So I have been on Copaxone
for eight weeks tomorrow. I know because I just checked. It seems like longer than that. I have gotten over the fear of needles. The idea of giving myself a shot every day does not really worry me too much now. The actual shot is not so bad anyway. Everyone told me that it would be okay and it really is. However, the site reactions are about to drive me crazy!
for eight weeks tomorrow. I know because I just checked. It seems like longer than that. I have gotten over the fear of needles. The idea of giving myself a shot every day does not really worry me too much now. The actual shot is not so bad anyway. Everyone told me that it would be okay and it really is. However, the site reactions are about to drive me crazy! 
I did okay the first five weeks I guess. I had a little swelling and bruising but the swelling went away quickly (usually within an hour) and the bruising was really my fault just learning how to use the little injector thingy. Now, however I have developed itching at the injection sites and lumps that sometime take weeks to go away. The itching begins on the second day at each injection site. When they start to itch they become red and warm. After about three days they stop itching. That is great but at any given point I have three that are driving me crazy. Once the itch subsides a hard knot remains under my skin for sometimes weeks. These are all classified as a normal reaction, but that doesn’t make me feel any better when I wake up at night clawing at myself. I do pretty well at not scratching during the day when I am consciously aware but apparently in my sleep I am not too worried about anything but stopping the itch. I have scoured the internet and pretty much what I have found is that I will eventually get used to it or it will subside some with time. Hopefully quickly! I have tried all the tricks that Shared Solutions suggests to no avail. I did just read online a few minutes ago about manually taking the cap off the syringe before inserting it into the autoject thingy to prevent any tiny drops from being on the tip of the syringe. Since the medication is an irritant the theory is that the tiny drop gets on the skin at the time of the injection and causes the itch. The only part about that that I don’t understand is that the itch usually begins on the second day at each injection site! I am going to try anyway. The lumps are not painful, but not very attractive.
Having said that, I have not missed a dose in all of those eight weeks nor do I intend to miss one! I am so thankful that there are medications out there that offer a possibility of reducing relapses! I can deal with the itching and the unsightly lumps if it means that I might not develop any new MS lesions. I am looking forward to my next MRI to see the results and see how this Copaxone is working for me! Oh and if you pass me on the street and I’m scratching, well sorry! Sometimes I just can’t help myself!
UPDATE JULY 4, 2011: I DO think taking the cap off and making sure there is no medication on the tip of the needle prior to placing it into the Autoject has CUT DOWN on the itching for me. I have also had better luck with the lumps recently by icing them PRIOR TO injection AND THEN AGAIN AFTER. I still have itching but it does not seem to be as extreme as before and the lumps seem to be better (they don't get as big or last as long) with the ice before and after. I was almost to the point of doing manual injections but if this continues to work I think I am not going to go to that just yet. ****** If this confuses you and you would like to know more please do not hesitate to contact me. I will find the link to the page that I got the instructions from about taking the cap off of the syringe prior to placing it into the Autoject and put it on here for clarification!******
UPDATE JULY 4, 2011: I DO think taking the cap off and making sure there is no medication on the tip of the needle prior to placing it into the Autoject has CUT DOWN on the itching for me. I have also had better luck with the lumps recently by icing them PRIOR TO injection AND THEN AGAIN AFTER. I still have itching but it does not seem to be as extreme as before and the lumps seem to be better (they don't get as big or last as long) with the ice before and after. I was almost to the point of doing manual injections but if this continues to work I think I am not going to go to that just yet. ****** If this confuses you and you would like to know more please do not hesitate to contact me. I will find the link to the page that I got the instructions from about taking the cap off of the syringe prior to placing it into the Autoject and put it on here for clarification!******
Oh I can relate! I have the same issue with Copaxone and itchiness. You do get used to it, somewhat. For the bumps- Massage the area and put a cold compress on it after a few days of injecting in that zone- a shared solutions rep told me that and it actually has helped a lot. Wishing you the best!
ReplyDeleteI had those spots at first but I try not to itch them. I do not want to irritate them more??
ReplyDeleteTaylor - Thank you I will try the cold after a few days. I have tried heat before and cold right after the injection with no relief.
ReplyDeleteKim - I also try not scratch in order to irritate them more, yet I "catch" myself scratching anyway.
I must say that I think taking the cap off of the syringe manually prior to inserting into the injector and making sure there is no medication on the tip may actually have decreased some of my itching. I am going to give it a few more days before I decide!
Thank you both!
Jamie
UPDATE: I do think taking the cap off and making sure there is no medication on the tip of the needle prior to placing it into the Autoject has cut down on the itching for me. I have also had better luck with the lumps recently by icing them prior to injection and then again after. I still have itching but it does not seem to be as extreme as before and the lumps seem to be better (don't get as big or last as long) with the ice before and after. I was almost to the point of doing manual injections but if this continues to work I think I am not going to go to that just yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm going through what you've said word for word. I think I've been on my regime for about three weeks, +or- a few days?! And yeah it itches like crazy, but as you've pointed out, I've been using the red cap puller and I can see a little drop of liquid right at the tip of the needle. I hate anything cold touching me, just don't do well with ice packs, lot's of DDD 7 levels...., I've got tattoos over most of my body, but there's places I'm injecting, (not many) where the sites are not truly tattooed, but there's areas of skin where there's no ink but it is close to where there is ink in the sub-Q and they are NOT doing well, as I'm just about covered from head to toe... these sites seem to be raised/and itching a LOT more than the other. I think I'll stay away from them...my stomach really doesn't itch except for the bottom row of sites, my doc said I could use three rows on my belly, 6'5" and short legs so I'm all upper body. It does say not to inject anywhere there's a tattoo which leaves out all but three places for me to inject. I'm going to try a Benadryl today. Some days it's only one site that itches, others it's all, or a couple. My lower stomach line bruised like crazy, but this is pretty easy stuff to deal with. I'm very grateful that there's been all of the advances and treatment options for this disease.
DeleteAdrian, thank you for your comment. I hate that you are going through this crazy itch so soon. I am pretty sure I had more time than you before it began on a regular basis. I have just recently began doing the injections without the auto-injector. I have found that it has made a world of difference in my site reactions. The itchiness and lumps are much better and the bruising is almost nonexistent now. It took me awhile to work up my courage to be able to give myself a shot without the auto-injector....it just seemed easier mentally to just push the button and be done with it. I also seem to have the fewest reactions on my stomach. I hope you can find a way to reduce your reactions. For the itch, oral medications (Benadryl, Zyrtec, etc.) did not help me as much as hydro-cortisone cream applied directly to the sites. Unfortunately the relief was short-lived when the itch was at its worst! I understand you have limited areas you can inject, but please remember to rotate them as often as possible or you begin to run into other problems. Good luck, and keep remembering the benefits out weigh the irritation! :)
DeleteI'm only in my third week of using Copaxone and the itching has already started. It is pretty severe but Benadryl seems to help for a time. Thanks for sharing your tips; I will try a manual injection tonight. That needle is so fine, it's hard to imagine that much medication on the surface could be problematic. This is probably irrelevant, but I found it interesting that the itching didn't start until I was bitten by a dog on my right arm and had to have a tetanus shot. THAT site was the first to swell, redden and itch like mad. Every site I've used since has started itching within 8 hours of the injection. Maddening!
ReplyDeleteLezlie, I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you! Hopefully by now some of your site reactions have subsided. Did the manual injection help any for you? I'm not sure about the dog bite relationship to the site injections. I certainly wouldn't rule it out as something that might have added to them. My reactions and pretty much everyone elses I know came on without anything like that occurring first. However, I do know that when I got my flu shot last year, it just happened to be in the same arm as my most recent copaxone shot too and I had a terrible reaction then, must worse than ever before. I had pain and weakness in that arm for over a month on top of my original "normal" site reactions.
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