Copax misfired!

[Lulu54]

I just did my nightly injection of copaxone and forgot to take the red cap off of the autopen.  Of course nothing came out and I thought that was dumb of me so I removed the red cap and unfortunately squirted my entire dose of copax all over my dining room.  The autopen obviously loaded the syringe... there was no stopping the shower of medicine and I didn't think to just jab the needle into my abdomen.  I lost an entire dose - all $150 or so worth.  

I had done this one before with the red cap on and nothing happened to the syringe when I took the red cap off.  

So now I am one short for my month - I did use another one to keep on schedule.  

Has this happened to any of you? Should I report this to my pharmacy company or shared solutions?  It was like an I Love Lucy moment .....  

Stuck, Lulu

[Lulu54]

drugstore.com gives a discounted price of $2,332.89 - save 13% ($362.89)

[Lulu54]

I'm giving you the figure the home SS nurse gave me last month - now you all have me wondering ---- I'll be back after I research this cost.  Lulu

[doublevision1]

I did the same thing a couple of times wiht the Rebif injector.  Luckily the syringes were salvagable so I didn't lose any medication, and I injected those ones manually.  The Rebif people said they hear about that happening a lot.  The tip on the Rebif injector is the same colour as the top part, so it doesn't really stand out.  Since switching to Copaxone I haven't done this (yet!).  


$150 per dose?  Holy cow!  The cost in Alberta is $46 per dose, and is covered by the provincial drug program.  That is about $38 US.  I wonder why such a huge difference?

[Mand125]

I'm afraid I've wasted 2 doses of my Betaferon since I started it in August. It doesn't cost me anything here (UK) but I think it would be about £55 a shot if I had to pay - that is a guess but I heard it costs £10000 a year and I have it every other day.

I felt really guilty but had a few extra doses so didn't miss out.

[patientx]

It's up to $3500/month?  I thought the price of these meds was supposed to go down, not up.

[Lulu54]

Wish, I was told copax is now $3,5000 per month/30 syringes. Fortunately I do have good insurance and only pay $50 for my copay each month ($600/year). It doesn't sound too bad but I am on other $50/month drugs as well and boy does it add up.  

All the drug companies have programs to assist in one form or another with the cost if you don't have insurance.  My insurer won't let me fill it through one of the Shared Solutions partner RX's - that would have rebated me the monthly copay.  Small price to pay I guess to help preserve what brain I have left.

And it sure makes a cra ppy table wax - didn't even leave my dining room table shiny!

Lulu

[wishforchange]

Is it really that expensive, wow!

Lulu surely with a diagnosis you can get some financial help with meds.  You may have to fill out an embarrassing questionnaire or two but it's worth it when $150 is used by mistake as floor cleaner.

Seriously, look into it.  You must be spending a fortune if you are not getting any support.  Maybe the MS society in your area can advise?

wish

[essdipity]

When I was on Copaxone I did that twice. Made me feel like a dummy, but so what. Perhaps you can get a replacement dose, but if not, not to worry. One dose will not affect your disease course significantly.

The long-term solution is just not to use the auto-jector. That just makes a simple operation complicated. You can easily get used to just doing the injection yourself.

ess

[Fluffysmom]

Yes, my dears, I was most careful to not double up; I put the vial I've drawn from to one side when I'm done.

The problem this time was that Pollen and Trees are the same dose, so I put the vials close together.  I had filled both, and moved the vials, so when I shot the dose across the table, I had no idea which one it was, so I didn't attempt to try again, just skipped it for the week.

I was only given the epi pen when I first started and it's effective date expired.  I suppose it would be a good idea to request a new one just in case my foggy moments get worse and I do something more foolish.

I'll be a good girl, Momma Quix and Auntie Lulu!

Kathy

[Lulu54]

Thanks all for your input - I'll call SS and let them know.  Also time to call the pharmacy and reorder - I can't believe it has already been almost a month.  my the time flies when we're having fun!!! - Lulu

Ps Kathy please listen to Quix's stern warning about the doses on your allergy shots.

[cjacks]

Lulu

I did it in the beginning. I squirted the entire syringe full on my bathroom wallpaper before I could react.. then it was all over...  thankfully it didn't harm the paper.    It was a  Keystone Cops moment for me , with an uncontrollable fire hose...     There should be a better way.

   Since then I have made a couple of 'perceived mistakes' with the assembly and fearing losing another dose I open the pen back up and retrieve the whole syringe , usually having to use a dental pick .. when they are in there its hard to get them out .. then start over ..

I use the pen to do my butt and arms on #6 setting.

I did not call anyone about losing the dose...  

Jo

[Quixotic1]

Please never NEVER double a dose!!  I worry about home allergy shots, having lost a friend to fatal anaphylaxis to that practice.  When I trained in allergy they would never consider it.  I know that it is fairly common practice, but I still worry.  Problems can happen if you have inadvertently gotten an additional dose of your allergen during the day - then the shot is max overload.  Please make sure that you always have the EpiPen ready, both doses available and 911 on speed dial nearby.  

Quix

[Fluffysmom]

Talk about and I Love Lucy moment....

I'm not on a DMD, as I'm not diagnosed, but I do give myself weekly allergy shots, 5 syringes. I fill them from vials, and before doing that I depress the plunger to push out extra air.

One day when I was tired and foggy, I had started filling the syringes, had some filled, and grabbed another vial.  I picked up a syringe, popped off the orange cap, and shot my dose of either Pollen or Trees across the table, wasn't sure which.  Didn't want to double one dose, so ended up skipping one of them that week.  Oh, there was stuff all over the table, including photographs, which got a dose of either pollen or trees. Sheesh!

I wanted to switch to the candy factory episode!

Kathy

[Erin0313]

Lulu,
   I had that happen several times when I was on copaxone. Like you said if I was thinking fast enough I would jab it in but even then I know I didn't get the whole dose. I called Shared Solutions the first time but they only told me not to use another since I didn't know how much was left when I did the stabbing.
   I also called the pharmacy and yes they did send a replacement but mine got kind of snotty after this happened a few times. I switched to just using the needle and to me it hurt less. That nasty auto-inject always seemed to leave huge welts no matter what setting I had it on and it burned going in more.
   Food for thought - if you are able to handle the needle just pinch an inch and stick.
   Take care and feel better knowing that for some of us it happened too many times to count.
   Erin

[JulesL5S1]

My two cents .... I'd let both the pharmacy company and shared solutions know.  They give you a courtesy replacement.  :-)  My personal opinion is that there should be a safety feature that prevents what happened from happening.  You said that you did it once before and the syringe was still ok.  That should be standard.  So I think the syringe was just a "dud" and they should replace it.  Cheers, Jules