Starting Betaseron
 

Tomorrow I start on Beta. My first meds. Anyone with experiences of any kind with this shot would be greatly appreciated... :Hum:

Thanks!!!

Sorry just saw this today. I hope your first injection went well.

Do you have a Beta Nurse? They have tons of info to share.

Pre-medicate before injection to combat the flu-like symptoms. After a few weeks I stopped this because I didn't have those reactions.

Things seem to be trial and error for individuals. You can use a warm or cool compress before injection. I tried icing and it created the red site reactions so opted to not do this but it seems to be helpful for some.

Make sure if you alcohol before the injection that you wait for it to dry completely or it can cause burning. I know some people choose to opt out of the alcohol because it causes problems for them and they take a warm shower prior to injecting. My Beta Nurse also suggested this method if necessary.

For the red site reactions my Beta Nurse suggested trying one of the following: Aloe Vera, Vitamin E Oil, Bach's Rescue Remedy Creme or Benadryl Creme. She seemed to really stand behind the Bach's Creme but I have not tried any of these.

I wish you success on your Beta journey.

Hi

I was on Beta for 4 years before I stopped to try Tysabri.

It took me about 6 months to get used to the side effects, but I am very med sensitive. I pre-medicated with tylenol and/or aleve and titrated up very slowly.

I started on Beta before the autoinflictor and when it came out, I tried it and had horrible site reactions, so went back to manual injections.

I did use the pre-mixed formula that's out now and did find it a lot more "user friendly" especially when travelling as it could go thru the x-ray at the airport (I travel a lot).

I did not inject my arms at all as the red marks were too noticable and b/c I am in the sun a lot with my work, they just plain hurt!

I used Arnica Gel to help with the red marks. You can get it at GNC or any health food/products store. It will help with making the redness/soreness go away a bit quicker.

If I was sick with a cold or flu, I skipped my shot. I found that I had bad side effects and my doc said that it was ok to skip the shot.

After Tysabri was pulled and I was left with a choice, I went on Copaxone. I did not tolerate that at all and then decided to wait for Ty. That was a long wait! I eventually was not approved for Ty and decided to enter into a clinical trial that I am now in for Tovaxin.

I wish you well on Betaseron. I found the nurses at MSPathways a wealth of information and always there to help when I had questions. They have a great website. If you haven't signed up on it yet, I recommend it.