COPAXONE Reviews (GLATIRAMER ACETATE)Average Rating: 3.5 (300 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare COPAXONE with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by length of time drug was taken from shortest to longest duration (reviews with no time reported listed first). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on COPAXONE: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR COPAXONE | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 4 | ms | I started on Rebif but hamered my white blood cell count (2.7) so I switched to Copaxone. When I first started it hurt like heck, but I found I was injecting too deep. Once I got that right, it was limited to some swelling, itchiness, and redness. | M | 36 | 2.5 years | 2/4/2007 | 4 | RRMS | A quick question for all the females out there. Have you at all noticed any change in your menstrual cycle since starting Copaxone. Would really like to know as I have been dealing with this for a while now. | F | 33 | 2.5 years 20 MG 1X day | 8/7/2013 | 5 | M.S | The general swelling, itching, and bruising | Ditch the auto injector if you can. It does not hurt nearly as badly if your not getting punched with the auto injector daily. This medication works great for me only one relapse in 3 years. | F | 28 | 3 years 1X day | 5/18/2010 | 4 | Multiple Sclerosis | bumps at injection site | I was on Rebif for 1 year prior to starting Copaxone and I had flu-like symptoms all the time. I stopped taking Rebif when I could no longer function because of the adverse side effects. | F | 48 | 3 years | 10/17/2005 | 4 | MS | Usually only injection site reactions (itchy, red, hot, and swollen at injection site for a few days), and occasional flu like symptoms such as mild fever (but I usually sleep through most of it and wake up drenched in sweat...worse some days probably due to menstrual cycle and hormone changes throughout the month). Occasionally I have the severe rare side effect reactions (maybe once every other month): rapid heart beat, flushing, difficulty breathing, metallic taste in mouth, nausea, urgent bowel/bladder feeling. These symptoms are frightening, but don't last more than a minute or so. Have been able to tolerate them so far due to infrequency (if it was every day I would consider quitting the med). Seem to be related to injection directly into blood vein/vessel (sort of difficult to predict). Even rarer reaction are the bone racking convulsive chills following the rapid heart etc. Apparently I'm one of the 4% who experience these. My chill episodes last just over an hour, and o | Although I have been experiencing frightening side effects, they are infrequent enough that I intend to continue on Copaxone at this time. If I ever reach a point where these side effects become too severe to tolerate, I will consider switching meds (e.g., if the cure is worse than the disease). For now, I have experienced significant reduction in MS-Symptoms as a result of taking this medication and believe it is helping to control my disease. Plus, fear of the unknown is worse than fear of the known. I've read that the side effects of other MS meds can be much worse, so I'll stick with the med I am familiar with for now. | F | 35 | 3 years | 2/6/2006 | 4 | MS | I've been taking Copaxone now for over 3 years. I still get (sometimes fairly large), bumps that take a while to go away. I experience quite a bit of pain at the injection site from time to time too. Twice I've hit the muscle in my arm, its excruciating. I find it frustrating to find places to do the injection. I also have experienced chest pain and the feeling that my throat is closing a couple times after injection. | Despite the annoying side effects I have had no new symptoms in the past 3 years. My MRI's show no new lesions (I had 13 to when I was diagnosed). I had been taking Betaseron right after I was diagnosed, but I couldn't tolerate the side effects. I will continue on the Copaxone b/c it seems to be doing its job. I do have some anxiety about the long term effects as no one seems to know very much about this med. | F | 25 | 3 years | 3/22/2007 | 4 | I have ms | My side effects are ususally just stinging and welts at the injection sights. Sometimes, I get a metallic taste in mouth, along with heart palpitations and swelling in my face. This lasts approximately 2-3 minutes. Once I did incur flu-like symptoms (chills, achiness & fever). | F | 32 | 3 years | 2/9/2007 | 4 | MS | Always a welt at the injection site, especially the in the arms. The medicine feels like a bee sting but goes away. The site is tender for a long time. No other symptoms than that. | I took Copaxone during the last trimester of my pregnancy and while breastfeeding for the duration of a year. At times more dilligently than others. I still had MS "issues" during and after my pregnacy. Also, I have been getting small cysts and just read that it could possibly be a side effect of the medicine. That is yet to be determined. | F | 27 | 3 years | 1/14/2008 | 4 | rrms | very concerned about the ugly dents i now have in my thighs, smaller 'dimples' in my tummy, discoloration above my hips and the loss of back fat which should be good only i don't know how to take more shots there anymore. regarding the thighs, i've started taking the shots in my saddlebags because if it's going to eat my muscle and fat tissue, then i'd much rather get rid of the saddlebags and it is working even though i'm sure i'll get ugly dents there too eventually. has anyone taken shots in unadvised sites, e.g. further back behind the hips? also, some tolerable side effects: bee sting effect; some sites have lumps underneath skin; occasional bruising. no weight gain but major lean muscle loss - not sure if that's a side effect. | i cannot take the other drugs due to one freak bout of hyperthyroiditis. i would love to hear from anyone who has used tysibri and whether that is an option for me. | F | 41 | 3 years | 9/19/2008 | 3 | MS | I've experienced every side effect that others have listed. Yes, I've gained weight but no memory loss. | I've had MS since 1993. I wasn't officially diagnosed until 2006. My main problem is burning pain on the entire right side of my body (worse in the face and neck) with numb spots on my legs and upper back. I also have extreme fatigue. Copaxone has not helped with any of this at all. The burning pain has remained constant since 1993. My sight, mobility, memory are fine. My arms are tingly, numb, and very weak. My lesions are mainly in my neck and spinal cord. My doctor states this is why I have so much constant pain in my neck. Has Copaxone helped anyone with their pain? Pain meds don't work for me at all (have tried most everything including Celebrex, Oxycontin). Xanax helps keep me calm with the pain is too much to handle some days. | F | 43 | 3 years | 7/9/2008 | 2 | MS | Always have the site reaction of the swollen red lump. Also have swollen groin lymph nodes, of which once was taken and tested last year. Came back negative for cancer, but the remaiming nodes are still very 'angry'. Have had the severe reactions as well, flushed feeling, difficult to breath, chest pains, horrible stomach pains, vomiting and chills. Have been told not to worry about these. Thinking about stopping all together. DX 8 yrs ago..been on them all, Avonex, Rebif, Tysabri and Copaxone. All with bad side effects. This is my last hope and not looking well. MRI last year showed new lesions. | If one can toloerate it, great. For those of us who can't, not sure if the side effects are worth the troubles. | F | 42 | 3 years | 6/4/2007 | 1 | Multiple Sclerosis | Let's face it, side effects aren't on the side, they are actual effects. Lumps and itching that last for a few weeks. Tissue wasting. I lost tissue in my thighs, discoloration and dimples | It is not for me. If I had known about the tissue wasting, I would have never taken it. | M | 49 | 3 years | 12/31/2009 | 5 | Multiple Sclerosis | Multiple Sclerosis A bit of itching/stinging at injection site which only lasted the first month or so. A little bit of color change at the injection site. Teh color change comes back to moral after a year or so. But when injected cold no side effects. I have been on the drug for 4 years now. Thank god, I am doing well. | So far so good. | F | 28 | 4 years | 3/1/2006 | 5 | MS | Mostly I have only had lumps or swellin/itching/stinging at the injection site but recently I began applying heat (a suggestion from Shared Solutions)when I do my injections and it has helped reduce the swelling/itching/stinging problems significantly. | For the most part my symptoms have been non-existant until recently and i think that is a good portion of my fault because I had gotten realllly relaxed about doing my injections and began missing injections (very often). Until recently, June, I had not had any symptoms since November 2001. Yes, almost 5 years. Silly me!! | F | 31 | 4 years | 8/29/2006 | 5 | RRMS | Injection site soreness. | Switched to 40mg, 2months ago,experienced more symptoms,so say hint back to 20 mg,as soon as new script,arrives. | F | 61 | 4 years 20mg /40mg 1X day | 1/30/2015 | 4 | ms | injection site becomes red, burns and has a hard lump for days. i have been taking copazone for 4 years. although it is daunting at times to take the injection, knowing it burns and i feel im running out of spots to inject that dosnt have a lump, i wouldnt stop. i know it helps. its a small price to pay for peace of mind and body. | i am wondering if anyone out there, taking copaxone, has joint pain. I am experiencing such pain in most of my joints. Im wondering if its related. | F | 46 | 4 years | 9/14/2006 | 4 | MS | Copaxone was great for the first 1.5 yrars. Then one evening right after the injection I started feeling hot and got a bitter taste in my month, my chest felt heavy and I could bearly breath I got bad stomach cramps and had to go to the bathroom I was terrified went to the ER and they told me it was a reaction to the medication. not another reaction for a year then it just happend again last night, I called my Neurologist and she said that other patients on that medication have been passing out, and told me to stop taking it. I go see her next week hopefully we can find something else to keep my relapse remittin MS in check. | F | 47 | 4 years 1X day | 8/1/2011 | 4 | Relapse/Remitting MS | common injection site reactions...lump, redness, stinging, itching. Also had 4 extremely bad reactions. Heart palpatations, shortness of breath, pain up and down my spine followed by at least 1 hour of severe tremors and shaking. | I was relieved to read that others have experienced the severe shaking after having a reaction to an injections. Several had told me that the shaking had nothing to do with the injection and was extremely rare. I have learned that if the injection is unusually painful going in it is likely I will have a severe reaction. I always take my injection at night so that if I have a reaction, I am home and able to ride it out. The benefits of Copaxone out weigh the few bad reactions so I will continue to take it. | F | 61 | 4 years 1ml 1X day | 10/13/2010 | 4 | Was on Avonex hated flu symtoms | It seems to work great just my skin itches on hands legs arms differnt places it looks like hives or small blisters but they itch so much sometimes I scratch until I break the skin. | No relapse in three years taking copaxone I guess I will deal with the itching. | M | 42 | 4 years | 9/13/2009 | 3 | Multiple Sclerosis = 4 years | usual injection site lumps, soreness, itchiness, pain. | I've noticed that when I begin my menstrual cycle, then do my injection, I have adverse reactions. Last night my chest tightened up, it felt like I couldn't breathe, felt nausea and began to throw up,began to have diarrhea, then uncontrollable shaking, like I was hypothermic. My fiance said I was warm to the touch, but I felt extremely cold. My whole body shaking for over an hour, totally exhausted, my jaw shaking so bad, I couldn't control it. Not sure if I can stay on this. | F | 43 | 4 years | 5/4/2008 |