40 vs. 20? Doesn't add up......

[Devilinside]

2 doses skipped

Well, I have skipped my Friday and Monday 40 mg doses. It is AMAZING how much better I feel after only missing 2 shots. My leg is no longer turning to jelly, my thoughts are more focused, and the anxiety is immensely better. I still have to talk myself down, but very rarely and it hasn't escalated past that. I am not longer dogged by fatigue anymore.

After reading your last post, I wanted to mention I never had suicidal thoughts either, but I would think about death a lot and work myself into a panic attack just thinking about death. I was also thinking negative and about the worst case scenarios all the time. I am a very positive person but I could not for the life of me why I thought the worst was going to happen around every corner! Hell, I had a panic attack a few weeks ago at the dentist and that was just for a cleaning!!

Anyway, I really feel like I am on my way back to the land of the living now and I am feeling very positive now.

Hope you get the same results and keep me posted as well!

[Jules A]

Read this and said wow allot of that is me:

Persistent sad, anxious or "empty" mood
Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities, including sex
Decreased energy, fatigue, feeling "slowed down"
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
Insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
Low appetite and weight loss or overeating and weight gain
Thoughts of death or suicide, suicide attempts
Restlessness, irritability
Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders and pain for which no other cause can be diagnosed

The difficult part about side effects is they have to list everything including the kitchen sink. Unfortunately this list is similar to many medications. Just my two cents but really how likely is that it would actually cause:

Restless and fatigue
Insomnia and oversleeping
Weight loss and weight gain

as well as:

"Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders and pain for which no other cause can be diagnosed"'

Seriously for any of the above there often is no definitive cause.

I'm not saying this medication isn't responsible for the adverse effects people are reporting but this list is just over the top, imo.

[Moadster]

Copaxone 40

I'm switching back to 20, too. In addition to the anxiety issues so many of you are experiencing, I'm having terrible post-injection reactions that are getting more frequent and severe.

[DianeD]

I'm on 20mg. Every month when I call to refill they ask, "have you missed any injections." Every time I speak with SS they ask, "have you missed any injections?" It seems to be a pretty big deal to them that I NOT miss any injections.

40 mg X 3 days a week is 120 MG a week.
20 mg X 7 days a week is 140 MG a week.

The 40 is ONLY 3 a week, Not every other day all the time as some wrongly assume. So, by taking 3 40's you are getting one less injections worth of a dose each week.

52 missed injections worth of meds less a year.

For them to get so fired up about whether or not I miss even ONE, how could it be as effective to purposefully take 52 fewer worth of MG of Copaxone a year?

Someone smarter than I please explain the science on this.

If you take 20mg per day, 7 days a week, it is equal to 140 mg. (7X20).

If you take 40mg per day 3 days a week, it is equal to 120 mg., so you are right. I suppose the scientists, developers decided it was enough to do the job. The whole process confuses me. I am going to stop.

[Mamabug]

Has anybody made the switch from 20 to 40 successfully, without awful side effects? Wanting to appeal my insurance company's decision not to pay for 40, but, I'm re-thinking that.

~ Faith

[kathryn]

PLEASE PLEASE ANYONE DON'T CHANGE IF WHAT YOU'RE ON IS WORKING

I think there are allot of folks on the 40 and very happy but if what you're doing works for you don't rock the boat. My 2 cents after horror of Tercfidera and the 40 mg copaxone. Happy to be back on the 20 and not going bananas!

Good Luck!

[Mamabug]

Thanks for the advice. 20 used to be working, but isn't as much anymore, likely because I take it only 4x per week. 40 would put me at a recommended dose.

~ Faith

[kathryn]

I only do it every other day

Check out some posts as others do do with their neuro's blessing and there have been 2 small studies that validate it.

[Mamabug]

Yes. That's why I did it. Was effective for 6 years, but has been less effective the past year.