Copaxone Injection Site Reaction

[BeneathTheLies]

So, i started taking Copaxone about 12 days ago and so far it's been okay. I get a very big lump that is red for about two hours and stings for about 15- 30 minutes after i inject. The lumps usually take about a day to go away but the last three times i've injected it was slightly different. I still have a lump from 3 days ago that doesn't seem to want to go away, even with massaging it.

My biggest concern is that my injection site from last night is still red and as usual a lump. It's never stayed red more than 3 hours. i plan on calling Shared Solutions when i get off work but i'm curious as to whether anyone else has had this happen?

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Heather

[justacowgirl]

Hi there

Congratulations on starting Copaxone.

If you go thru the old threads (and there are lots of them) you will find that it is not at all uncommon for lumps, red bumps and itchies to last hours and even days.

And, as you use Copaxone your body might change the way it reacts. It should get easier but at times I have had lumps that lasted way longer. Certain spots react differently.

You can adjust the setting on your autoject based on where you inject and that helps.....if you manually inject and dump the autoject you will do even better. You inject slowly and there is much less damage.

Those of us that no longer use the autoject seem to have less site reaction and a better experience overall.

I wouldn't worry..but Shared Solutions is there for you.

Good luck
j

[BeneathTheLies]

Thanks J! I thought i might have been losing it for a second. I have some issues with color but i had someone else look at it and they said it was red. It makes sense that our bodies adjust to the meds, i just had a moment of panic. Happens every once in a while.

I would love to ditch the autoject but i am terrified of needles and the autoject keeps it completely hidden which is how i'm able to do the injections at all. I have it adjusted to less than 6mm and it seems to not be so bad most of the time. Guess i'll just have to suck it up until i can overcome my fear of needles.

Thanks for the reply.
Heather

[ms10292]

I've been on Copaxone for 3 months and in the beginning, I would just have the common stinging and itching, but now, I suffer from the same symptoms you have. I've called Shared Solutions, but they don't seem to give me a helpful answer. I don't know what to do. I guess that for now, I'll just monitor the situation for now, but it is annoying.

[BeneathTheLies]

ms10292- maybe i'm paranoid but i don't exactly trust a pharma co to be all that helpful in these situation. In my mind, they'll chalk it up to something were doing wrong. They had asked me to call them when i started my shots so i did. I told them that it stung alot and gave me a lump but i was expecting the lump (the nurse that trained me told me about them). They told me it was because i wasn't waiting for the alcohol from the swab to dry completely. I gave it plenty of time to dry and even patted myself to be sure the next time and i still had the same reaction. Upon further inspection when i got i home i noticed that the last 3 injection sites are still a lump and red. The oldest one seems to be fading. I find this all incredible annoying and i hope it gets better, for you and for me.

Good luck,
Heather

[justacowgirl]

I've been on Copaxone for 3 months and in the beginning, I would just have the common stinging and itching, but now, I suffer from the same symptoms you have. I've called Shared Solutions, but they don't seem to give me a helpful answer. I don't know what to do. I guess that for now, I'll just monitor the situation for now, but it is annoying.

If you look back at many of the threads you will see that folks taking Copaxone do alot of different things to mitigate any site reaction. You could check back on the threads and see how people manage their injections. I take a hot bath just prior to injecting. I don't use the autoject. Both have helped tremendously.

Originally posted by BeneathTheLies ms10292- maybe i'm paranoid but i don't exactly trust a pharma co to be all that helpful in these situation.

I feel I need to defend the folks at Shared Solutions/Teva.
They have been nothing but helpful to me. They provide a product that is necessary to my health and in my case they pay for most of it. They check on me all the time and provide me with the necessary tools to do my injections. I am not sure what more I could expect. When I have called them they are very helpful.

Site reactions are annoying, yes. But a very minor discomfort compared to what some people on this board suffer. I try to keep that in mind.

Good luck to you both.

j

[cosake]

Heather - I had to read your post twice, thinking that I had written it ! It sounds exactly like my experience.

I'm getting really annoyed because the ones on my arms and legs are very sore and tender and are actually bruising.

The ones on my thighs even hurt when I walk.

[Temagami]

I get the welts for days and called shared solutions. They said that if the autoinjector is set too low, you can get a bigger reaction if the needle does not go in far enough. Started June 12, and in just the past two days did not need an icepack post injection. Also managed without allergy meds to fight the itch for two days. So, it changes over time.

[bonbon.10-09-2003]

I've been on copaxone for many years and have large red lumps, pain, itching, bruising. This is an unfortunate side affect of the injections. It's not unusual to last several days to weeks...just depending. I only just started the autojet about 2 weeks ago and I love it. I've got it on 5...quick, easy. Belly and backside are the easiest to inject. Legs and arms are most painful. I've had some serious injection site infections since my last relapse in February of this year. Copaxone folks, doctor, and FDA are aware of this. Shared Solutions sent an RN out to teach the autojet and look at my technique and site infections. Site infections are serious business, so watch for that. I have never had a problem with Shared Solutions. They have been wonderful, caring, and very helpful!

Just be glad that Copaxone injects into fat and not muscle like some of the other injectables.

[BeneathTheLies]

Cosake- i know what you mean about bruising and it being sore. My poor hips have taken the most of the beating. My stomach and legs don't seem to bother me so much but my hips kill. I haven't even tried my arms. I'd have to have someone else do it and my fiance works crazy weird hours and i never know if he'll be home to do it for me. That and i'm pretty sure he wouldn't be all that happy about having to do it for me. I had a nurse come out from SS and she was very helpful and said that i was doing everything right.

Justacowgirl- I didn't mean to offend with saying SS is not helpful, they have been good for mostly everything. I'm just paranoid and sometimes a little p*ssed off about things and it comes out the wrong way.

Overall, the site reaction last nite was not as bad as the last couple. My injection sites on my hips are still red and lumpy, if they don't go away within a week i'll be discussing it with my dr. I doubt this will make me stop taking Copaxone. I wish i wasn't a wuss and could do manual injection but i'm sure i would faint just at the site of the needle going in. Oh well, i'll figure it out eventually.

Thanks everyone,
Heather

[Kiwiinoz]

Just be glad that Copaxone injects into fat and not muscle like some of the other injectables.

Oh it beats Avonex hands down. I just switched from Avonex because after six months I was getting worse with the injections not better. Copaxone is so much better despite the pain and injection site reactions.

[DianeD]

Copazone

Copaxone is somewhat problematic for me!~

I've been on C since April of 2010. It's my neuro's #1 choice. No liver impact and good track record.

I started out using the auto inject and now doing injections without it. I think it is much easier on you. Often there is no sting; you hardly know you injected. However, certain injection sites; like my arms are too tender and always get huge welts and itching. The lump can take days to go away.

Leakage of the medication around the tip of the needle can also sting the skin, so I always tap mine to clear any leakage off. With the autoject you can't do that.

You will likely notice a slight residue on the autoject; that's the medication.

Even doing my injections without the autoject isn't perfect. Every now and then I'll inject and hit a small capillary (quite easy to do) which hurts more and usually bleeds.

I guess it's never going to be perfect, but to me this is the best DMD so far (listening to others experience). I went more than 14 yrs without a DMD. Finally caved in to Neuros logic, but frankly I wouldn't take one again. I'm just not sure I'd be any worse off and once you began you find it hard to suspend worry and just stop.

Good Luck to you though and hang in there; try different things till you get to the right method for you.

Diane

[cosake]

Things are going a little bit better for me.

My arms bother me the most. I have had my hubby help me do the manual and autoinject in my arms and it seems to make no difference on how my arms feel / lumps. Manually injecting my arms was difficult and hubby is not yet comfortable enough to manually inject me. I use a pillow in my lap and pull the back of my arm (aka bingo-wings) against the pillow and auto-inject myself. It's very easy to do that way.

My stomach and hips don't bother me much. Stomach I do myself manually, and hubby autoinjects my hips for me.

The legs bother me, but not as much as the arms now. I manually inject both legs.

I also flick the syringe when doing a manual injection to get rid of the copaxone that has come out the needle. I hate that you can't do that with the auto-injector, because I think it would make a big difference in my reactions / stinging when I have to use it.

[hunterd]

a trick i use to use for manually injecting my arms is to position yourself in a doorway and "roll" your arm against the frame, thus giving yourself a larger "target area".

[BeneathTheLies]

Still having a bad reaction

I'm still having the same reactions but now all my sites get the red lumps and after a week or so they go away and are just bruises.

I called Shared Solutions...twice. The first nurse i talked to was not happy that i didn't call immediately, the second nurse was really nice. I have started injecting deeper as recommended by SS. However the nice nurse pretty much summed it up as it is what it is and i'll just have to live with it. I figured that much.

I called my neuro just so he knew. I made it very clear i wouldn't be switching anytime in the near future. Even with the annoying site reactions, i'd rather deal with that then some of the other things i've heard about other DMD's.

Cosake- i hope that your reactions get better. I had to start using my arms because the lumps on my other sites were taking forever to go away and i didn't want to keep irritating the same areas. My bf is not fond of injecting me but he does it. I wish i could do my injections manually but i am way too much of a wuss for it. Oh well.

Good luck,
Heather