Injection Complete

I did it.

I successfully injected my first dose of Avonex.

I am relieved to finally have this part of the journey behind me. I have been thinking about it for the past five months and after all that build up, I am glad to be moving forward.

(Darci, this part may be more than you want to know and involves needles. Feel free to skip ahead two paragraphs.)

So it hurt. Not the needle going in. In fact that didn't really feel like anything. Just a little pressure. Psychologically, it was monumental! The needle is HUGE!!! In fact, the needle is just as long as the pre-filled syringe is. An inch and a half. There was a moment where I thought for sure that I was going to hit my femur before I got it all the way in. Apparently the thigh is meatier than one would think.

The part that hurt was actually pushing the plunger. The Avonex burns going in and pushing faster makes it burn worse, so it is a slow process. The dose itself is very small. Only 30 mcg. I would estimate that to be about 1/2 a teaspoon or less? I will try to find out for sure.

As for the dreadful side effects that I was warned about? That part was true but not as bad as what I had heard. So far though, the severity of my symptoms is mild to moderate. I have a headache and feel achy all over in my joints and muscles. I am also exhausted, but am having trouble finding a comfortable position for more than 30 minutes at a stretch. I see a lot of little naps in the next 24 hours. I have been up and around the house. Taken a couple of short naps and watched a movie with a girlfriend who came over to hang out with me for the evening.

All in all, it has been a better day than I had hoped for. I have wonderful friends and family who called to see how I was doing, came and hung with me so I didn't have to feel lousy by myself, brought me lemonade cause it sounded good and most importantly; prayed and prayed and prayed for me.

Thanks to all of you. I LOVE having you on my team!