This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I have been on Avonex for one month and I am black/blue in every spot that I do the injection. I had the doctor's office do the injection last week and I still got bruised. Any one else have this? How long will it last ?
I do normally bruise easily but I don't want to be bruised all over. The bruises are taking forever to go away.
thanks

It sounds as though you may be hitting blood vessels. Another possibility is that you could be injecting the medication too fast.

You may be intested in reading my post about injection site locations.

avonex-f5/topic8349.html#p70084

NHE

I did hit a blood vessel two weeks ago and that bruise is over 3 inches long/wide. I spoke to the doctor's office and they said for me to try icing afterwards.

I asked them about injecting the medicine slower; I am just not sure that I will enjoy that. I switch to the pen next week so I am hoping that solves some of the problem.

Thanks

It's important to keep your leg muscle relaxed. I once had my muscle twitch while doing the injection and that was painful.

I've been taking avonex since summer 2012, and in January discovered that I bruise ridiculously easily now, not even near the injection site. I'm a second degree black belt and was just doing a standard light sparring workout with a friend. I used my leg, but I don't even remember any specific hard hits happening, we were both going pretty light.

The next day, my entire shin from just below the knee to the side of my foot was black and blue on one half of the leg.

It took about a month to go away.

Since this is hardly my first time in the ring, this seems too incredibly coincidental to not be a side effect from the avonex.

Simultaneously, I've also found that a joint injury I suffered a year and a half ago has just *not* healed despite steroids, surgery, anti-inflammatories, and regular ice. The surgery made it stop feeling like an injury and now instead it just hurts all the time. I suspect some similar side effect relating to bruising or inflammation (although I think avonex is an anti-inflammatory, so I don't know -- maybe it's an anti-inflammatory but only regarding nerves and not other tissue).

Very frustrating. Hope it gets better for you, and completely agree with the above poster suggesting that you need to keep your leg muscle relaxed when you do the injection. Tightening a muscle during an impact of this sort is a sure way to cause more damage than required.