Does the Copaxone stinging ever go away ?

[Glass half full guy]

I was on rebif for a couple of years but due to antibodies, my neuro switched me over to copaxone. Im still cycling mad and did 60 miles on the bike on saturday past with the cycling club that Im a member of. My 1st injection with copaxone was horrendous, it made me very nauseous and my entire arm felt like it was set in lead for hours, I balked at the thought id be taking that medication every day

Ive been on copax for 5 weeks now and havent had a nightmare jab since the 1st one , only thing I dont like about the copax is the stinging. I dont get any raised lumps or skin marking , so I guess I cant complain, but I do hate the 5 mins of post injection stinging.

To those who use copax too, does the stinging ever go away ? Its been a breeze so far, just wish that aspect would subside.

[penkalet]

Hello Guy,

I love bike too and do about 80 miles a week.!

I have been on C for more of a year and it is a breeze!

It did sting the first month.

Yes, the arms and the thighs are little tricky!!

Make sure you find some fat at injection site.

Good luck.

Alain

[MarkLavelle]

5 months in, I can't say the stinging goes away, but it has diminished (especially in duration) quite a bit. You'll want to experiment with the injection depth and post-injection technique -- some like icing, some like pressure (not rubbing) and a very few like heat.

re Nightmare jab: I'm not sure my experiences were quite as intense, but injections in my arms (only) have caused an extreme weakness/weirdness reaction a couple of times. My only hypothesis is poking a nerve, but I really don't know...

[Apple-]

***Please Say It Goes Away***

Really??? A "little" bee sting??? My nurse is off her rocker! It's like a hornets nest decided to go buck wild on me. Please say it gets easier...

[woodstock]

Really??? A "little" bee sting??? My nurse is off her rocker! It's like a hornets nest decided to go buck wild on me. Please say it gets easier...

Yep...I think you've described it quite well. I'm finishing up my 5th week. I believe it's getting better; either that or I'm getting used to it. The first couple of weeks were the worst. I am very needle phobic, so that was primary in my mind when the nurse came to the house. I have a nurse returning sometime this week to fill in the blanks that I didn't think to ask about.

My site reactions were getting better by week 2, but started getting worse after that. In watching online videos on how to autoject, I found that I was not putting the shot into the autoject correctly and thus it was leaking out when I'd take the cap off. To 'solve' that problem, for a couple of weeks, I'd use a little of the cotton ball to soak it up. That probably caused a bit of an unsterile condition with my needles that may be the reason I had so many reactions.

Since I started loading the autoject correctly over the past five days, I don't have any Copaxone leakage and other than the stinging which last no more than an hour, it's been much better.

The next thing is to find the correct depth for each area. The first nurse taught me to shoot my arms, but didn't look at my other sites. And, I don't think I'm remembering correctly how/where to do my shots there or on my thighs. She told me to use a 6 all over (which is what is recommended in the info) which didn't take into account that I'm pretty muscular. By changing up the depth based on the location I think it's leading to fewer reactions also.

[bops_mama]

Really??? A "little" bee sting??? My nurse is off her rocker! It's like a hornets nest decided to go buck wild on me. Please say it gets easier...

Lol. ....you hit the nail on the head I always dread having to do my injection. most of the nurses that teach you how to inject probably do not have ms so they do not have first hand experience with copaxone so I am assuming they are just going off of what people who are diagnosed with it say.....

I have however in the last week found that icing the injection site directly after can really lessen the stinging

[Glass half full guy]

With me being a cyclist putting out about 130 miles per week , I dont really have that much fatty tissue. Injections into the softer spots are definitely the way to go. Regarding injection depth, what settings are you using with the auto-inject ? I have mine set at 8mm for all sites. The back of the arms injections are the ones I like least, the stomach, front of legs and the bum are fine for me.

[roo613]

I have been on C for 4 months now, and the stinging does get less intense. I took a shot vacation for about a week though, and when I started back up, the stinging has hurt a little more.
I will say that playing with the injection depth helps. I was having trouble with my thighs and arms. I called and they actually rec. that I try a deeper setting because sometimes it can cause more reactions at the more shallow depth. Anyway, the deeper setting has really helped.

[Alicious]

I was on Copaxone for more than a year, and while the stinging got better over time, it never went away. I stopped doing my arms because I just couldn't take it anymore, but other sites usually stung for a minute or so and then felt pretty much normal. I injected manually for all but the hips.

[twisterred]

It does get better a little bit at a time.

[pmt75p]

I've been on it faithfully since 1999. Still stings!

[woodstock]

The past three days, I tried something different with the Copaxone. Since starting 5 weeks ago, I've always used heat on the injection site before injecting, but did nothing afterward. Three days ago, I started using an ice pack immediately afterward for about 10 minutes or so. I've been impressed with the decrease in the amount of time the stinging lasts. Something to try and see if it works for you.

[loonieloon]

I have been on Copaxone for about 7 months and I noticed it stings cause I use the alcohol wipes. If I shower and then inject afterwards it went away.
Hope it helps

[Maple25]

it stings

I was on C for 2 years and it was stinging most of the time. I always used a heatpad/hotwater bottle/or nice relaxing hot shower before and ice pack after.
You DO have to disinfect. Not wiping the injection site can lead to harmful bacteria entering the skin. It is not the alcohol wipe that stings but the acid inside the shot. Try waiting a few seconds after wiping the area so the alcohol can evaporate and inject shot.
Also make sure you don't wipe the injection site with a clean cotton ball and not the alcohol wipe.

[jojo18]

i was on copaxone for 6 months. the stinging never went away, but it did get less intense.