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 |
| 3 | RRMS | I started taking Copaxone 3 weeks ago. Initially, a piece of cake - almost too easy. For about 5 minutes after injection, I felt like I had been stung by a bee. A little bit of redness and a small welt a few times. But a week ago Friday, I had a near-fainting episode a few hours after the injection. Saturday, I felt light-headed for about an hour before doing the injection. And this morning I woke up dizzier than I have ever felt. Everything was spinning. Had to lay back down and close my eyes for almost 2 hours. My doc says it's probably not related to the drug. But I'm going to stop taking it for a few weeks to see if these episodes stop. | F | 37 | 3 weeks | 11/30/2009 | 2 | MS | I was diagnosed with Ms a year ago with one lession and a case of optic noritis. I had NO other symptoms, NONE. I just stopped my capaxone after being on for 6 months. Since day 1 I have had redness, swelling at injection site and itching. I was able to live with this but then I got thrush (twice) and incresing diziness and loose stool everyday (I was even going to try to live with this). THEN all this culminated in an adverse reaction. This past week I took my injection as normal and my face and tongue swelled up and I could not breath I was sweating bad could not move had really bad lower abdominal pain and had to go to the hospital by ambulance. They told me to stop taking copaxane. I don't but it is not the right thing for me and I thought others should know. | F | 27 | 6 months | 11/29/2009 | 5 | MS | I've been on Copaxone for almost 4 years and have pretty much been symptom free for that entire time. I do get tired every now and then but I truly believe that my symptoms would be worse if I wasn't on it. Sometimes the shot hurts more than others. I like that it doesn't make me feel sick like I've heard the others can. I've never tried any other treatment and I see no reason to. | F | 39 | 4.5 years | 11/27/2009 | 3 | RRMS | I HAVE ONLY BEEN ON IT FOR 4 DAYS AND OF COURSE I HAVE THE SITE ITICHING, I JUST TRY MY BEST TO IGNORE IT. I REALLY HOPE IT HELPS WITH THE FATIGUE. I'M AN RN AND MY WORK IS 12 HOUR SHIFTS, STRESSFUL, BUSY AS HELL SOMETIMES. I HAVE GOT TO SLOW DOWN BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW, HAVE BEEN NURSING 28 YEARS 13 OF WHICH HAVE BEEN WITH THE MS. IF THIS HELPS MY FATIGUE IT WILL BE ONE FOR THE BOOKS WILL LET YOU KNOW. B IN CA. | I WAS ON AVONEX HATED THE SIDE EFFECTS. NOT SO MUCH THE FLU THAT GOES AWAY AFTER A YEAR OR SO IT WAS THE DEPRESSION. | F | 47 | 4 days | 11/15/2009 | 5 | RRMS | Intense pain, burning, and stinging, severe itching & welts the next day that lasts for weeks, and skin discoloration that seems to take forever to fade. | The Copaxone injections were unbearable when I first started them, but now the shots are relatively painless and the side effects I was experiencing have pretty much resolved with the exception of the skin discoloration, but those are "battle scars" I can live with. Having watched my dad lose an eight year battle with PPMS, I'm very happy on Copaxone. Just had my first MRI since starting the medication a year ago and everything is stable with no relapses! | F | 30 | 13 months | 11/14/2009 | 3 | RRMS | I was not sure that I would handle daily shots, but my oldest son is a juvenile diabetic and has taken many shots a day since he was 13, so he said, "get over it! :-)", so I decided to simply make the decision without the fear. I had some injection site redness (minor) even though I did not rotate as was recommended, but used only the buttock switching side each day. | After 9 years of using Copaxone daily, my MS continued to advance slowly until I could not use my left leg well, I had almost no short term memory storage, mental fog big time, and oh, the fatigue! In the spring of 2009, I lost my job and the employer provided health insurance. With no way of continuing to buy the Copaxone at $2,600 per month, I needed to take my health into my own hands. I had heard of LDN, but not looked into it because it seemed too good to be true. But at that point, what did I have to lose? Nothing. Low Dose Naltrexone has NO side effects and no down side and costs about $30 per month. I started on May 1, 2009 and by the middle of June, I was riding horses in the mountains of Colorado at 62 years of age. I had not ridden for some years and the difference between taking Copaxone and switching to LDN was the difference between counting my time, hoping to not deteriorate, to getting my life back! By November 2009, I can almost believe that I don't have MS. I know that I still have it, but with no symptoms, it is no longer a guiding force in my life. So, the side effects of Copaxone are not the problem, the lack of positive improvement compared to the use of LDN, is what makes the difference. A person does not have to stop the Copaxone to start the LDN. Anybody who is just a bit curious, can Google LDN and consider getting their lives back too. | F | 62 | 9 years | 11/9/2009 | 4 | RRMS | Some stinging & redness, lumps, occasional itchiness | I have been on Copaxone for almost 4 months and have found it very manageable. I do get the injection site reactions most people have listed here, but it depends on what area of my body I am injecting. For example, my thighs produce the ovoid lumps but do not get itchy. My stomach does not produce obvious lumps but DOES get itchy. My arms get red spots but produce no lumps and only occasional itchiness. All have lessened since first beginning treatment. Overall I have been satisfied with this medication and feel that is has noticeably improved my fatigue. I was diagnosed with MS in 1999 and in the first 2 years had an attack about every 6 months. My neurologist recommended that I start taking Betaseron but I opted not to because of the side effects. My condition stabilized on it's own and I went about 5 years without another flare-up. I started Copaxone based on the results of my last MRI and because the side effects sounded much less severe than the other medications available. I'm happy that I made the decision to start treatment and feel that the minor inconvenience of lumps or itchiness far outweighs the alternative. I have a follow-up MRI in February so my fingers are crossed! | F | 28 | 3 months | 11/4/2009 | 5 | RRMS | Intense pain, burning, and stinging, severe itching & welts the next day that lasts for weeks, and skin discoloration that seems to take forever to fade. | The Copaxone injections were unbearable when I first started them, but now the shots are relatively painless and the side effects I was experiencing have pretty much resolved with the exception of the skin discoloration, but those are "battle scars" I can live with. Having watched my dad lose an eight year battle with PPMS, I'm very happy on Copaxone. Just had my first MRI since starting the medication a year ago and everything is stable with no relapses! | M | 29 | 1 years | 10/30/2009 | 1 | ms | injection site welts that stayed, itching, flu-like symptoms, tongue swelled after roughly 4 weeks | Stopped copaxone 2 months ago, have not improved, immune system seems worse,and have developed severe allergies to previously well tolerated drugs,tongue and throat swelled. My joints and muscles hurt, I have rrms, since shots, there doesn't seem to be any remitting? Anyone else have similar problems? | F | 49 | 4 weeks | 10/13/2009 | 3 | MS | Large lumps , itchy , sore , headaches ... sometimes after a injection it looks like a sliver of metal comes out ... I have no idea what it is and it doesn't happen often. | Not much to say . I don't know if it helps or not. I don't feel any better since my first severe attack. I feel exactly the same. | F | 31 | 5 years | 9/22/2009 | 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 | 4 | MS | I have only very recently started copaxone as of last week. My MS was caught in the very early stages, and since starting this treatment it has really lessened my fatigue and I feel great after a dose. I get the bee stinging reaction but it fades quickly. I had one red bump but it faded within 15 minutes and has not returned. After reading a lot of the reactions, I am horrified at the side effects that it can cause for others. I do not use the auto injector, but instead do it manually as much as I hate needles. | F | 29 | 4 days | 8/25/2009 | 1 | RRMS | Initially I had the usual injection site reactions. The site is very painful for days. Two weeks after starting Copaxone I became very ill...vomiting, diarrhea. Had to go to ER cause severly dehydrated. Happened again the next day, but in addition I had double-vision. Back to ER. They said I had a MS flare-up and put me on 5 days of IV steroids. Needless to say I'm in pretty bad shape right now. I have only had one MS flare-up in 2001. No progression of the disease until they found a new "very small" lesion in Feb 2009 and said I should go on Copaxone. | Does anyone out there think that Copaxone can trigger an attack? I feel that is what happened to me. I have been doing so well and wish I would not have gone on this drug. It really set me back. I want to slow down the progression of the disease, but don't think this is the way to go. Your comments are appreciated. Shared solutions said the drug could not cause an attack, but I wonder.........???? | F | 51 | 2 weeks | 8/22/2009 | 2 | RRMS | I started off just fine for the first 3 weeks. I had no site reactions and everything seemed to be going fine. Then I started getting red, insanely itchy, swollen lumps where I had an injection. The lumps last for up to 2 weeks sometimes. I have tried ice, heat, different depth settings. I am rotating my injection sites all the time and using all 7 sites. My doctor put me on allergy medicine and I take B12 everyday to help with the itchiness but I am honestly not sure that it makes any difference. I have only been on Copaxone for 4 months now and have had 2 of the "heart attack" feeling reactions(swelling of the face, extreme heat, neasea, chest tightness, gasping for air for 10 minutes, diarrhea, horribly runny nose, chills and what feels like contractions for an hour afterward). I am terrified every time I go to take an injection that it is going to happen again. The first time it happened was the day before my wedding and people said that it was just because I was | F | 25 | 4 months | 8/10/2009 | 5 | RRMS | Injection site reactions - redness, lumps, itching. Some mild hair loss after about 2 months, which lasted about 2 months. All side effects cleared up after time. | I started Copaxone after having 2 relapses in 2 months. I have now been on it for a year and have had no relapses. The injection site reactions are much less noticeable, but still present in milder forms - if you hang in there for a couple months they will likely clear up too. | F | 29 | 1 years | 8/5/2009 | 1 | I have RRMS. | Side effects took about 2 months to start. Having come off of Avonex for 6 months and almost ending up in the ER for side effects from that one, I was hopeful for Copaxone. Side effects for Copaxone started with itchy red welts at the injection site that got bigger over a few weeks. Then I developed a severe rash over my body - huge red welts over arms, feet, hands, etc. Went to allergist - we think I am allergic to the Mannitol in the med - Rebif has Mannitol too. Allergy to Mannitol is not uncommon. Stopped Copaxone. Didn't work for me. That is my unique story - watch out for the Mannitol, some side effects could actually be an allergy to the med or to the Mannitol. Good luck everyone. | F | 43 | 3 months | 7/22/2009 | 1 | MS | WARNING WARNING WARNING Copaxone has caused me to have severe liver damage, cirrhosis of the liver. I am now on a liver transplant list. | Have the typical site pain. Chose Copaxone because it was the safest. Claims you do not need regular monitoring of blood or liver test. My greatest regret was not asking to be checked to be safe. No mater what they say get checked. My doctor took me off of Copaxone right away. I have never been a drinker. Recently spent over a week in the hospital. I under went every test possible. Copaxone was the only answer. | F | 53 | 8 years | 7/19/2009 | 4 | Diagnosed with RRMS | Usual bee sting-style, red itchy lumps. Cannot inject in my arms or legs because I am thin and it just hurts like hell, so my stomach and back have become a dimpled mess. Have had a couple of those scary bouts of breathlessness, hot flushing where you feel like you're going to keel over and pass out. | After almost seven years of being on Copaxone, my symptoms are worsening--now bladder and bowel issues and more spasms and neck and back pain--but I am still walking and the last MRI showed no new lesions, so I do feel it's working. Honestly though, I am so sick of taking the shots and hate the reactions so much that I have skipped them for weeks at a time, then make myself get back on again. My neurologist referred to this as "shot fatigue" and suggested switching to Avonex, but I am afraid to try it, as I have heard too many horror stories about its flu-like side effects. | F | 45 | 7 years | 6/30/2009 | 3 | RRMS | Throbbing, stinging, sensation immediately following injection for about one hour, after one day an ovoid lump has formed at injection site (incredibly itchy). Sometimes the stinging travels up my back or down my arms from the injection site, but this is bearable. Have not experienced weight gain, craters, hives, or the dreaded heart-attack-like side effect (yet). | When first began, I received somewhat poor directions from my nurse which resulted in injecting into muscle for a while. That was not good. Now I've noticed that when I inject into my lower back or upper thighs, I experience little pain and often no lump will form the next day. | F | 27 | 3 months | 5/15/2009 | 4 | MS | Raised skin with itching @ injection site last for a day or so. I use an anti itch cream such as Extra Strength Benadryl to help lesson the itch. I have been taking Copaxone for 13 months and have only experienced a flushing shotness of breath twice. | As of right now Copaxone has helped my MS. I have no new lesions and am sympton free. I pray the manufacturer comes out with a oral form, one day soon! | F | 47 | 13 months | 5/13/2009 |