Betaseron welts?

[cosake]

I got severe sore lumps from the Beta that lasted for at least a week after an injection, and I only took it for about 8 weeks. Made it hard to do the next injection in that area because there was a sore lump with a huge bruise still there from last time around.

I am extremely fair and have very sensitive skin, and I am sensitive to medications in general.

After the site reactions and trying every recommendation I could find with my nurse and here from MSW; add in the sleep problems and the heart palpitations, we decided Beta wasn't for me.

I tried copaxone and also had very bad site reactions. I am now on Gilenya.

I didn't mind doing the injections and would have stuck with them except that the pain from the site reactions was too much to deal with every day.

Everyone is different and reacts differently to meds. I hope this works out for you.

[FL_Jhawk]

Maybe try manual injection, if you aren't, and inject the fluid very slowly. I may take 20 seconds and I think that helps. I self inject in my stomach and thighs, and use the auto-injector for my butt. I normally only get discomfort from the butt!

[Toomnyhats]

Are you using the alchohol prep pads that comes with each kit? Sometimes its better to just get a bottle of rubbing alchohol and some cotton balls or pads at the drug store.
You could also try washing the area you swabbed with soap and water after you do your shot.
For some reason, those prep pads seem a lot more industrial than the normal ones.
The other idea is that the red splotches are caused by getting some Beta on your skin just before you do the shot.
In time, your technique will get better or else you could try the soap and water again.

Yes, we use the pads that come with. Used cotton balls & alcohol when the others weren't included - don't remember if I had more/less marks during that time.

DH does the shot so I'm not sure if he starts the plunger too soon. I do "dry" the area after he swipes & before the shot. I do "massage" the area after so lumps aren't too much of a problem.

[Anakela]

Thanks, everbody!

Thanks, everyone, for lending me your input. The welts that I get are sore for a few days, and somewhat raised, but I hope that they will go away in time. I do massage the injection area after I'm done injecting, to avoid the welts, but sometimes they pop up anyway. Anywho, thank you very much!

[PsyDreamin]

I have been on Betaseron for just under a year now and I remember the red splotches very well. I used to get them particularly in the lower rotation sites - - especially stomach and legs.

I found that gently massaging the site after the injection, as suggested by Bob698, helped somewhat.

I can't recall exactly when the redness became remarkably less frequent however I can say that at 11 months on Betaseron I no longer get the red splotches

Best of luck and I hope this helps

[Bob698]

Occasionally they itch like crazy, but that is uncommon.

Used to think I only got them on my thighs, but that was b/c I couldn't see my hips!

I get them on my stomach now too - don't use arms, hurt too much, also don't use thighs often b/c of marks.

For me there are unsightly, don't seem to bother DH so it's not enough of a reason to stop a DMD that seems to be working for me.

Are you using the alchohol prep pads that comes with each kit? Sometimes its better to just get a bottle of rubbing alchohol and some cotton balls or pads at the drug store.
You could also try washing the area you swabbed with soap and water after you do your shot.
For some reason, those prep pads seem a lot more industrial than the normal ones.
The other idea is that the red splotches are caused by getting some Beta on your skin just before you do the shot.
In time, your technique will get better or else you could try the soap and water again.

[Toomnyhats]

I still get red marks!

Occasionally they itch like crazy, but that is uncommon.

Used to think I only got them on my thighs, but that was b/c I couldn't see my hips!

I get them on my stomach now too - don't use arms, hurt too much, also don't use thighs often b/c of marks.

For me there are unsightly, don't seem to bother DH so it's not enough of a reason to stop a DMD that seems to be working for me.

[zilphia01]

welts

I got welts on my thighs, this worst. I stopped using my thighs, and the welts stopped for awhile. I am now entering year 2, and I started getting the welts on my abdomen, but they do not hurt and don't get huge like the thighs did.

I am continuing with the ab injections cuz there is a lot of tissue there so it does not hurt when I inject. The thighs hurt alot so that was another reason to stop them.

I sometimes use cortisone cream and triple antibiotic ointment if the welts look like they are getting very red. probably not necessary, but at least I feel like I am doing something.

[Bob698]

I got the red marks when I first started. They stopped after a couple of months.
One thing that seems to help is I'll rub the injection site after the shot and move around to "walk off" the shot for 10 or 15 minutes.

[Jess77]

I have very, very fair skin... When the nurse came to teach me how to do the Betaseron injections, she warned me that I'd probably get red marks on occasion. It didn't happen to me at the lower doses. I've been on the full dose for about 2 months now, and the only place I have large welts that won't go away is my right thigh. Left thigh is fine.

The rest of the injection site "reactions" that I get, like on my arms and whatnot, they only last a few days, and they're small, no larger than a quarter, at most.

I hope your welts don't hurt or anything. Mine don't, they are annoying and unsightly, but that's about the extent of it. If you're really concerned, I would recommend calling your Beta Nurse, but mine told me it probably wasn't anything to worry about.

My MS specialist isn't too worried about it either, he said that unless the site reactions are open or infected, it's probably just because I've got fair skin.

Fair enough, then

[Anakela]

Is it common to get welts at the injection site after increasing the dosage of Betaseron? I'm currently at 0.75 ml, and am going to increase to 1.0 ml on Tuesday, but as of late, my injection sites have been welting during the night after my injections. This never happened when my dose was lower.