Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

My Plegridy Experience So Far

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    My Plegridy Experience So Far

    I took my first full dose of Plegridy last Friday. My husband and I decided that my thigh would be the best place for this dose. The injection went fine. I woke up on Saturday with no side effects. By Saturday afternoon, I had a 102.4 fever and felt miserable. On Sunday I woke up feeling better with a low grade fever. By Sunday evening I was feeling much better. A day or so later, I had the "normal" sight reaction of a red patch. Then I noticed my thigh hurting. It progressively got worse. Last night, I noticed a lighter red patch around the initial injection sight/darker red patch. My thigh muscle hurts and is very sensitive to the touch. Is this a "normal" reaction? Has anyone else experienced this? I switched from Avonex to Plegridy due to side effects. I'm thinking that I may have been better with the Avonex.

    #2
    I have just started Plegridy. Thursday, the 23rd, was my 2nd shot, (3/4 dose).
    My first injection, (1/2 dose), was in my thigh. No problems with that shot, except the typical needle poking you type of discomfort. The minor pain went away in a day.
    I injected the second shot in the rear arm, yesterday. I have the same needle poke discomfort.
    Each time I have pre-medicated with 1000mg of acetaminophen every 6 hours and I used the PM ones at night. I do like they say and drink plenty of water. I have not had a fever. I have had night sweats and chills. I will probably try the abdomen next for my first full dose.
    This is my first DMD. So far, so good.

    Comment


      #3
      I've been on Plegridy since January 2. I do my shot at night and generally my side effects are a mild headache and sometimes I get all over body aches. The headache kind of feels like a mild hangover. I premedicate with Tylenol and make sure to drink plenty of water before and after the shot as well as the next day. As for site reactions, I get a large red area almost the size of my hand (I have small hands). The redness doesn't show up until a week or so after the injection and it's usually in full bloom 2 weeks after, so when I'm due to do the next shot. My last site reaction was a bit warm and itchy which usually I don't feel much of anything. The area seems fine now though, so I'm not worried about an infection, it just seemed a little more reactive.
      Dx'd : 10/30/2002
      Started Copaxone 12/16/2002
      Currently on Rituxan

      Comment


        #4
        I've done all the drinking of water and pre-medicating. The first two shots were a breeze. This full dose shot threw me for a loop. I was on Avonex for 9 years and never fully got over the side effects. I just never expected the painfulness of the site reaction and well beyond. Really not looking forward to the next shot.

        Comment


          #5
          Seems to get better

          I'm in a study that looks at flu-like symptoms in people who switch from other interferons to Plegridy. I switched from Beta, and the flu-like symptoms have been exactly zero for me - but I was beyond them with the Beta, as well.

          I did have the injection site reactions, though. I'd had them on and off with Beta, too, for the six years I was on it. But the first shot I did in my arm with Plegridy, I got an enormous red spot. It didn't emerge for a couple of days, then it kept growing. It hit the high point at about 10 days, then started subsiding. The study director had me take OTC allergy medication when the hydrocortisone cream alone wasn't enough to control it. The next time, I didn't need the allergy medication, but kept up with the 1% hydrocortisone (prescription-strength). It's been several months now, and I still got a red patch on the last shot, but it didn't even occur to me to use the hydrocortisone.

          Even though this wasn't initially part of the study, partway through, they asked participants to start recording it. As with other interferons, it seems to be an issue. Those of you switching from Avonex: that was an intramuscular shot, and Plegridy and Beta are both subcutaneous, so I imagine you might react differently because it's in a different kind of tissue.

          But I did want to let others know that it does seem to get better. I just hit the 6-month mark.

          BTW, this is a histamine reaction, just like a bug bite etc., so your anti-itch medication for that sort of thing could help things out. As with any medication, check with your doctor first.

          Comment


            #6
            MS Flares up



            I just did my 4th shot so I have been on Plegridy 2 months.

            To help site injections, I massage the medication in after the shot and then put frozen peas wrapped in dish towel on site for about 10 Minutes. This totally reduced any redness, swelling, etc.

            Even with Advil and lots of water before and after, I get a headache and a bit light headed that lasts about 2 days but have noticed my MS flares up pretty bad about 2 days later.

            Have any of you had MS flare up?

            Gretchen

            Comment


              #7
              I have taken my first full dose injection of Plegridy in my abdomen a few days ago. Within two days I noticed a red spot about as round as a golf ball at the injection site. My half dose was in the thigh and the 3/4 dose was in the arm. None of the first two injections gave me a site reaction. The redness is not itchy or sore. I have noticed that I am more tired, more achy, more irritable and have a bad taste in my mouth right after the injection. I feel energized the 2nd and 3rd day and then feel burned out the following days. That's all I got.

              Comment


                #8
                Histamine reaction to injection

                I have been taking Plegridy since March of 2015, and have experienced pretty bad injection site reactions, like red blotches, swelling, hot spots, and pain each time. It occurred to me this was similar to a histamine reaction, like to a bug bite or poison ivy. I decided to try taking an antihistamine about 2 hrs prior to my injections. It worked! The last three injections had no site reactions at all. If you take antihistamines for allergies, this may work for you too. As always if you have any questions about OTC medications, ask your pharmacist or doctor about it.

                Other helpful things you could try:

                My nurse suggested bringing the shot to body temperature instead of room temperature. So, I hold the shot under my arm for 5-10 mins prior to injecting.

                My Dr. approved me using the hip area as an injection site, which helped me greatly as I couldn't use the arm site at all.

                Best wishes to all, hope some of this helps.

                Comment

                Working...
                X