Copaxone, angioedema, and allergic reactions

[jensequitur]

So I've noticed something interesting since I stopped taking Copaxone.

Last year, while I was taking Copaxone, I would have the worst time with injury.  If I bit my tongue on the side, it swelled up.  If the dog managed to whack me on the lip, that would swell up too.  Mosquito bites were the worst - the area would swell up and hurt.  The swelling was all out of proportion to the injury.  The doctor said it was angioedema, caused by injury, but couldn't find a cause.

All that has gone away since I've been taking Betaseron.

Well, here's my theory.  I'm allergic to Copaxone - we know that now.  But I take an allergy pill twice a day, and I've done so since I've been in this town.  What if the allergy was causing me to have angioedema?

[COBOB]

Angioedema is the result of localized histamine response.  Epinephrine might be a bit of overkill.  

On a side note, we keep Epi here for the animals when we vaccinate.  A few years ago, I got stung by about 6 or 8 wasps and started to have a major reaction.  You can guess the punch-line.  Yep, I used the animal epi on myself and had a neighbor drive me to the hospital.  

Bob

[jensequitur]

Bob, do you think the Epipen would work to control a Copaxone allergic reaction?  (Not that it matters - I'm not taking it any more!)

So it sounds like the allergy pill wasn't keeping an allergic reaction from Copaxone at bay...  I still have to wonder if it had something to do with the angioedema.

[COBOB]

Chances are that the antihistamine was a histamine H1-receptor antagonist.  Many protein based allergens (bee/wasp stings, etc.) seem to trigger histamine H2 responses.  Since Copaxone is a copolymer, histamine H1-receptor antagonist may not work well.  The histamine H2-receptor antagonists, like cimetidine (Tagamet) or ranitidine (Zantac) and famotidine (Pepcid) might actually work better.

I know, it sounds goofy, but the histamine response causes the acid pumps in the stomach to turn on.  The histamine H2-receptor antagonists are becoming pretty common in the treatment of allergic reactions not controlled by typical antihistamines.

Bob