Copaxone site reactions...some questions/concerns
 

Hi everybody,
I have been injecting Copaxone for just about 3 wks. now.
The first 2 weeks were okay...but this third week, I have lumps at injections sites after about a day and a half...then they start itching.
I have one on my thigh from Sunday that actually is swollen, red and warm.

Is this normal? the nurse at Shared Solutions told me that itching and small lumps are normal, but they really really itch, and are discolored.

Any info would be appreciated...

Is the discoloration bruise like? I used to get those when I injected too deeply into a site. :hug:

DebbieD - What you have described sounds normal. I used to get huge ones and man did they itch. The color varied from bright red to bluish/purplish. Overtime the site reactions have lessened.

Some tips that might help (or that have helped me):

Warm the area either by showering right before or with a warm wash cloth or hot pack.

Make sure the alcohol is completely dried before injecting.

Apply ice right after injecting and the next day (or that evening depending on when you inject).

You can massage the welts a day or so after the injection. This helps me quite a bit.

You are doing great, keep it up! :hug:

yeah, it's normal.

Are you using the autoject? Sometimes the site reactions are worse with the autoject. Can you manually inject...you can control the speed of the injection better if you do it manually. Plus, Copaxone is a skin irritant, and when using the autoject, sometimes it'll leak onto your skin during the injection, and that could be what's causing the itching.

Also, are you letting the alcohol from the wipees dry before you inject? If you get alcohol into the injection, that can make it hurt more.

I quit using the autoject and started to do them manually when I kept getting horrible site reactions that would get so itchy or would hurt so bad and the reaction sites wouldnt heal for over a week. The area of painful itchiness would lbe so large that it would make it really hard to rotate sites and inject every day. So, I started to do it manually, and it's a lot easier now and I dont have hugenormous site reactions anymore.

Mine sometimes really itch. I've had all types of discoloration, but it leads to a bruise after the initial color dies down. I've had perfectly executed shots to bleeders like nuts! Lumps that have lasted well over a week and were enormous!

If your reactions are too much (have you tried an allergy medication to see if perhaps this helps to reduce the itching?) then I'd give SS another call.

My new 'thing' with Copaxone is my left arm. No matter where I inject, high/low, forward/back, my arm spasms! :eek: This has been going on now ONLY at this location for 1.5 months - 2 months (I recorded it when it started happening in my trusty little book). Now I dread the arms! :p

Great more fun stuff to look forward to......... I am starting copax as soon as my insurance approves it.


The doctor told me yesterday that one of the side effects from C is that it causes the fat under your skin to harden sometimes. But that it will go away after a while

You're hitting muscle,Laura. I don't inject in my arms at all because I don't have enough subcutaneous tissue there. Tried one time and that was it. Hurt too bad.

Debbie, In my 9 years of experience on Copaxone, what you're experiencing was/is normal. As others have said manually injecting seems to help. The site reactions for me, lessened lots over time. I remember the Copaxone burning pretty bad early on.

If you don't inject the arms, where DO you inject?

I can handle the spasms. I'm only half a year into Copaxone. They last about 20-30 minutes and then the arm calms down.

Unless hitting the muscle when injecting is a bad thing, then I'll have to explore other options. :cool:

Laura - I stopped shooting in my legs a long time ago for that reason. I don't have enough fat there and kept hitting veins and such. Since I have more fat in my stomach I shoot there instead of my legs.

The arms are tricky as you have to position the arm to get as much fat there as possible as well as keep the arm relaxed so the muscles don't tense up. I actually use a pillow to position my arm and relax it on there. And, I go in at a 45 degree angle so that I am just getting under the skin. Seems to work for me.

I have tried the autoinjector twice. Never again. I like doing it myself and have less reactions when I do it myself.

I tried the AI on my arms before...

it was a nightmare. :eek:

I've only actually used the AI 4 times total?