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 Date added. 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 Therapy | Bee Sting sesation lasting about 2-3 minutes. New to this medication and I will update any additional side effects in the event that they occur. | I had periodic symptoms from mild to severe since 1989 and I was definitively diagnosed with MS in 1995. Began Therapy (Betaseron)in 2001. Minor to no flare ups--almost asymptomatic. Follow-up MRI revealed numerous-active lesions, indicating that Therapy was no longer effective. Blood Test confirmed that I had developed Anti-Bodies to Betaseron. Copaxone was my next line of defense. Initially, I was aprehensive about starting Copaxone after researching the side affects. I have been taking the Copaxone shots for the past 8 days and have seemed to tolerate the therapy without any problems to this point. I am hoping for the best for myself and all of you who have been touched by this disease. Best of luck and God Bless. | M | 51 | 8 days 20 MG 1X day | 4/11/2010 | 3 | RRMS | UNBELIEVABLE ITCHING for days after injection, goose egg at injection site, pain from the injection is like being stung by a bee or wasp but subsides & is gone by end of day. Sometimes after the injection I sense it spreading and think I feel it in the nearest joint where I injected. | I could tolerate Copaxone better if it were not for the itching! I use a topical anti-itch gel but it doesn't really help that much. I try to stay busy and not scratch but COMMON...this is ridiculous! The goose egg doesn't bother me much and I have not had any "wasting." I rotate sites as instructed by my Shared Solutions nurse. I saw on here that someone used ice for 10 min. before and 10 min. after so I am going to try that. I have been using heat 5 min. before and ice 2 min. after. I have not had any panic attacks or trouble breathing. Other than the itching & goose egg I can tolerate the sting of the medicine. I was DX'd with RRMS in 2005 and was on Betaseron for 2 yrs. but the flu side effects were too much. I discontinues treatment. Recently I went from "some lesions" to "numerous lesions" on my MRI. I have weakness on my left side, numbness in feet and legs, hearing problems in left ear, muscle spasms in right eye (wink wink) fatigue easily, must take daily naps, I also have cognitive problems and have osteoporosis. My cousin on my dad's side also has RRMS. I am going to stay on Copaxone because I am afraid of getting more lesions and losing more body functions. MS sucks to say the least! | F | 53 | 2 months 20mg 1X day | 3/31/2010 | 4 | RRMS | Burning, itching, swelling, redness, bruising at injection site. Lower right back pain and throbbing after an injection. Anxiety after an injection. | I have also been given Clonazepam to take as needed when I do my self injection. This really helps to avoid any anxiety attacks or breathing issues related to that. I have a heightened sensitivity to fragrance and flourescent lighting. I wear my sunglasses to drive even on a cloudy day. I get very fatigued and achey most days at around the same late afternoon time of day. I don't have brain fog that I am aware of because my job involes a lot of recording of information, observation and conversation. To lessen the effect of the injection, I mostly use an ice pack for ten mins before and ten mins after. I take the shot before I go to sleep, that way I am not bothered by the aftereffects as much. Rotation of sites is really important and I do not do my arms because they simply bruise too much. I am too chicken to do the self administer without the autoject 2; I am worried that it will hurt more. The autoject goes in quickly, I count to 17 and I am done! That said, I would rather take a pill than a needle any day. | F | 47 | 11 months 30 mg 1X day | 3/27/2010 | 4 | RRMS | Bee Sting lasts a minute or two. Itching lasts 2 minutes. That is all. It goes away then no other effects | I leave my shot out over night. My shot is taken in the morning when I am active to move it into my system. I noticed a rash under my injection site so gravity must drag the drug down. I raise the injection site like the arm to stop the stinging. Lay on opposite side from shot site for stomach or hips. Works for me. I have no lesions but abnormal white matter. I was undiagnosed for 12 years until I had bad heat sensitivity, unsteadiness and intentional tremor forcing me to get a MRI. Before I had optic neuritis, fatigue and numbness. I was finally confirmed with a pos.spinal tap | M | 42 | 3 weeks 20MG 1X day | 3/26/2010 | 4 | Mostly slight burning. Had on very bad side effect. First the shallow breathing started, then weird numbness in head, then numbness in left arm, then chest pain, and severe anxiety. My mom called ambulance because I thought I was having a heart attack. It was just that rare side effect from the medication. It was the scariest day of my life. I do believe I can handle that reaction if it happened again but I know the medication will help me so much more with the MS. I have had MS since I was 17 and was on Rebif for 7 years but had to stop because of liver problems. | It was easy to adjust to the everyday schedule of giving the medication. | F | 25 | 46 days 1X day | 3/21/2010 | 3 | rrms | swelling at injection site, heart fluttering, worsening back pain | 1 significant flare since starting with issues that still linger. i was dx with ms in 2003 and was started on rebif. taken off because rebif was no longer working. | F | 40 | 2 years 20 1X day | 3/10/2010 | 4 | RRMS | Stinging, Burning, Itching, Pain, Redness, Swelling, Huge Bruising At Location Sites That Are There For A Few Days | I'm not really loving this treatment....but I guess if it works then that's good. I was diagnosed at 17 in 08 and I have numbness in feet and then optic neuritis. They found a little lesion and so I'm on this. I take the shot at night and this morning I woke up and my Tummy was bruised really bad..it's just scary having to look at all the nasty side affects. Also on my arms people look at them and tell me it looks like someone grabbed me real hard. Hmm so far I'm just not too much of a fan... | F | 18 | 1 months 1X day | 3/9/2010 | 2 | RRMS | Lumps, brusing (tolerable) rapid heartbeat, fatigue, dizziness, mental fog, short term memory loss. Recently, loss of appetite and diarrhea. | My first symptoms occured at age 20 and I was diagnosed with RRMS at age 25, in 1979. I would have a relapse every 5-6 years (really) and since there were no disease modifying drugs at that time all I took was prednisone during a relapse. I comtinued my lifestyle uninterrupted, continuing to water and snow ski until age 36 when my left leg was becoming too weak to perform as needed. I tried Avonex in 1993 and after 6 shots was afraid to take anymore. I would be sick with flu symptoms and couldn't walk for a day and a half after a shot. So I began Copaxone. At first I seemed to tolerate it well although I began having occasional rapid heartbeats. Over the years I started having the other symptoms listed to the right but I thought it was just MS progression and I didn't suspect the Copaxone. My MS has progressed rapidly during the last 5 years and I cannot walk more than 1/8 mile on good days. I rely on either a manual wheelchair or my motorized chair for any distance. Yesterday I came to this website and read every review. Right now I am seriously considering stopping Copaxone and trying LDN which I spent 4 hours reading about online yesterday. For me, Tysabri is out of the question. | F | 56 | 20 1X day | 3/4/2010 Patient History | 5 | RRMS | Site sting, itch, some areas a small goose egg. | Never thought I'd have to take a daily shot. Had 2 episodes of optical neuritis 7 years apart, and MRI came back showing 3 brain lesions this trip. After learning about drug options, Copaxone was a no-brainer for me (no pun intended); very nice Shared Solutions Instructor came to my house and I learned that even nervous newbies can self-administer easily with the AutoJect. Providing, that is, they remain calm and don't get rattled or have a spaz attack over burning, itching or skin indentations. You have to be honest with yourself as to which you'd rather deal with; burning, itching, dents and maybe a bad 15 minute episode - or MS progression and possibly more lesions. I haven't have any of the serious side effects, and may never experience them at all. Not everybody does. But if I do, I'll know what the deal is and have Laurel and Hardy ready to watch to pass the time. :) I don't mean to come off like I have all the answers, I sure don't; if I did, MS and RRMS would be a thing of the distant past. I'm fairly confident they soon will be anyway. But being as honest as I can, remaining calm before a shot and being careful to avoid veins at all cost may make all the difference (using a flashlight at close range can help you see veins that normal household lighting might hide). I'm staying with Copaxone - only complaint I'd have is my monthly cycle goofed up right after I started on it; but I'm also "at that age", so could be the big M setting | F | 48 | 90 days 20 MG 1X day | 2/19/2010 | 3 | ms | Lumps and bee sting everytime I inject my sites | I have just started to use the manual method for my stomach and legs and it has worked much better. The lumps in my legs are much smaller this week. It seems they will disappear in less time than when I used the autoinject. It took over a week for the lumps to go away in my legs with the auto inject | F | 48 | 45 days 40mg 1X day | 2/14/2010 | 3 | went off Tysabri for 6 months | Injection site: wasp-sting type pain/itching. Last night had the deluxe reaction: tightening of throat, pain radiating from lower back and cervical spine, head exploding in flames, etc. Followed 15 min. later by an hour of chills, teeth chattering, body shaking, numbness in extremities, exhaustion. | Went on Copaxone as only non-interferon treatment while taking a 6 month break from Tysabri. Like that no flu-like symptoms, and was having no troublesome site reactions. Last night's episode was something though, even though I was aware of the possibility, the severity and duration of the reaction was scary. Hope that doesn't happen again! | M | 46 | 6 weeks 30 MG 1X day | 2/8/2010 | 5 | RRMS | The usual. Itching at the injection site. | I was diagnosed in March, 2009 after two exascerbations in 5 months. After the diagnosis, I started an all-out assault: Copaxone & LDN, along with a Low-fat/No Gluten diet. I'm glad to say that I have had no relapses in almost a year and the number of enhancing lesions on my MRI has went from 19 to 2. | M | 43 | 300 days | 1/27/2010 | 5 | MS | Injection site lumps redness, short lasting. Permanant scars yuck | Have been using Copaxone since diagnoses Macrh 2000 10 years. No real MS issues, it's toss up between menopause and MS | F | 50 | 10 years | 1/23/2010 | 3 | MS dx | injection site itch,hive-like bump. | using the injector helps alot.Have had skin issues whole body rash and skin growths including melanoma since starting May 09 | F | 49 | 8 days | 1/15/2010 | 2 | Multiple Sclerosis | For the most part I had no side effects fromtaking copaxone. I did,however, feel that it was not doing much and I decided to go off of it. My Neurologist even suggested it if side effects were bothering me. Since going off the copaxone my blood pressure has been high;160/94. Has anyone else gone off of copaxone for a short period of time and experienced the same problem? | M | 56 | 4 years | 1/14/2010 | 4 | RRMS | Only "classic" injection site reactions -- redness for a day post-injection, itching the next day (worst for the stomach injections), hard lump for the next 5-7 days. Injections on my thighs cause bruise-like discolorations that take about a month to completely fade, and some old ones have never faded. I haven't had a "bad" reaction (trouble breathing, anxiety, heart racing, etc.) yet, but I'm sure I will sooner or later, and I'm not worried. | Since beginning therapy, I've had no exacerbations (my primary symptom is numbness in legs/feet, and that has almost totally gone away). My one-year MRI showed no new lesions and no progression. I'm not delighted with the side effects, or the daily shot, but they're a small price to pay if I continue to feel well (which I definitely do). One gripe: when Shared Solutions calls periodically to check on me, they always express huge surprise that I have any side effects (site reactions) at all, and then lecture me about correct injection technique, letting the medicine get to room temp, etc. (all of which I do), and basically tell me that I'm doing something wrong and that if I was just a better user, I wouldn't have any effects at all. This really pisses me off -- the product literature specifically states that the side effects I have are common and usual side effects of the medicine. I resent the implication that somehow we're responsible for effects that Teva itself acknowledges are going to occur. Every time I get off the phone with those people, I'm irate about it. SS, stop blaming us for a known issue! Your medicine has flaws -- but I plan to stick with it daily, nonetheless. | F | 44 | 14 months | 1/11/2010 | 4 | RRMS | I have the typical redness and swelling. Some injection sites ich more than others but it's manageable. I don't have much body fat so the sites with less fat seems to itch more. | I started using Copaxone after three years of avoiding any modification therapy. MRI's showed that the demyelinations was spreading even though I wasn't having any major attacks so I decided I'd better do something. I like the auto-jector, it makes taking control of my treatment easier. I use a topical antihystamine to aleviate the itching-doesn't take it away completely but it does help. I have found that a cold-pack helps more than heat to lessen the pain after the injection. I don't freeze the cold-pack, I just keep it in the fridge. I've only been on the medication for a few months so until I have another MRI I won't really know if Copaxone has slowed/halted the progress of MS. I'm very active and I don't have time for the side-effects that come with other available therapies. | F | 43 | 3 months | 1/11/2010 | 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 | 4 | RRMS | Moderate swelling at injection site. I only use tummy and "saddlebags" as other locations were not good. Upper thigh had large white "bee-sting" patch; have hit vein in arms too many times to even want to try there again. I REALLY need to know if anyone has experienced heightened allergies or sensitivities since being on thid drug. | PLEASE post any increased allergies/sensitivity info. I am a middle school teacher. Last year, I started having reactions to fragrances. One student was using a very fragrant hair oil, and when I asked him not to his mother decided that my reaction was based in racism and filed charges against me (even though I was reacting ANYONE'S fragrance). In fighting this case, I'm looking for reasons why I might have developed this sudden fragrance allergy. My lungs burn, my eyes water, I cough to the point of not being able to catch my breath, I get a headache. Since Copaxone is a group of amino acids, could it be that the immune system recognizes it as a foreign protein? As such (or even as an MS patient) is my immune system always active(my neuro calls it "frisky") and easily tipped into allergic reaction? Please help me!! The stress of this situation has my symptoms flaring. | F | 50 | 5 years | 12/12/2009 | 2 | ms | golf sized injesction size lumps, insane itching at injection sights, they do shrink down to marble size lumps after a few weeks | F | 45 | 2 months | 12/3/2009 |