Living with MS - A 6-site Injection Schedule for Copaxone 40mg

I know this isn't the best forum for this, since most of my audience does not have Multiple Sclerosis, and those that do may not be on the same meds I am on.  However, I wanted to make this publically available so others can take advantage of it.

For those of you who know me but didn't know this about me, I have Multiple Sclerosis.  It is an autoimmune disease with no cure.  I was diagnosed 10 years ago.

Every year I struggle to find an easier way to track my medication schedule.  There are 7 injection sites for Copaxone, and the 40mg version is 3 times per week.  I have eliminated the abdominals as an injection site for myself, because too much scar tissue from 3 C-sections and a few other surgeries left this area too painful.  So I am left with 6 injection sites, and the medication is 3x per week.  Sounds pretty straight forward, right?  Wrong.

Each of the injection sites is broken down into a number of spots within each area where the medication may be injected.  For example, There are 8 spots on each arm, 6 spots on each hip, 12 spots on each thigh. 

Instead of checking where I did that spot last time and calculating the new location, I wanted to come up with a "schedule" of where to go next.  This would make the injection process more efficient, so I could get it done faster and get on with my life.   So I decided to invest in a little time at the beginning of each year to make the rest of the year easier.

I wanted to share my "schedule" on the off chance that someone out there can use it too...that work is done for you.  Here are the stipulations:

• You must be on Copaxone 40mg (3x per week) or similar medication.
• You must verify that the injection sites for your medication (if other than Copaxone) match the ones I used here.
• You must be skipping 1 injection site from the 7 originals.  I skipped the abdominals.  If you are skipping a different one, feel free to substitute.

In NO WAY am I condoning that you skip an injection site.  If fact, Shared Solutions was not thrilled when I told them I was skipping, but it is simply too painful.

 Lastly, if you don't like my schedule, keep it to yourself.  I don't need to stress of complaints.  I didn't create this for YOU, I created it for ME and decided to share in case it might help someone.

Since I am having trouble posting it to both Blogger and Facebook, you will need to contact me and I will happily send it to you.  It is a 9-page PDF, but covers the entire year.

To all of you who are dealing with MS or any other disease for that matter, I wish you the best in overcoming those obstacles.  For ALL of you out there, Happy New Year!