AVONEX®
(Interferon beta-1a) is a 166 amino acid glycoprotein with a predicted
molecular weight of approximately 22,500 daltons.
Whatever….
Yesterday
(14 April 2010) marked my 541st Avonex injection, dating back to 2
December 1999. It was a quiet celebration at my bedside with very little
fanfare. Afterward, I spent a little bit of time thinking about my
intimate relationship with that 23 gauge, 1.25 inch needle….
Not Exactly Sure
I
remember first reading the Avonex medication guide way
back.
My favorite FAQ was “Q: How does Avonex
work? A: No one is exactly sure how Avonex works but it has statistically shown
to……”.
No
one is exactly sure?
Great
Injection Story
Everyone
who takes a regular injection has their favorite Injection Story. Here’s mine:
When
I was first diagnosed, I was an Aviation Captain commanding an Air Cav Troop in
Korea. The first few weeks were a whirlwind of tests and ‘trying to
figure out my fate.’ I was allowed to remain in-country and be treated
there for the time. So, the US Army ordered my medicine (Avonex).
When it arrived at the Yongsan Army Garrison hospital in Seoul, I took a 3-hour
drive from base camp. There, the medical team gave me a 6-month supply of
Avonex and a videotape on how to inject myself. When I got back to my
camp I watched the tape, mixed my medication, and prepared the injection site.
Hooah! I then prepared to execute a clear & crisp “stabbing
motion” with the needle into my thigh. I sat there holding the needle in
my hand for the next 3 or 4 hours. “Do I really want to stick that thing
into my leg?” was the only thought I could muster for hours…
Method
I
eventually did that first injection. It hurt – I would love to meet
whoever said that a quick stabbing motion is an ideal way to inject
yourself. We would definitely have words. I’m a lot better at the
injections now. Last night, it was easy-squeezey! Here’s my trick:
First, the preparation.
No mixing the pellet and water anymore – that’s good. I gotta let it warm
up a bit, so I take my medicine out of the fridge and let it sit for a
while. Else, I will warm it up in my hands. If I don’t do that I
have cold medicine going into my muscle. Brrrr!
Next, take Advil. At
least 10 minutes before, but I try for a ½
hour. That will help my body.
Now comes the shot. The
guide says you can do it into the top of the legs or the back of the
arms. I have only done the leg muscles. The other is hard for
self-injection. I normally sit on the end of the bed when I inject.
I get my shot put together, swab my leg and start. First, I tense my leg
muscle up as much as I can and hold it. Only for a few seconds but enough
for my leg to feel the strain. Then I relax…relax my leg as much as I can
and put the tip of the needle against my skin. Slowly, I press the needle
into my leg: straight and gentle. Sometimes it fights breaking the
surface. Sometimes it hurts a bit while it fights breaking that
skin. I just keep a slow, steady pressure. Last night was easy and
straight in all the way in. When I inject all the medicine, I unpack the
bandage, remove the needle and cover it. Done!
Final step: go to bed!
My body hasn’t fought issues that much for a while but I still just go to
bed.
Done.…. All good
Day of Week
That’s
tricky. I try to figure out the best day; when I am most likely home
relaxing. In my Army days, the best chance of that was Saturday
night. Now that I am living the laid back, fat-and-happy retired life
(right!) I have switched to Wednesday night. It’s my routine now.
My cell phone sends me a reminder at 7:30PM each evening. I
also have my beautiful wife to remind me. There is no way that I can
forget!...except when I forget! Those weeks I have to stumble through the
day after a Thursday AM injection.
Not everything is MS
My
other favorite line is “Flu-like symptoms
are manageable. For many people, these symptoms will likely go away over time.
So as you stay on AVONEX, these symptoms may lessen, leaving you feeling better”.
That
wasn’t true for me. My ‘flu-like symptoms’ occurred every few
weeks. They were the worst nights of my life (drenched with fever,
terrible shaking chills) that rolled into painful, bruised days. I
dreaded the next shot but chalked it up to ‘flu-like symptoms’ because of my
MS medication.
Stupid
MS.
In
June of 2007, Brie and I moved to Portland to start brand new jobs. 20
June was that infamous injection. 25 June, I started my new job. 28
June, I was in the VA emergency room. The ‘flu-like symptoms’ and pain in
my leg since the 20th was too much to bear. The next day they
checked me in. Was it my medication? Did I have a piece of needle
in my leg? They weren’t sure. Four days later, the surgeons opened
up my leg and drained a massive infection. After, my doctor’s words to me
were that I was ‘a day or two from leaving the hospital without my leg…if I
left at all’.
So
what was causing my ‘flu-like symptoms’? A splinter. A splinter in
my leg since I was a child. My injection used to irritate the splinter
deep in my leg. My ‘flu-like symptoms’ were me fighting an infection
caused by a childhood splinter. After my 20 June injection, I lost the
fight.
Regardless
of this being just a splinter, Stupid MS.
So here I am. 541 Injections down. Is it working? I’m not exactly sure but statistically
speaking I am better off…
