Allergic to Plegridy

[Bransie]

I am new to the MS forum. I was diagnosed in 2010. I am actually doing fairly well. I started out on Copaxoene. I was on it for about 3 years. I got tired of the injections so tried Tecfidera. I had a bad reaction to it and had to go off of it. I then used Aubagio for a year. In June of this year, I started on Plegridy. The first injection no issues, the second one I got a site reaction where I injected. It was itchy and quite red. I did have flu like symptoms. The 3rd injection I gave onJuly 5th. (A full dose) After 15 minutes, I started having horrible shakes. I couldn't walk and had neck pain. It was awful!! It finally let up after about 30 minutes. The next day my arms, upper back, neck, and shoulders were covered with hives/rash. I called my doctor and she said I had an allergic reaction. The site of 2nd and 3rd injections were large and red and actually looked like a bullseye. The outside was red and the middle looked like a bruise. It has now been over 2 weeks and I still itch and have been using benedryl. It is somewhat better so I am hoping every day I get better. Today the injections sites are fading. Yea! I now have a real fear of trying anything else. I am not sure I want to do any more!!

[Lortaybri]

I just started my second month of full dose of plegridy. About 4 days after a shot I broke out in a very red itchy rash. It was on my stomach, back and chest. Could reaction be 4 days out? Just gave myself shot on Sunday, it is now Wednesday and I'm starting to itch again. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Kimba22]

Hi Lortaybri,

Welcome to MSWorld, sorry to hear about your rash. Please call your neurologist! Maybe it's from something else, but it's something that needs to be addressed by your doctor. "Plegridy may lower the ability of your body to fight infection. Avoid contact with people who have colds or infections. Tell your doctor if you notice signs of infection like fever, sore throat, rash, or chills.". http://www.drugs.com/cdi/plegridy.html

Best of luck and please give us an update!

[jreagan70]

Could reaction be 4 days out?

Yes. Any kind of allergic reaction can be delayed. Plus, Plegridy is a sort of slow-release interferon. So in that respect, it's possible that it takes a slow 4 days for enough of whatever you're allergic to to reach a level where your immune system starts to react to it.

How long it takes to happen isn't as big an issue as the fact that you've now had 2 episodes of an itchy rash. That means you need to call your neurologist and tell him/her what has happened. A little itching near the injection site might not be bad. But you've broken out in a rash over a large area of your body. That isn't good.

With any medication, signs of an allergy usually mean that the person needs to stop taking it.

So before you end up with a major allergic event, please tell your neurologist what has happened.

[Dubgirl]

Hi . I have just been diagnosed with RRMS 6 weeks ago and started on Plegridy 2 weeks ago. No side effects for first 6 days but since then I have nausea everyday and it's making me very weepy and tired.
I just took my 2nd injection last Friday and I continue to feel worse. Anybody else experience these symptoms when starting this drug?