Copaxone Injection Pointers, Anybody?
 

Hi Everybody,

I'll be starting Copaxone again on Wednesday. I took it before and I recall a lot of it but could you all give me a refresher on your best helpful tips?

I'll do manual injections because that worked best for me and I had less site reactions that way too.

I look forward to your replies and thanks in advance. :)

Tummy and hips..good luck. :hug:

They changed the gauge on the needles so the site reactions are less (at least for me).

I do mine right after a warm shower as I have less trouble. (You know, warm the fatty tissue up before injecting. Hey, doesn't fat melt? LOL).

I don't have enough fat on my thighs to be shooting anything in there. I kept hitting muscle.:eek:

Remember, don't inject it cold.:eek::eek: Let it sit for a bit or even overnight before injecting. Trust me, cold Copaxone = shooting pain.

Use gauze and not a cotton ball. You don't want cotton ball fuzzy getting in the injection site.

Remember it will take a while for your body to get used to it again. You will experience some uncomfortable site reactions until then. Benadryl cream helps with the reactions - wait a day before putting it on.

Massage the lumps after a couple of days if needed.

That's all I can think of right now. C has been a brain saver for me.:p I hope it works out well for you too!

Don't do your arms!!! Ugh I had the worst time with my arms I would hit the muscle every time! Even though it was not on the list of approved sites... top of my backside... Hey i got plenty of cushion back there!

I liked the autoject, it was one of the things I missed when I started Avonex... I have no problem hooking up IVs or sticking other people. I have no problem watching other people stick me (Lord knows we do it enough!) but I had a very hard time watching ME stick me. Plus I had to do it twice the first 3 times until I learned to control my automatic "ow that hurts, and my hand just jerked back" response.

Good Luck!

1. DONT RUB, press down FIRMLY on the spot you inject. This will hopefully help with the lump that can form after injection.
2. Rotate, rotate, rotate! If you're not sure or having trouble with a location, call Shared Solutions
3. If the 90 degree angle doesn't work (I was hitting muscle... yeow!), 45 degree can get around this

Good luck my dear! :) :hug:

i had less site reactions as time went by. i also found i had to inject a bit deeper with the autoject and that helped.

ice for a few minutes after the shot can help with reddness and the reaction.
everyone else's advice is great too.

good luck with that wiz. i've been injecting for 6 yrs and my MS seems under control.

Rotate! Rotate! Rotate!

The new smaller needle is wonderful.

Use the side of your thighs, not the tops.

DONT RUB! push firmly, but dont rub.


Be patient with yourself as you relearn it. The burn WILL go away. :cool:

-unless you have good padding, the arms are a horrible shot spot
-I use the stomach as two areas--right and left side
-deeper can be better for avoiding skin reactions, as long as you avoid muscle
-the butt is an awesome area to inject in, tons of fat :)
-on another forum I read a thread that massaging the area vigorously 24 hrs in advance reduces pain (but massaging too close to the shot time increases it, so do it the day before). I've been too lazy to try this, but I probably should. :rolleyes:

Thanks for this thread Wiz :). I just decided today to give C another try. I won't be using the autoject either because of severe, long-lasting site reactions. I really hope it works for us this time :).

I should have it by tomorrow so I'll be shooting up soon after. Joelle, it worked ok for me before and the clinical trial results are good for it and with a long track record for safety. We can compare notes this time.

I was thinner before so maybe I won't have quite as bad reactions this time.

wiz,

how did it go?

I keep thinking I should start Copaxone again (quit nearly 2 years ago). I'm very happy to hear about the new, smaller needle! That's great!

Good luck Wiz!!! :hug:

Hope it goes well, dear:hug::hug:

Good points as well. The arms became a problem for me, so SS had me doing 2 shots in the stomach on rotation and missing 1 shot a week. I'd be sure though and ask SS about going outside of the protocol (just to be on the safe side of course). ;)

I have a bit more meat on my bones this time around so I should do ok I suspect. I will not use my arms though. And to think I did back when I was pretty darned skinny!! :eek:

I used my heinie and stomach twice a week though and I'll do that again. :o (Plenty of padding to shoot into.)

I get the meds tomorrow Judy. I'll report on how it goes after the shot. :eek: We have a blizzard going on though so I hope the UPS driver doesn't get here too late!

Copaxone out for deliver and it's almost 9PM!
 

My Copaxone is "out for delivery" and it's nearly 9pm CST and with near blizzard conditions. I hope I don't have to reorder it and have them send out new. Yikes!

DO you get bee sting?

It arrived today finally. DH and I both inspected each of the syringes and they looked ok. I did my first injection today and there was no problem. Just the small redness I usually had before when doing manual injections. :)

hey, Wiz ... you will endure some redness (maybe a bit puffiness) around your injection spot ... but, I've been on it over 2 years now - and your system needs to do 'its' thing ... and eventually - the bump will be gone - and then just a bit of redness ....

be sure to 'rotate' ... I use a calendar and use the following ... and write the 2-letter codes on each day:
S = LA .... (left upper outside arm) - set at 6
M = RL .... (upper right thigh) ... set at 4 and don't go right on top of the muscle.
Tue = RA .... (right upper outside arm) - set at 6
Wed = LS ... (left side stomache - left of belly button area) - set at 8
Thur = LH/RH ... (alternate every other week - left hip then right hip) - set at 6
Fri = LL ... (upper left thigh) - set at 4
Sat = RS ... (right side stomache - right of belly button area) - set at 8

hope this helps. (((HUGS)))

I may be silly - but I keep the calendar in the bathroom to remind me of where and what day I'm on .. then 'X' off each day as you go ...

I've had no troubles - and it keeps you on track ... and I 'shoot' myself (mornings) after I shower ... and then sit and have my cup of coffee and relax to let the meds do their thing - and I sometimes flush, if I try to do too much right after an injection ...

one day at a time, sweetie!!

Remember that the injection sites will get worse and the finally will get better. When I 1st started, the site reactions weren't too bad. About the 3rd week (I think) they became worse and then eventually the reactions subsided.

I also do not do my thighs. I just don't have enough fat on them and had more site reactions when I did my thighs than anywhere else. I have had 3 IPIR and all three were after I did my thighs. So I quit that site. As of the past maybe couple of months, I quit my arms too as the tremors have increased a bit and I couldn't control the needle for manual injections. (Nothing like trying to accurately jab myself with a needle going all over the place:eek::D) I don't have much fat on my arms either but had been able to get away with a 45 degree angle in the arms. I am now down to tummy and hips.


Happy shooting!:p And, know that we are all here to help you through this.:hug:

Don't do the inside of your thighs, just the outsides, don't do where you actually SIT on your butt, since there is greater chance for infection,try not to do it where your clothes can rub the shot spot, don't scratch the lumps for at least two days, arnica helps with the itch and sting, and according to my doc, anywhere you can pinch an inch is fair game since it's a subcu shot.

That's all I remember except I didn't do my arms either, because the lumps and I were absolute best buddies and they hung around for weeks. I always did the shots where the lumps would be hidden. If you use the autoject, play with the depth, it really can make a difference for each person.

Good Luck and hugs to you! :)

Wiz,

Not sure how long ago you stopped, but they also changed how long it is ok to be unrefrigerated. The shots can now be unrefrigerated for something like 30 days. They still ship them refrigerated and I still keep them in the fridge at home, but when I travel, I no longer have to worry about whether my room has a fridge.

One other thing...make sure the alcohol from the swap is completely dry before you inject. Injecting when the alcohol is still damp can cause a monumental sting when the needle first goes in.

I use Benadryl on mine, but I use the gel, not the cream. The gel flows easily, so I can put it on right away just by smearing it across the site without actually rubbing it in. I use a cotton ball with direct pressure for about 30 seconds to keep it from bleeding, then wipe a dab of the gel over the area and let it dry. I almost never get any significant pain, and only get a real itchy spot maybe once a week or so.

BTW, that picture of Daisy is absolutely adorable. She is a beautiful cat with those markings and her blue eyes.

Thanks TX,

Yes my baby Daisy is adorable!!!! :circlelove: You should see her run through the house and play with Rocky, her new big brother! :D They play "cat and mouse" and he gets a bit too rough sometimes (he's nine lbs of pure puddy tat) but she's learning to deal with him! They're just adorable together. They eat supper next to each other now and she's starting to use the "big kitty" litterbox. :D

By the way, I've done four manual injections so far and no site reactions at all!!!! :Dancing-Chilli:

Glad to hear the injections are going well, sweetie...
how do you inject manually? Do you pinch up some skin?

Dr W told me I didn't have to do the top of the thighs or the arms. In fact, he said if I just wanted to do the love handles of the hips, the tummy and the outside of the thighs where there's a fat pad, it's fine. He told me some of his patients only do the tummy.

I have real lumpy, discolored upper thighs where the quads are. Never going there again!!

Glad to hear that Daisy's doing well...:)

Yes Debbie,

I just pinch up some fatty skin, stick the needle in then let go of the skin. Then I inject slowly for about ten seconds, remove the needle and hold a cotton ball over the spot firmly without rubbing for about 30 seconds. It's very easy to do actually. I used to get much worse site reactions using the autoinjector.

I've been doing the injection before my shower and it's working great! :) I'm going to double up on my fatty areas and skip my arms altogether because I have some old dents there that are finally filling in and I don't want that to happen again.

Also, I take half of a Zyrtec at night for my allergies and that might affect the site reactions this time around.