Running to defeat MS (symptoms)

Actually it wasn't fun, at all. Although I suppose that after about 100 injections there are bound to be a few that don't go as planned. In this case the integrity of the syringe gave way in the middle of my injector. The result was a big prick on my right upper arm that just caused some bleeding, and absolutely no medicine to be injected. I kept the needle and will contact my Rebif nurse in the morning, the top part of the needle, where the plunger enters the syringe cracked, causing some sort of jam-up in the auto-injector. I took it apart and there didn't seem to be anything left inside, so I warmed up another needle (takes about an hour) and injected my other arm. I figured my right arm had suffered enough for the day. Hopefully I've done the right thing. I took a close look at the first needle, and there was definitely no movement of the plunger. In fact the liquid in the syringe looked identical to a syringe after the auto-injector fired on needles that I ha...

Nice. First time I've messed up a syringe. I forgot to uncap it from the autoinjector, pressed it up against my stomach - all psyched up and 'Blonk...' Nothing. Part of me seriously thought, 'Oh cool, I couldn't feel a thing.' Then I realized I had screwed it up. Great, now I can look forward to another try in 30 min (for the liquid to warm up some)! Well, I will take a short time to note how I'm doing on the Baclofen. So far, no changes to spasticity, though it hasn't been as bad as last week. I also haven't been physically exerting myself at all. Tomorrow I have PT and it will be the first time I've gone on the day after an injection, when I'm usually feeling tighter. Oh, and the Baclofen has definitely made me grumpy.

Just starting up the Baclofen, so far, no changes, no side effects. I guess that's a good thing, nothing like an unexpected allergic reaction to spice things up. My legs tighten up as the day goes on, I don't think my computer desk chair is all that great, in fact, I'm sure it isn't. It actually has two big screws that punch through the cloth cover right into the middle of my hamstrings... Time to upgrade shortly. They're tight walking up hills and stairs right now. It's nothing as bad as the fatigue I was feeling this summer, which would prostrate me in just a few minutes. I thought I should try to quantify how they feel now as I'm just starting the Baclofen. Spasticity in quads and hamstrings - 4 I'll keep track of how things go from here. About to take 5 minutes to do injection #30! Left upper arm, my arms are the most likely to bleed afterwards, just a little blob, nothing major, and usually don't hurt all that much - famous last words!

OK, this is ridiculous I feel so crappy at the moment. I've been sick all weekend with a head cold, fever, completely clogged up nose... And now, I have a fever of 101.2! This is one hour after I took my Advil and one hour BEFORE taking the Rebif, which gives me a fever! Ugh, I don't know what to do for myself tonite, I hope I can have some comfort from the endless drugs... To top it all off, my injection for tonite goes into my left buttock, it's like salt on the wounds! Wish me luck.

Yes, 22!! Holy crap! Finishing up the first month of full dosage injections. Many more left, but this was bound to be the hardest due to injection site reactions, flu symptoms. So far, I've only had a couple injection reactions, first in my left leg, then in my left stomach. The stomach one was brutal, I tried using a cold compress because they had been painful recently. It instantly bruised and is just starting to go down after 1.5 weeks. The fevers I feel like I have under control with an Advil regimen before and after and during the next day. I don't necessarily like the idea of taking ibuprofen every day so I plan to follow up with my neuro on any particular side effects are possible with it. Blood, needles, no problem! But sitting at my table getting ready and facing the reality I have MS three times a week is hard. Especially now, my sumptoms have almost completely subsided. I feel good, healthy and I'm playing great on my indoor team. But I had decided to dig into th...

That has been the theme of my last week and a half or so. It coincides of course with stepping up to a full dosage. Last Thu. night, I had a fever of 101, I stayed home from my soccer game even though I had really wanted to play, but it was at 10pm and Kris convinced me it was a bad idea. It's odd to have a fever from the injection, because I don't have the normal symptoms that go along with fevers -- no headache, runny nose, cough... But, it does wipe me out a bit, and the fever/chills/sweating is uncomfortable. Fortunately, advil holds the fever at bay. I've been stubborn a few times and not taken it, as well as skipping it while on a business trip. THAT was a bad idea, I had no thermometer so I don't know what my temp was, but this past Monday was a horrible experience. First of all, injecting yourself while alone in a hotel room just doesn't feel right, it made me feel lonely, thinking, 'what the hell has gotten me to this point!??' I had no advil...

I noticed this morning that on my left thigh I have a small red rash, about the size of two quarters, and below that, some bruising. First I've noticed any injection site reaction. I've been lethargic in the evenings lately, my back get's progressively sore and tired over the day. My neck get's stiffer and my legs tighten up. I've been battling a cold over the weekend, and to top it all off I actually got a sunburn from being out at the apple orchard all day Sunday. I'm not looking forward to my injection tonite, since increasing the dosage it's been more painful, and, frankly, I'm just not into the whole stabbing yourself with a needle. Nor am I all that excited by the fact that I'll be doing this for the forseeable future. I'm sure I'll find a good spot on the left side of my abdomen and hopefully it will be similar to the first couple weeks. I've cancelled a business trip for this week due to feeling under the weather, and the anx...

This was the first time my injection really hurt - and I mean it hurt like someone was seriously putting a big fat needle into my leg. Ouch!! I rubbed it extra long, this is a double size dosage compared to the first two weeks, and still half of what it will be long term. I hope it's not a sign of things to come... I'm guessing that I hit a muscle, instead of just under the skin. I'll call my Rebif Nurse tomorrow morning - I tried tonite but they are only open 8-8, a good reason to do my injection before 8 maybe. I wanted to take a chance to note one thing that has happened twice lately. My left middle finger has gone numb, novacaine-like numb. Once while sitting holding three kids while reading a book at the neighbors, and again while just watching TV. I"ll just have to keep an eye on it. The second is that for the past 4 days or so, I've been getting the chills all the time. For what seems like no apparent reason. People get the chills sometimes, but usu...

There was a nice little spot of blood on the end of the needle after my injection today. Since it was mine, it should have been a big deal! Unfortunately, it wasn't. My stomach didn't even quease... After 5 injections I am still doing pretty good. No injection reactions, just a slight fever that fades quickly after about 30 minutes. Got a call from PT in Franklin that they have an opening next week, but I'm supposed to go to Philly for a few days. Since I will also be increasing dosage by about triple I may have to reschedule. I talked to my boss today and let him know about my concerns with flying next week, maybe a few weeks out would be better. I'll be in touch with my Rebif Nurse to see if she has any opnions.

No problems with the syringe or anything this time. I did the injection myself to a pretty tough (to reach) area, looks like no injection site reactions again. So far so good as far as those are concerned. Once again I do feel a bit hot 15 minutes or so after the injection. I probably have another low grade fever like last week when it was 99.4. My body feels a little stiffer now as well, particularly my lower back and upper legs. Same areas that have been bothering the last few weeks. I'm hopeful that PT helps to stretch these muscles out.

I got my injection in as scheduled which was a good thing. I did mess up the steps a little bit though, which is, of course, a bad thing. I removed the needle cap before inserting the syringe in the injector. A drop or two came out as I pressed it to set it into the bottom piece... Other than that, I inject the left side of my abdomen, again barely felt anything, and it seems to have worked out OK. I took some advil beforehand since it did give me a slight fever last time - 99.5. I felt a little warm again this time, but by now it's gone away. Or I could just be feeling sick because the Sox are losing to the Yankees. Again.

The nurse came today and instructed me on using the self-injection kit. Although it was a fairly complicated process, it was easy to master once I had done it twice. She dropped off a 'new' Rebif kit, which addressed the Rebiject 2 and had a DVD instead of a VHS tape... vhs tape! I started off at 8mg while the normal dose is 44. I'll do 8 for the first two weeks, my syringes are prefilled with the correct dosage which is nice. So, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive when I had the device on my belly, ready to go. But I did it like I was trained and didn't notice a thing, I couldn't even feel it. And so far, two hours later, no injection site reaction.