Following a third appointment with my neurologist a few weeks ago, I was
prescribed
Ajovy which
certainly is the most recent treatment for migraines and should be the most
effective and with the fewest side effects. It will be difficult to tell how
effective it will be during the coming month as I don't normally suffer from
migraines over the summer; it's the autumn, winter and spring that are the
seasons for migraines, especially with rapid changes in the weather.
I went last week to fill the prescription, but was told that there was no
prescription even though the medication had been authorised by the 'regional
head office', and anyway it would have to be ordered, as the pharmacy
doesn't keep a stock of these syringes. During the past week I checked with
my GP that she had issued the required prescription, so today I had the
chance to go to the pharmacy again and collect the medication. I had fully
intended to go to the kibbutz clinic so that they could show me how to use
the medication; in the accompanying leaflet to the syringe, it was written
that the user should be shown how to use the syringe by a doctor or
nurse.
Except that when I arrived at the clinic, the nurses didn't know initially
what to do. Apparently there are several members who use Wegovy, the weight
loss medication that also comes in a syringe, but there one syringe is for
four separate injections, whereas with Ajovy, one injects the entire
contents of the syringe and the effect lasts for a month. In fact, it's
possible even to inject at the same time three syringes in order to
cover a three month period.
The actual mechanism of the injection is very simple: after cleaning the
area (near to the belly button) and removing the needle guard from the
syringe, one simply presses the syringe to the target area and holds it for
30 seconds. Initially a click is heard, which means that the needle has
exited the syringe and then a few seconds later, a second click is heard,
signifying that the contents of the syringe have been injected. One is told
to hold the syringe in place for another 10 seconds and then one wipes the
injection area with gauze. The spent syringe is sent to the clinic for
disposal along with all the other 'sharps', even though the needle has
retracted (this probably happens during the extra 10 seconds).
Did I feel anything? As I was concentrating on the injection, I felt a
little prick and then a mild feeling of liquid entering the body, but this
was negligible. Next time I probably won't feel anything. The injection site
has not turned red - in fact, I'm not too sure exactly where I injected. So
good: no side effects. Below appears the syringe on top of its box; I
appreciate that it might be difficult to see what is what. Here's a clue:
the blue cap that appears in the lower left hand side of the picture is the
needle guard, and the syringe goes from there to the right hand side of the
picture.
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