[PatriciaQ]

ant sure, were, to start,

ok, well, basicly, im curious, is using "ice" on, yourslef, befor u injecting yourself is it safe, bad-good idea, does it really, make a difference, please, someone help me out, im clueless "LOL" heh.

takecare everyone *hugs*

[Dejibo]

Aww Cinder. First things first. (((Hugs))) to you.

What medicine are you injecting? Are you injecting an MS med? Some find that an ice pack for a couple of minutes before hand can take the sting out of the initial poke through the skin. If you are shooting a deeper drug like Avonex, you may find that it only helps that first poke. Copaxone will sting past the ice pack for the first couple of weeks, and Beta/rebif shouldnt sting at all.

They make Auto Injectors for all the meds except Avonex, which needs to be injected into the muscle with a bigger needle to be effective.

Tell us more. That would help us give you more specific advice.

[Debbie D]

Ice? I was told to use a heat pack before, and an ice pack after...

[NurseNancy]

if you're using copaxone they suggest a bit of a warm compress before and ice afterwards to decrease the sting and swelling.

i wouldn't think you'd want to ice too much before because you want the medication to inject and be well dispersed and ice may hamper the tissue from doing that.

you can call the drug maker and or the dr or pharmacist. they also might give you some ideas.

[tkrik]

Originally Posted by NurseNancy

if you're using copaxone they suggest a bit of a warm compress before and ice afterwards to decrease the sting and swelling.

i wouldn't think you'd want to ice too much before because you want the medication to inject and be well dispersed and ice may hamper the tissue from doing that.

you can call the drug maker and or the dr or pharmacist. they also might give you some ideas.

I agree with NurseNancy. I am on C and I either put a warm compress on 1st or take a shower 1st to warm up the skin/underneath the skin. To me it seems icing 1st would solidify the area making it more difficult to inject and the meds no dispersing as NN mentioned. I ice afterwards.

[FaithS]

I've used both Beta and C. Beta does sting, sometimes. But, not nearly as badly, or as long, for me, as C can.

With C, warm before, and cold (not ice) after, is what I was told. For me, tho', warm before made it burn BAD! For others, it seems to work. Cold pack afterwards helped ALOT!

Didn't use heat or cold for B. Although it stung sometimes, for me, it lasted for only those few seconds while the med was going in.

Seems like we're all different. You just have to experiment, sometimes, and see what works for you.

~ Faith