This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Hi
for those of you who don't know me, been dx with MS 10 years. First 5 years frequent severe relapses, classified as an "interferon failure" on Rebif after 5 years. Switched to Copaxone against my neuros advice (he wanted me on Mitoxantrone but I said no because I wanted children) and to his surprise I have done fabulously well on Cop. I've had maybe 1 relapse a year in the last 5 years, very mild with no increase in my EDSS.

The big problem is lipoatrophy. My legs and butt are SEVERELY damaged now. I usually avoid looking at them but recently had a good look and I am horrified. I have seen pictures of Lipo but mine is much more severe than any pic - it's very widespread. It basically looks as if my whole thigh and legs to the side have been dented in or out. I have huge dep indentations on my butt too. I have not injected into any of these areas in 2 years and the damage is getting much worse. I don't want to go swimming and more or even look in the mirror. I am unable to look at myself anymore.

The bottom (ha!) line is that my MS is stable. It was going up to EDSS 9 during relapses 10 years ago, so obviously I can't go back to that. Do I just keep on Copaxone and ignore my lipo? I mean, all along, I have focused on the situation that my legs are WORKING now, and surely that's more important, but I am scared about the lipo too. I see my neuro in 3 weeks.

This is a tough one, at first glance most of us would far rather have lipoatrophy than be at an EDSS of 9. But lipoatrophy to the degree you're describing (severely disfiguring) is very damaging to the psyche and constitutes a disability of sorts in its own right.

If it were me I'd investigate other choices for treatment, but avoiding disability is my primary criteria.

The clinical pipeline for MS is huge - mspipeline.wordpress.com - hopefully something there will help you, if not now than down the road.

Sorry to not have more concrete answers.

I would ask the neuro what may be going on in the inside of my body if the outside looks so horrible. It seems logical that other damage maybe going on since the outside is so affected.

People who take an aspirin a day for heart problems also have big splotches (not like what you have) all over their body and I frequently wonder how much else is being bruised inside their bodies and if all of the aspirin is a good thing.

gwa

I have sent you a PM.

Alicia

I know there was an oral version of Copaxone in the works but it failed the testing. I wonder if they went back to the drawing board on this one?

Hi WW,
This is a horrible side effect which was discussed on this site some years ago:

http://www.thisisms.com/modules.php?nam ... opic&t=391

and things don't seem to have moved forward much since then. It seems that for some people damage stopped occurring when they stopped injecting at that site, or injected every other day, but sadly that doesn't seem to apply to you. I read somewhere that you should choose seven injection sites and be scrupulous about rotating them… were you ever told this?

Very odd that this seems to occur mostly in women – surely that must give an important insight into the drug's method of action, and maybe into the disease process itself. Patients with fair or red hair were also more at risk, and some developed a form of diabetes.

The frustration of others in the same situation as you is clear from these letters:
http://www.multiplesclerosisblues.com/id14.html

It is obvious that even stopping treatment completely doesn't help, and Teva seem to have suggested plastic surgery and implants to some people, which to me sounds like arrogance and contempt of the highest, (or lowest), order,

_________________
Dom

Thanks for the reply Dom.


No it doesn't - I actually stopped Copaxone completely for all of last year just before conceiving my son, and for the whole pregnancy, and do you know in that time the lipo continued to even get worse, and I wasn't injecting at all.


I was certainly told to be scrupulous about rotating sites - and I was absolutely rigorous about this, that's what annoys me so much in Teva's attitude that they keep spouting this to everyone as if lack of rotating sites is the main cause of lipoatrophy. I think they know it isin't causing the lipo. In my case I had over 60 sites mapped out on a diagram so it took 2 months before I returned to any site! So definitely not lack of rotating sites in my case.


That's really interesting, I hadn't heard that before.

Well, this is even more interesting. I saw my neurologist today and he wants me to stay on Copaxone. It is a bit of a no-brainer really. My EDSS is very low, I am doing very well 10 years after diagnosis, and the other 2 options for me - Mitoxantrone or Tysabri, both carry higher potential risks than I'd care to mess with at the moment.
My neuro seemed to think it was worth referring me to a plastic surgeon. I'd be so thrilled if something could be done becuase although I can intellectually be so happy that the MS is staying away for the moment, I am very upset that my legs and backside look so awful. But in the greater scheme of things I am so glad the Copaxone seems to be working....
Oh I dunno.
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