Copaxone vs Interferons or natural remedies or diet modification...

[RosieP]

Hi All! I was diagnosed last summer and began Copaxone treatments in Nov. Everything seemed to be going okay (once I switched from auto to manual injections) until about a month ago when I began to notice those "dimples" listed in side effects. I now have six areas which look more like large dents than dimples. I am struggling with this because I know that I want to have optimal health, and Copaxone can reduce the number of relapses for about 25% of users, but I also think that if I have 6 affected areas after seven months, my body will be covered with these dents before long--I suppose vanity's kicked in! I am considering switching treatments, so I am here to ask which medications (naturopathic or other) have worked for you? I know my neurologist will want me to go on an Interferon med, and she doesn't believe in any other non-traditional treatments, including nutrition (other than vit D3) but I am open to all options. Thanks in advance.

[Suebee]

Rosie, I'm sorry about your dimples not on your face.

Bad news : Interferon injections and copaxone both do this. I'm 10+ yrs on them. Copaxone is subcutanous and more frequent which i think makes dimple more obvious.

I went to dermatologist for a consult on this years ago. He looked me straight in the eye and firmly said that the benefit for me outweighed the dimples and that he sees this occur with all kinds of injectables.

I know DMDs are a very personal decision, and costly, but a retrospective of metadata on MS patients on DMDs shows it is beneficial to be on a DMD, so if you decide copaxone is not for you, I recommend having your neuro help you find another DMD that fits your needs.

Good news: You can decide where the copaxone shot goes on rotation. I no longer do the back of my arms because I felt the dimples were most obvious there. Instead, I initially tried to rotate all around belly area, but I found it uncomfortable after a few rotations. So I now rotate between both hips and both thighs based on the injection map. I very carefully plot each one and by making sure to spread out the injection spots, and I don't see dimples on legs/thighs, it is more even looking.

Also, the nurse at copaxone says you should lightly rub the area after injection, I think to help get the solution to absorb in the skin.
For me, injecting after a long shower or bath seems to plump my skin and make it less painful. Not sure if that is placebo or not. I hope that was helpful.

Best of luck, and know you're not alone, in any of this.
Suebee

[GoatHerder]

Not noticed with Avonex

I've been on Avonex interferon for over 15 years, and as it is a deeper, intramuscular injection, I have found no external evidence on my legs of the injection sites

I've found Avonex to be very effective in my case, limiting my relapses to maybe one or two a year, and they are usually minor.

Only having to inject once a week is a nice plus!

[Suebee]

Goatherder, I'm glad to hear that you didn't have this experience with Avonex. Do you rotate all body locations with Avonex? Do you use the autoinjector?

I was on Avonex for years and had no significant relapses on it. The Avonex helpline was helpful and explained optimal needle depth and angle. I think the autoinjector wasn't available to me initially.

I found it really hard to self inject belly, hips, and arms with Avonex needle so I stuck to legs (opps no pun intended ). I probably did not rotate sufficiently on legs and focused on central areas and over time there was one indent area on each thigh over my favored injection sites. Take away, rotation is key.

[GoatHerder]

Sorry for the very late reply. I've been enjoying the best remission in 15 years, and took advantage of it by tearing down 2 buildings on the farm, renovating the inside of the house and barn! Wife is quite happy with all the results!

Avonx is designed to only be injected IM in the legs or upper arms. I rotate injection sites each week, and inject at the top and sides of my large leg muscles.

I don't have problems self injecting, and my only problem I ever have, is that I frequently am injecting my goats with one thing or another, and always drawing 2cc of a drug for them. So every now and then out of habit I'll draw and mix 2cc of diluent for my Avonex. Biogen had a laugh over that, said it was fine, but that is a lot to inject IM without going real slow!