Just call me lumpy
 

Aurugghhhh!

My injection sites are a mess!

I use Copaxone shots with auto inject (also tried manual inject). Same results either way! I just started treatment last week and no matter what I do I feel like I’ve been kicked by a horse. This is my first treatment for MS so I don’t have a ton of experience with the daily injections. But I have noticed that I am getting welts...not every time I inject either. Right now I have three...both arms and one in my left thigh. I wonder if I am setting the auto inject to the wrong setting and it is making it worse? I take seven injections out and put them in the pouch they gave me so they aren’t cold, but room temp. Not sure if I can actually do something so I don’t get the welts...or if this is just something I gotta live with?

I finally called Shared Solutions and the guy said that it takes the body a couple of months to get used to the Copaxone then it should get better.

I literally have welts where the injection sites are. I put ice on the area AFTER the shot....still ......lumpy, bumpy, itchy now bitchy!

Copaxone is an adjustment to get used to. PLEASE hang in there. Some weeks it will itch to beat the band, and other weeks will be lumpy, and then it will be bruises and soreness. It literally took me a year for copaxone to settle in and just be what everyone else described as "normal"

Most folks say at 6 months its magic time! much less lumps, much less itch, and its like your body just gives in and accepts the drug. it just took me longer.

Taking a claritin, or zyrtec type product should help, and schedule some massage time for 48 hours past your injection. at 24 hours you can hand massage the area, and at 48 you can use the machine massagers. Pound them into butter, that way next time you are not shooting between the lumps.

I hope you feel better. :hug:

Hang in there! The site reactions do get better over time. I'm not sure if it's the bod getting used to the med, or the trial and error of finding the right things that work for ya. Could be a little of both.

Golden rule for auto inject:
Pinch an inch - 6-8 setting
More than an inch - 8-10
Less than an inch - 4-6

For me ~ arms are close to 4, legs are 6, everything else with more cushion is 8

And believe the injection sites they give. Took almost a year, but definitely learned they really mean 2 inches from the knee for the thigh. :eek: Lucky I'm freckly, so I have markers on my leg that I know that I cannot go above that point.

Hope things get better soon.

I never had any site reactions with my Copaxone shots. Maybe it just isn't for you?

My friend here was on C for 3 yrs and she looked like a pock marked, puffed up, pin cushion. Her Doc finally took pity and took her off of it.:rolleyes:

None of the DMDs are great enough to keep suffering the side effects, IMHO!

Stick with it...yes...but if the sx don't ease up soon, then it's time for a change..:hug:

Happy,
I began C shots at the beginning of Dec...it was awful!! Welts the size of eggs...itching to beat the band...and bruises after the welts died down...the bruises last at least 4 weeks for me...the welts are smaller when my DH injects me with the Autoject 2...and the itching is reduced...but the bruises are getting annoying...they turn grey and don't seem to want to go away...it won't look pretty when my DH and I go to Hawaii next month...:(

I'd give it at least three months or so...make sure to do as suggested above with the depth...I use a 4 for my thighs and abdomen...and a 6-8 for hips and arms. I make sure to warm up the injection sites 5 mintues before injecting, then use a cotton ball to press on the site immediately after injecting. Then I ice the site for a minute or two. I use benadryl cream when the itching begins. i massage the site 24 hours later. I'm going to use a hand massager as suggested above to see if the welt goes down more quickly.
Good luck!!

dont despair lumpy :) it does take some fine tuning ice, heat, alcohol wipes, depth of auto injector, is the med at room temp or ice cold, angle of injection, if venus is in alignment with mars, so on and so on, there are a few little factors involved, so give it some time for all of it fall into place, and for you to get a system all set and down pat, good luck

When I had my first injection it wasn’t too bad. It hurt, stung, and itched but that only lasted a little while. The first one was in my abdomen, and maybe that made a difference...I'm just not sure. As recommended by Shared Solutions, I am following their suggestions as to where to do the shot each day (in other words switching injection locations). Sunday I did the injection in my right thigh. I did the heat for about 5-10 minutes then the injection then pressure and ice. It was very painful, stung, and I got this huge lump that lasted until yesterday afternoon.

I called and spoke to a nurse at Shared Solutions because I was just not sure. I don't know I’d have this much pain with the injections and I’m also so fatigued and weak with it. She said the Copaxone side effects are usually the site reactions (like the pain, lumps, bruising) but that the severe fatigue and weakness is probably just a coincidence. I'm not sure. Sure, I always have some level of fatigue, but it has increased over the last couple of days. Plus, each morning I have gotten a headache. I also have noticed that I am quite irritable. I guess only time will tell.

Anyway, last night I injected in my left thigh and it was so painful that it brought me to tears. So I am really starting to wonder. I mean, the pain lasted for several hours. I am still sore today, have a headache again, and have no energy. I have so much that I need to get done at work and just no energy to do it. I’m just so frustrated. I know I am doing things right because I am using the auto injector so how hard could it be? :confused:

what was painful the injection of the needle(might be set too deep if using autoinject) or the medicine itself, I use the auto also cause I am a whimp, self injected a few times I can do it if need be, but I have to watch the depth settings on mine cause occasionally it is set too deep and i hit something and it hurts like you know what. I sure hope the pains ease up and you are able to inject without any problems. my only other suggestion which sure was mentioned make sure its warm room temp b4 injecting

I'm getting creative. May 10th will be 1 year on Copaxone, and my nurse has already put me on a 1 month arms vacation. So I'll do left/right side tummy shots for the month, and skip 1 needle all together.

With that said, hips are never an issue, stomach used to bother the crud out of me and is now a vacation compared to the arms... thighs used to be horrible too, but I'm learning with the thighs to do the injections at a 45 degree angle instead, and it does seem to make a difference.

Hang in there, and I do hope it gets better for you. :hug:

I swear it does get better. I've been on it for 2 years now, just passed my anni. I'm afraid I'll run out of spots one day because I don't have to much fat and am definitely running out of spots on my arm. Some days do suck more than others, some places more than others. I find if I inject an area that hasn't been injected before, it seems to hurt worse...like, from this board, I learned I can also do the side walls of my thighs.

For me, when I stopped using ice, the welts weren't so bad. I know ice helps the burn but it made some ugly red splotches that itched like hell. No ice = no itchiness. Also, make sure the alcohol is completely dry before you inject. It also helps if you give yourself a reward every time you inject. I wouldn't recommend my reward (I smoke a little) to everyone but it helps me.