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[AmishErin]

I was DX with MS in late 2003.  I had lost the ability to walk and my sight in my left eye by the time MS was even considered.  My DR wanted me to go on an ABC drug and Avonex was the only once a week drug so that's what I chose.  (very scared of needles)  It is a inter muscular shot lots of site injection pain, lumps, bruising and next day flu like symptoms.  After a year I had another exasubation that landed me in the hospital. A few months later my Dr told me about Rebif which was new to the market at that time.  Rebif is a 3 times a week shot and the shot goes into the fatty tisue just under the skin.  The flu symptoms were worse at first but left almost completely after a few months.  

Last year I tried to return to work.  I missed quite a few shots and the flu symptoms came back including this time extreme eye pain.  When I asked my Dr about it he said that headaches and eye pain were a common symptom of interferon which both Rebif and Avonex are.  I went off of Interferon completely and started looking into Tysarbi the once a month IV medication.  

Well... I recently read quite a bit about a brain infection that Tysarbi patients sometimes get and die from... oh yeah and Vanginitis... Mmmm Mmmmm sounds fun.

Oh Yeah I forgot to say this... I am on Provigil.  My anto fatigue drug.  I take 200 mg twice a day which is the largest dose you can be prescribed.  Come to find out the side effects of that drug are among several others... Eye pain and back pain.

So now after being off of Rebif for about 6 months I am going to talk to my Dr about resuming this drug.

All drugs seem to have side effects but I don't want to go back to where I was.  Maybe less Provigil will cut down on the eye pain, but I don't want my MS to get worse and the ABC drugs are the only way to slow the enevitable.

So Slow I Go!

PS I was on 16 different prescriptions at one time soon after Diagnosis.  Now I am on 1 (because I havent restarted the Rebif yet)  As I got my symptoms under control the depression seemed to fade into the back ground.  MS is a stress related disease.  My husband left me and my 3 kids one year after MS diagnosis and Whalla poof went my MS symptoms.   Kinda.  Any over powering  control freak husbands that you can talk into leaving??

[pennst8r]

I too am waiting to find a diagnosis of some kind. I do, however, have 2 sisters with MS. One of my sisters has been doing extremely well on the Tysarbi for the past 9 months - best I've seen her. No complaints about side effects. I hope that helps your research on it. she had done the ABC shots, then anothe rtreatment that I cannot remeber the name of.

Yes, stress can certainly effect your symptoms. That's probably true of any condition really.


Take care of yourself

Penn

[ELT]

Hi there, I am not diagnosed, so, I don't know much about ms drugs.  I do know I didn't like any of the epilepsy meds I used to take.  But, I took them while they helped.

Depression can be a nasty side effect of so many meds.  Also a side effect of not feeling well, unfortunately.  I am mostly cheery, but, I have my times.  LOL

I have lyrica to take when neuropathic pain is bad.  Other wise, I put up with it.  I have had a number of mris over the last cpl yrs, but no lesions.  Evoked potential in normal realms.  Nothing else untoward, that I'm aware of.  

I have lots of sensory stuff going on, and lots of weakness and fatigue.  Just got over some visual stuff, well, GETTING over.  LOL

Things wax and wane, no proper rhyme or reason.

I was lucky, the poor guy I'm with, met a healthy, slender, active young woman.  He is now stuck with me, poor twit, LOL.  AND he's useful around the house.  I'll have to keep this one, I think. :) :)

Erica