I did Avonex weekly for 7 yrs. Never did I give myself a shot. I was traumatized as a child getting allergy testing done, so I REALLY hate needles. My wife or my sister injected me. And yes, I dreaded each and every week.

I never found away around receiving the shot until I stopped all together.

To quote my (older) sister: "Shut up and man up. This is not going to kill you."

She was right.

I've been taking a shot (self injection) of Avonex every Monday night since January, 2008. The nasty flu like side effects dissipated from after every shot to maybe one in ten shots now. Still, Avonex makes me feel totally spent every Tuesday.

I think self injecting for me hasn't been so bad because I was dx'd as a type 1, insulin dependent, diabetic back in 1981. I've been giving myself up to four shots a day for that, so self injecting the Avonex was not that big a deal. Still, I hate feeling spent every Tuesday. I don't know that I'll ever get used to that but then, taking the Avonex appears to be worth it as I haven't had a relapse in almost four years.

What type of med are you on because for me I'm on Copaxone and I don't get the flu like sypmtoms with this med as I've read with the others you get. Giving myself the shot has been a tragic. My Fincee does mine. Causing myself pain has taken me for a world wind. Maybe I'll get through it one day and hopefully you will to.

My Dr. gave me prednisone to take the day of the avonex shot and the following day and it helps me alot. maybe worth trying.

I'm on Rebif, I know they say after 4 full months of the full dose of 44 the side effects usually disappear and I only have 7 more weeks to go just getting there seems a long way off, I would be okay with a one day fever but when it seems constant it start to wear on you. I plan on making the full 4 months as I don't want to start over and daily shots, I'm not sure I would stick to that, like Oakenwood said Shut up and Man up, might not kill me but days I think I'm on my way

This is definately a problem, and not just you. I too hated my weekly shots of Avonex, knowing that for the next 2-3 days I was going to be suffering flu-like symptoms. I could only take this for about 8 months before I gave up on the therapy. I commend you for giving yourself the shots knowing you are going to have adverse side-affects. Maybe your wife could help you by giving you the shots? The Avonex needles are big and long, I couldn't do it myself. Had to have my husband do it for me. I dreaded Friday nights because I knew I wouldn't be myself until Monday. Real drag sleeping through my weekends.

The Copaxone shots are real small and non-invasive compared to some of the other therapy shots. Might you think about a change? Giving yourself one shot before going to bed would be just like someone living with Type 1 diabetes?

I cannot comment on the "man up" comment because I don't understand that naturally because I'm a woman. What I do understand is taking medication making you sick is just plain torture. Hopefully you will make it to the 4 month marker and the fevers will go away. I only hope that you you.

I've been taking Rebif for about a year (as of next Wednesday). For me, I had the flu-like symptoms after every shot for about six months. Then, I mostly got headaches. Now, I very rarely have any side effects. I get a fever maybe once a month and experience body aches even less than that. Regardless, I still pre-medicate with Aleve, and it really has helped me.

I say all this to encourage you to continue, if you feel it's right for you. The side effects are a nuisance, but I have faith that taking the medication now will pay off later. It gets me through...