fat pad area (bat wing) that hangs towards the under side.

That lil chart they give you is a guideline, and you dont have to be exact with it. As my MD says, if you have better fat a few inches south, go for the better fat.

btw, Congrats on starting Copaxone. it really does get easier. PM me if you want/need advice.