Hey all,

As I'm adjusting my meds, I'm getting hit more frequently now.  I've recently started using Imitrex injections.  Last night I woke up with a ~Kip 7 and used on.  I always inject it in to th side of my thigh.  last night it took about 15 minutes to START to work.  I hear other folks getting relief 'immediately" or with half a dose even.  Does anyone have similar experiences?

Last couple of injections have taken a while to work, comparable to the nasal spray times.  Is the thigh not the bset place to do this?  Or am I just one of those folks who it doesn't work for?

Thanks,
Joshua

Timing is essential. When you awoke with a well developed attack in progress it was too late to get full benefit.

When you are awake, inject at the first signs of an attack--don't wait until it developes. The temptation to "make sure" it's a real, full attack before injecting so  that you don't waste $, etc. has to resisted.

I woke up with a hit last night that was rapidly escalating and after the trex injection it probably got to a good Kip 8.5  :P before going into it's descent. Mighta been 10 minutes before the trex started to kick in. I wasn't clocking it exactly, because I feel I can handle the whole pain thing a bit better if I go sit on the couch and play a little guitar, distract myself, and have some fleeting moments here and there where I'm not so aware of the raging beast behind the eyeball.

I've settled on the abdomen as the best injection site, and I know others have too. I don't have a bunch of evidence to back it up (I think I may have read some evidence years back though), but my impression is that it kicks in quicker when injected  there than it does in the thigh.

I know it's for sure less painful for me in the belly than it is in the thigh or arm. Tell ya what, these needles seem a little DULL to me at times.  :o

Whenever a hit wakes me out of sleep, imitrex takes much longer to work if it works at all.  These are the worst hits for me as O2 won't touch them, and by the time I wake up up it's up to a 6-7.  I still take a shot and head right to the shower, but it can take 1-2 hours before I'm back in bed.  If I feel a hit coming on during the day, imitrex works in 5-10 minutes.  If I could figure out how to handle the night time hits, I'd have the beast by his balls and lead a somewhat normal life.  Best of luck.

Regards,

Malcom

Sounds like the real trick here for night time hits for some of us is waking up soon enough - before the beast is roaring at a higher kip level.

Probably a weird sounding idea I know, but this is one thing that I imagine hypnosis could help with - programming a quick wake up response at onset.

I have been using imitrex injections now for ten years and I havent yet had one fail. Most tend to work at exactly 6 minutes. Sometimes, if I`ve been shadowing for a long time, and I can`t decide if it will develop enough for a jab, then when it does it can take up to half an hour to work. I have injected well into an attack when its taken time to get to my jabs, and they still always work. I inject into the thigh, but I always get my leg into a position where all the muscles are loose, ie no weight bearing and inject into the flabbiest area I can find. If I inject into a taunt area, it hurts.  Mike

Bob Johnson wrote on Aug 28^th, 2009 at 9:17am:

Timing is essential. When you awoke with a well developed attack in progress it was too late to get full benefit. When you are awake, inject at the first signs of an attack--don't wait until it developes. The temptation to "make sure" it's a real, full attack before injecting so  that you don't waste $, etc. has to resisted.

Listen to Bob he is right.  After attack is already full blown it is (almost) too late to use the shot.  Better to take it at onset of attack. 

I use Trex shots and have waiting too long a few times, needless to say I try not to wait too long to take the shot anymore.  OUCH!   [smiley=bigcry.gif]

Hey Joshua I'm relating more to your experience now - I'm pretty much seeing the same thing as my cycle goes into overdrive here.

Wake up Kip 6-7, inject, intensity quickly goes to K9 and sits there for 15 minutes before the pain starts to fade. Half that time I spend trying to play something on guitar, the other half writhing, pacing, clutching right side of head, etc.

I'm just glad though that SO FAR it has worked after 15 minutes. The alternative for me - up to 4 hours at K9-10 is so much worse.  :o