When to medicate

[lstrl]

From the day I've started taking Avonex, I've taken one Aleve 3-4 hrs before the shot and repeated right after I took the shot. I usually do it around 9:30 pm and go to bed around 11-12. I've had to get up once with a headache to repeat Aleve, but usually I don't seem to have an issue. For the past 2 months, I can't recall ever having any other side effects, aside from my insomnia on shot night and soreness at the injection site for a couple days.

The Friday night insomnia is killing me on my Saturdays, so I decided to try taking my shot at 11:30 this morning, hoping that maybe I'll be able to sleep tonight (by the time I get up for the day on Saturdays, I'm always perfectly fine). I was just wondering though, should I be spacing my Aleve doses differently? I noticed around either 3 or 4 pm, I got a nasty headache (not the worst but not nearly as mild as when I woke up in the middle of the night on shot night before). I took another Aleve as soon as I could, but it took about an hour to kick in. It did completely take it away though once it started working.

I'm just thinking, would I be better off if I premedicated an hour before the shot, giving it time to kick in, and not repeating until maybe a couple hours after to prevent another headache like I got today? I don't want to just change anything without hearing what others do though because I don't want to end up making things worse on accident. I don't know if my body just handles Avonex better than others or if it's the Aleve that keeps things at bay. I'd rather not find out the hard way.

[MSer102]

I took Avonex for about 3 years. I did my injection between 6 and 7 Saturday evening. I took ibuprofen 2 hours before injecting so it was at a good level at injection time. Then I took more ibuprofen about 2 hours after injecting to last me about another 4 hours. I had already gone to be before the second dose wore off abou 4 hours later. Usually I just slept through the night and most of the side effects. Occasionally I had to take more ibuprofen when I got up Sunday morning.

That worked well for the whole time I was on Avonex. I didn't have insomnia from it.

[BigA]

I've taken it for 3 years now and find it tolerable. But it wasn't always. I had one of the worst side effects experiences that I've heard about. I was depressed, in pain and had a terrible headache. The depression lasted well into the 2nd day. The headaches were unbelievable and there was not enough ibuprofen I could take.

I had all the advice from nurses... start drinking water the day before so that you're hydrated. This makes no sense to me because I'm sure to go to the bathroom. Pre-medicate an hour before... this didn't work for me, but what I did find was that timing is definitely important.

With me, I noticed that my headaches started 4-6 hours after my injection. Maybe I have a slow liver, but it takes that long. I take my shot as soon as I wake up, go to the gym and then shopping. Therefore, taking 1 hour before was wasting a pill I needed later (I limit myself to 4 doses per day).

But you are unique. Experiment and see what works for you. And if you're really really suffering, your doctor can prescribe a low dose of steroids (1/50th - 1/100th) of an infusion that you take before.

Also to keep in mind - it gets better... slowly.

[Justsayyes]

I take two Aleve and hour before the injection, and set an alarm to take another dose 4 hours later. Preventing side effects before they start is more effective than dosing once the side effects are kicking your "you know what".....

Oh and I still take 10 mg. prednisone on shot day. Have done this for a very long time. I'm extra sensitive to side effects.

[apple19]

I had to experiment some to find what worked for me. I took someone's advice from here and now take 1 aleve an hour before shot and 1 more when I inject. I usually need to take another about 10 to 12 hrs later for the horrific headache. Nothing seems to help the stiffness and tightness in my body. Just rest.

Hope you find what works for you.

Take good care!

[limpy-doo]

I take 800 mg of ibuprofen 2 hours before I inject, 2 extra strength tylenol when I inject and 800 more mg of ibuprofen 2 hours after injection. Then I go straight to bed and usually don't have any problems.
Good luck! I hope you find a regiman that works for you soon!

[lstrl]

Thanks everyone for letting me know how you do it. I think I may have figured it out so I can do my shot in the morning and prevent the insomnia at bedtime. Friday I tried taking Aleve 2 hours before, repeating at shot time, and then another 3 hours later. I had a very mild headache at times but nothing like it was the week before (who knows, that could have been a coincidence too because when I did it at night, I never woke up with horrible headaches). I liked doing it this way also because now I don't have to dread all day long that I'm going to be injecting at night. I know it's not too bad anymore, but I always get that feeling every Friday, just knowing I have to do it.

[BigA]

That's great. You've found what works.