Anyone on generic Copaxone 40mg?

[agate]

I believe there are some Copaxone users here still.

The neuro's rx for the generic form of Copaxone (glatiramer acetate)--put out by Mylan which has a new name (Viatris since it merged with Upjohn)--is probably waiting for me at the pharmacy. I spoke to the pharmacy today about it, and they didn't know whether I'd get any information along with the box of (12) syringes and some alcohol wipes.

I called Mylan and was given a Webpage link with instructions for injecting, and I happen to have saved the old Copaxone leaflet that shows the injection sites--in tiny print but I do remember them, more or less.

Has anyone here been taking this drug with the 3-times-a-week dosage? I'd welcome any input about it.

I recall making charts for the injection sites and keeping tracks of the dates when I'd injected at each site so as to make sure the sites were rotated. I'm hoping that this won't be as complex with the less frequent dosage.

I seem to remember learning to use the autoinjector gadget on the arms. The Mylan Website shows something called Whisperject that looks similar to the old autoinjector, which I no longer have.

[stillstANNding]

Hi Agate,

I’ve been on Copaxone for years (after Avonex, Rebif and eventually half-dose Rebif). I think we started on Copaxone around the same time, maybe Electric Joy, too.

I was on the lower dose for years but have been on the 40mg for a good while. I was on it the usual three times a week but am running out of sites so have been on it twice a week for about a year. I give the shots one week (abdomen or anterior thighs) and Peter gives them the next week to posterior hips. Yes, he can do that too, Virginia and he is needle phobic. We do not use my arms. The divots (lipoatrophy) are too noticeable there.

My only side effect is a hot, itchy lump - sometimes for a day or two - but not like it was in the beginning. And the lipoatrophy.

We can copy some information from the Copaxone injection book for you and copy injection sheets, too. Or, we can scan them and email them to you more quickly. Let me know.

ANN

[stillstANNding]

Regarding the generic, I was to start that in four months as my insurance will no longer pay for the Copaxone at all. That leaves the generic and the generic branded as “Glatopia.” My MS Specialist prefers the Glatopia. Are you saying that it is getting a name change?

ANN

[agate]

stillstANNding, thank you so much for the information! Yes, lipoatrophy was one reason I was glad to stop Copaxone but the odd thing is that I can no longer find the dents I had some years ago. They were on my arms--not visible now, even though I was told they would be permanent.

I think you're right--I recall some conversations with Electric Joy about Copaxone and injection sites.

I'll wait and see if I can get the information I need from the Internet or in the packaging for the inserts. The pharmacist said I'd get "everything" in the box but when I asked what he meant by "everything," he mentioned syringes and alcohol wipes only. So we'll see.

No, so far as I know Glatopa isn't changing its name. It was the drug company I was referred to, Mylan, that is changing its name. Looks as if Glatopa is put out by Sandoz/Novartis. So many versions of MS drugs to choose from, and so many MS drugs.

They're coming along at a rapid pace. Zeposia (ozanimod) now has FDA approval, I notice, and is being advertised in the MS magazine, Momentum....

[Virginia]

Ann, you don't have to do anything. Peter will probably be glad to get back to going into his office because you keep interrupting him at home with things you want him to do.

[agate]

Skipping the arms sounds doable with the less frequent dosage. Yay!!! The arms were far and away the worst.

[Virginia]

Agate, what I try to do with my Rebif, which is also 3 times a week, is do one side one week and then do the other side the next week. This means I am doing each side every other week. I am now getting some bad site reactions, but I have been on it since June, 2002, and before that I was on Copaxone. I think that even if I had stayed on copaxone I would have had to come off long ago because it was every day back then and my skin just couldn't take it. Just from that six months it took eons for the site reactions to fade. Before that I was on Avonex for exactly one year. Back then you had to mix Avonex from two bottles (very carefully). It was only one shot per week, but it was a production. It was given with a needle that was like they would use to give a shot of antibiotics, accept that the Avonex people sent one that was longer and a little bigger around.

Later someone on here told me I should have gotten a prescription for regular needles and bought my own, but I didn't know you could do that. I thought "now you tell me".

I see you took Avonex also. So you probably ran across that same scenario.

By the way, when I am doing one side each week now, I go abdomen, thigh, buttocks then repeat next week on other side.

[agate]

Virginia, I do indeed remember having to mix the Avonex. It was a powder and there was a bottle of "diluent."

Those were the days...

In fact, everyone here is probably an "MS veteran" by now and knows quite a bit about the MS drugs and the pitfalls involved in taking them.

Some who were here were involved in ground-breaking trials.

A wealth of experience happened on this board. I think we should be proud of ourselves for having lasted here this long as a message board support group.

Remember back when there were 3 MS drugs--the ABC drugs as they were called (Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone)? Then along came Rebif, and so they became the ABCR drugs? Now there are 18 FDA-approved MS drugs that I know of.

[Jen's Solitude]

WOW! 18 FDA approved drugs? I didn't realize there are so many choices now. My last DMD was Ocrevus, which was not helpful to me.

[agate]

Betaseron, Avonex, Copaxone, Rebif, Tysabri, Plegridy, Aubagio (teriflunomide), Ocrevus, Gilenya (fingolimod), Glatopa (generic Copaxone), Kesimpta (ofatumumab--the newest), Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), Mavenclad (cladribine), Mayzent (siponnimod), Novantrone, Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), Vumerity (diroximel fumarate), Zeposia (osanimod)--and Ampyra which isn't a disease-modifying drug but is said to help with walking (and so I didn't count it among the 18).

So here at this board we were in on the beginning of a deluge of MS drugs coming our way thanks to the diligent pharmaceutical companies. Some of the drugs seem to work for at least some people. Enough time has passed for the experts to be able to find out that there's been a noticeable improvement in the way MS progresses since people started taking those drugs.