MS and Avonez?

[Gail T AGAIN]

Has anyone skipped a week of giving yourself the shot of Avonex> I did last week. The funny thing is this is all in my haed cause so far this week i feel like I fit into society and I am not different. I hate giving myself the shot, it point blank SUCKS

 

[Nanajo1]

I've "forgotten" a couple of times over the past several years! I usually end up feeling stupid. How could I forget ? I fully understand your feelings. I think if we saw a definite daily measure that it (the shot) was doing something good for us like insulin( one knows pretty quickly if they have missed an insulin injection) than it might be easier to take. My feeling is I take the Avonex with the hope it is doing me good over the long haul but all in all I wish I didn't have to.
Keep the faith.

 

[UponAStar]

I haven't skipped a week in 4 years but I sure am tempted to when we are in Disney in a couple of weeks. Lucky for me (I guess), my DH will nix that idea.

I have to agree with you about giving yourself the shot. I did it without a problem for over a year and then got this stupid mental block. I would break out in a cold sweat and have to hum the Rocky theme to motivate me. The whole process took about an hour and was NOT fun. Funny thing is when I finally did it, I thought "that wasn't so bad." Finally, my newly wed DH took pity me on me and agreed to learn how to "shoot" me even though he didn't want to "hurt me". We have a routine now (bath before, soft music) and although it's not the highlight of my week, it's not the worse thing either.

Gail T, maybe if you can't get someone to help you, you could try treating yourself on shot night, doing something special. Or try to imagine that you're sending little soldiers/guard dogs/etc. to protect your myelin. Hey, maybe we can create a new Disney ride or is this in Body Wars?

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Suzan

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't have any experience with giving myself shots, but just wanted to send you some pixie dust.
I am a nurse and have given hundreds of shots in my life, but I would find it hard to give myself a shot. I do take pills (which if I forget, I know about it pretty quickly becasue my heart starts racing and skipping beats), but I still sometimes forget to take one -or I'm already in bed and I don't want to get up, or I just don't feel like taking the pill. So, it's not just people who give themselves shots that "forget". Some of us with really easy things to do "forget" too. It's hard with any chronic condition.
Anyway. you got some really good suggestions about making the process more pleasant or making a reward for taking the shot.

 

[travelitis]

All I have to do is swallow some pills, and some nights I just refuse to. If I had to give myself shots that didn't have immediate effects, I imagine I'd forget accidentally on purpose sometimes. Skipping my meds a night or 2 makes me feel more normal, more in control I guess. It's also not enough to make me feel worse. I feel for you having to deal with a shot.

 

[figment27]

I can empathize with your feelings regarding your injection. I have been on both Avonex, and, I am currently on Rebif. Rebif requires injections 3 times a week.
The immediate benefits are not realized. I try to look at it from the perspective: If these meds were not available to me, what would my MS be like? Would it be worse? Does the injection assist me in maintaining some kind of normalcy in my life?
I am also a nurse, although, I have not been able to practice due to significant visual loss secondary to my MS.
Let me tell you, when it comes to injections, it is a lot better to give than to receive!
Good luck to you!
Figment

 

[Nanajo1]

Another New Englander ! This is lends support to the theory that there is more MS in the northeast climate.