Copaxone

Yep, that big evil word has re-entered my life. After deciding to take a break from my daily injections from MS (around 12 weeks) I have decided to restart this past Friday.

I decided way back when to stop the injections because pregnancy, for whatever reason, seems to put MS into remission. While initially I was just going to continue with the meds through out the pregnancy, I decided to take advantage of this protection and give my poor skin a break.

For those who don't take this med, it causes intense stinging for about 15 minutes after the injection followed by welts, redness, itchiness, bruising and hardness for weeks to months after the shot. So...needless to say...I needed a little break.

While pregnancy seems to stop MS, about 60-80% of women have a flair within 6 months of the post partem period. So, this is my rationalization for restarting the drug at 24 weeks. Although there are no studies to support my thinking, I believe that by restarting the med, and allowing myself a good 12-16 weeks to have it back in my system, I should avoid the post-pregnancy flair. I am lucky in the fact that Copaxone is the only category B MS drug and the only one where it is not strongly advised to stop during pregnancy. Here's to hoping my little theory is correct!