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    Question about Avonex injection

    Last night was my 3rd injection. I stuck the needle in my left thigh and as I was actually injecting the med, I felt a slight pain (nowhere near as bad as where the medication was actually going in but felt very weird) that shot down my entire leg. Once I finished injecting, that completely went away. Is that normal? I go on the top of my thigh more toward the outside to avoid the sciatic nerve and I also pull back on the syringe to make sure I'm not in a vessel.

    Maybe 10 minutes after injecting, I started feeling a little weird (I usually do but more last night, although it was the 3/4 injection so it's more than I've ever had before). Shortly after that, I started getting really shaky (like I was shivering but not cold but I couldn't stop shivering) so about an hour after, I just went to bed. I was a lot more shaky this time than the first injection (second injection I had nothing). When I woke up this morning, I was perfectly fine.

    I really want to know though, has anyone else felt that pain shoot down their leg like that? Did I do something wrong? This med totally freaks me out and honestly, I think I'm looking for any excuse to call the dr to report why I shouldn't take it so I can start Copaxone instead.
    Diagnosed 1/4/13
    Avonex 1/25/13-11/14, Gilenya 1/22/15

    #2
    I don't think it's unusual to have sensations go down your whole leg. I've had those, and my leg a couple of times has started twitching with the needle in it, which is unnerving. Don't know that I've ever thought of it as "pain" but that doesn't mean it wouldn't.

    The shakiness you describe so soon after injection, that doesn't sound as "normal" to me. However, I know I can get worked up for an injection, and the body releases its tensions in various ways.

    Because you've had two successful injections, and because you were "perfectly fine" in the morning, I'm led to believe these are isolated incidents.

    I am curious about your injection site(s) ... I hope you had a nurse/trainer map those out for you and give you other tips. If not, or to discuss your concerns about the last shot, call the Avonex hotline at 800-456-2255. And ask questions here anytime!

    And don't be afraid to call your doctor. If a medicine "freaks you out" and you won't be compliant, it's fair to ask for a change. But be warned, there is no free ride with any of the medicines, especially in the early doses when you're not accustomed physically or mentally to the medicine or even to MS. I hope you'll stick with Avonex longer and give it a chance to work for you!

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks for the advice. I finally did call Avonex today about what happened, although I don't think the girl really understood all of my problem. She couldn't find anything about the shakiness so she ended up transferring me to someone else where they take reports of unusual symptoms. They just said if it happens again to call my dr.

      I do think part of the problem is that I'm so nervous about this, but as bad as I felt, I don't think that's all that was going on, especially when the injection before caused no side effects.

      I'm even more nervous about injecting again tomorrow night because I don't want to feel that again. It's too late to do anything about it now, but I think I will have someone come out and give me training on the injections just to see if there's a better way that I should be doing it.

      Since the right leg injection went better than the left, I'm hoping tomorrow night will go smoothly since I'll be back to the right (or who knows, that could be a total coincidence). I didn't realize that they have a nurse on call 24/7 until today, so I'm hoping that helps keep me calm too since I didn't know last week that there was anyone I could call after hours.
      Diagnosed 1/4/13
      Avonex 1/25/13-11/14, Gilenya 1/22/15

      Comment


        #4
        If you’ve already given yourself shot #4, I look forward to hearing about it. In any case, a few more thoughts:

        Just when I start to think I prefer a particular injection site, I’m proven wrong. I’ve had good and not-so-good experiences in the tops of my legs and in the sides of my legs when I’ve injected, and in my arms and my backside when others have injected. And there’s no pattern to side effects being better or worse depending on the site. Just pick a site and go with it, and chances are your experience will be more like shots #1 and #2 than shot #3.

        I hope when you have a nurse visit for training, you will have someone else that can be trained. It makes more injection sites available to you, but also, sometimes, you just need a break. Either you feel ill from MS or something else, or your confidence is shaken by an experience like your shot #3.

        Although for no particularly good reason, I never had much confidence to begin with. (Google “shot #269 of Avonex” for an example.) And now I haven’t self-injected in more than a year; I’m fortunate enough to have someone who will give me shots every week. But when I was self-injecting most of the time and needing a confidence boost, I would take an orange and just give it shots over and over. It didn’t hurt or cause any discomfort, of course, and I would try and get myself to believe that the needle going through my skin and into the muscle will be the same way.

        Ask more questions anytime!

        Comment


          #5
          Last night went much better than last week. This was my first full dose. There was no sensation that shot down my leg. I found a tip somewhere that said to warm it with your hands before injecting, so I tried that and noticed it didn't sting like crazy this time around either, so aside from the actual needle prick, there was no pain at all. I didn't get shaky this time either.

          I did wake up about 3 hours after the shot with a slight headache and a sore arm (I injected in the thigh though), so I just took another Aleve and went back to bed. It wasn't a huge deal at all. I also had a very hard time staying asleep last night, but I don't know if that's related or if I just had an episode of insomnia. That happens to me every once in a while anyway.

          Aside from being tired this morning due to waking up so many times in the middle of the night, I'm perfectly fine today. Sleeping later isn't really an option either because my neighborhood isn't complete yet and the construction wakes me up every morning. The headache and sore arm are completely gone.
          Diagnosed 1/4/13
          Avonex 1/25/13-11/14, Gilenya 1/22/15

          Comment


            #6
            This is a little late to comment, but in case the poster is still there, I was going to offer a little advise.

            Warming the shot with your hands prior to injecting is not really enough. I hope you are taking the shot out of the fridge at least an hour prior to injecting. You can hold the shot under your arm (or boob ladies) for a bit to reach body temp. Maybe the time you took to warm it in your hands let the alcohol you swabbed dry. Stinging is always from the alcohol in my experience.

            A relaxed muscle is essential for painless shots. Shake that leg and make sure muscles are jiggly. Sometimes when I inject the muscle contracts and practically pushes the shot out. I push slowly back in and relax before I push the plunger.

            No need to pull back on the syringe to check for blood with prefilled syringes. So be sure to rotate using top of thighs and more to the side. Your sciatic nerve is nowhere near these sites.

            I always take a generic benedryl before bed on shot night. Plenty of posters here concur that can help you sleep, and ward off some of the symptoms.

            Best of luck to all Avonex users!

            Comment


              #7
              I wanted to respond to you about how you were having trouble staying asleep and your arm hurting.

              I tend to experience pretty significant body aches from the medication, and at times just flat out chilled to the bone.

              If I wake up I like you take an extra aleve and I have extra blankets near by if I get too chilled.

              I have the shakiness you were referring to as well, but I think that is mainly anxiety and will pass pretty quickly.

              Comment


                #8
                Avonex and sides

                I have been on Avonex since diagnosis in 2008. Very rarely I might have fatigue the next day after injection.
                What helps me avoid the "flu like symptoms" is to drink lots of water through the day and next morning and 2 ibuprophen an hour before as well. I take the syringe out of the fridge no less than 1 hour before and if needed I will hold it in my hand to warm. Wait until the alcohol from the swab is dry, relax your leg and inject. I have also pinched my thigh to help not hit a nerve, this is acceptable according to the nurses I spoke with.
                Hope things are better for you.
                How can you be tired when you haven't done anything?
                Dx 5/6/08 Avonex 7/25/08

                Comment

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