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@kimiblanc 

Last reply

kimiblanc

Treatment thoughts - Copaxone

Hi everyone I had a consultation with my neurologist and he interestingly suggested maybe going for a less strong drug. This is because I'm having quite a few infections throughout the year on gilenya/fingolimod and so I feel my day to day wellbeing isn't good on this drug and it's causing me a few problems. So I wanted to ask what people's experiences of copaxone have been as this is the one he mentioned (I used to be on Rebif before gilenya but had to terminate). My other option is for the stronger ocrelizumab so again any experience of using this, I'd be really grateful and would find it really helpful to hear what you think of it. Thanks Kim
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@laurenrose
@laurenrose
 

i was on copaxone for around a year and the only real issue was injection site pain, swelling itching and redness/scarring. i had to switch to cladribine because of my relapse rate but all in all, with a few tips and tricks such as using those little cold packs (the flexible ones for small injuries) from the freezer about 15mins before an injection and then one from the fridge for after. i would also recommend taking the injection out the fridge about 30mins before using and injecting before bed so i slept through most of the reaction and i defo didn't even try the auto injector thing haha if pain is a worry, i found paracetamol to be effective and for reassurance, the scars have now all faded! all in all it's definitely a weaker drug, but i didn't have the worst experience with it. i hope this helps a lil bit 🌻

@Stumbler
@Stumbler
 

@kimiblanc , as you were previously on Rebif, a first line DMT, then advanced to Gilenya, switching to Copaxone, another first line DMT, could be seen as a retrograde step, Whilst Ocrevus(Ocrelizumab) is a stronger DMT, it also suppresses the immune system, also leaving you vulnerable to infections. What kind of infections are troubling you? Addressing this might be another way of managing this situation. I used to be bugged by a multitude of urinary infections (UTI) and now I take a daily supplement, D. Mannose, which has been clinically proven to reduce UTIs.