Copaxone Injection Sites

[Drmsshdw]

I have injected for 5 days now. I have had no issues with the back of arms or stomach except for a little stinging for a few moments after the injection. The needle going in did not even hurt!! However, I injected my right thigh yesterday and it stung and itched at the same time, and turned really red. Today the thigh was sore all day. Injected left thigh tonight and the actual injection hurt!! A little bit of the medication also leaked out after I took out the needle. I am pretty sure that I did NOT hit muscle.

Do you think that thighs are just a more sensitive area to inject, or does the injection just get worse every day while getting used to the medication??

Injecting really didn't scare me from the beginning, but now I am kind of timid about the hips tomorrow...

[MrsBones]

Site reactions fluctuate wildly between "OMG! Hit me in the head and make this stop!" and "Hmm, didn't feel that one."

Lots of factors influence that, one of them possibly being the particular site you're injecting. However, there are only vague generalizations about which sites are better than others. For example, lots of folks hate arms and feel tummy is best. There's at least one member who can only inject the tummy. I, on the other hand, think arms are best and the tummy just makes me cringe. You can go, sort of, by one general rule: the more padding you have in an area, the easier to inject. You can see it's not a hard and fast rule, as my tummy with more padding than the arms is the worst for me, but in general it holds fairly true.

None of what you have described from the good injections to the not so good were unusual or anything to worry about. May not be ideal, but nothing to worry about, just part of the learning process.

With 5 injections in, you're still working out the kinks. Depth and angle, if doing manual injections, are important and have to be worked out for each site on each person.

Follow all the things your nurse told you like letting the alcohol dry completely prior to injecting, using the depth best for each site, pressing on the injection site (don't rub!) for about 30 seconds after injecting, leave the needle in for a few seconds after injecting,etc.

You'll learn through trial and error what works best for you. Give yourself at least a couple rotations before worrying too much. Sounds silly, but taking notes in the SS dayplanner can help you learn from each injection. Try not to be concerned about the next shot, it just may go better than any of your others! Learn from each what works for you.

Best of luck!

[justacowgirl]

I have been on Copax for 8 months now. The thighs are the worst for me also. I inject manually and it is MUCH (IMO) better than using that autoject if that is what you are doing. I change the angle of injection and depth at different sites and most importantly I inject slowly instead of having it slammed in.

What really helps me is to take a hot bath prior to injecting. If the site wells up and itches I apply ice. The hips and stomach are no problem for me.

Give it some time. You have to play around with depth and angle of injection. You have only just begun! But you are doing something positive for yourself.


Regarding the leakage...I would adjust the depth of the needle to go deeper. I can go the whole needle depth and not hit muscle but I am chunky!! You have probably heard to press with a cotton ball right after injecting. Maybe that would help. I don't do it.

Good luck. Keep at it!!

[Aarofred]

Do you think that thighs are just a more sensitive area to inject, or does the injection just get worse every day while getting used to the medication??

I had an issue with injecting in my legs too. All other areas, no complaints but my legs would become very sore to the point I would have difficulty walking. My response was not to inject in my legs and that of course solved the problem. However, after a few months into the therapy, I had a really bad reaction on night including palpitations/sweats/fainting sensation. Oddly, after this episode and a couple of months later, I again tried my legs and the pain that i first felt no longer occurs. I can't say this is common but it is what happened to me.

[hope32]

I was on Copaxone for a while and now Betaseron. Arms and thighs have always been bad for me. I did also find that my injection site reactions got worse over time (with both meds, actually). My first Copaxone injection wasn't that bad at all but eventually the problems with injection pain and site reactions were what prompted me to switch to Beta. I had more problems than most people do though, so hopefully you'll have a better experience with C than I did!

[heliotrope]

Make sure you're hitting enough fat. I didn't realize until after I switched meds (went to betaseron) that the copaxone training nurse hadn't made sure I had enough fat to do the injections properly. It meant that the injection didn't work...