Injection Time

I finally got the syringes for my treatment.  We also got this worked out with Shared Solutions.  That is who Copaxone goes through.

I’m on the 40mg/ml three times a week treatment plan.  We were expecting this to be about $2,000-2,500 for a 30 day supply.  Shared Solutions has a Co-Pay Assist program though that we said we were interested in.  It turns out that that covers the payment of the drug, so we actually didn’t pay anything.  Woot!  That really is awesome!

It comes in a box, and has four stacks of three glass syringes each.  So, four weeks worth.  It has to stay chilled.

I’m taking it Monday/Wednesday/Friday and last week was my first week.  I didn’t have really any side effects.  Actually I had worse side effects when I was doing my allergy shots.  It was warm for a little bit and then was itchy for a few hours, but then was fine.  With my allergy shots, I had a big bump, was really warm, and itched for a few days. 

I did my left hip last Friday and for that, I think I went too deep.  I went with 6 and for today, I’m going to go with a setting of 4 for my hip.  I think I got into some muscle and I could feel it for about 24 hours.  Wasn’t horrible, but wasn’t comfortable.

On the Copaxone site, they also have a WebTracker.  So I’ve been filling that out as well.

This is helpful because of the rotation. Not only are there 7 different areas to rotate through (Left & Right arm, Left & Right Hip, Left and Right Thigh and Stomach), but within each area you have to rotate.  For example, today I’m doing my right hip, and there are 6 spots I have to rotate through.

That’s where tracking becomes helpful.  So, today, I’ll do the upper left spot.  Next time I come around to the right hip, I’ll do the upper left, and then work through the rest over several weeks.  This is to minimize skin damage and potential necrosis. 

The next fun thing will be having to take this with me when I travel.  That will be Disney World in mid-May.  I’m getting a travel kit and already have a letter from the doctor for the syringes.  I’ll blog about that when we get back.