chalknpens

Thank you for posting this. So many conflicting messages. A lot for us to think about, or ask doctors about.

Thank you for posting this. So many conflicting messages. A lot for us to think about, or ask doctors about.

Thank you for posting this. So many conflicting messages. A lot for us to think about, or ask doctors about.

Interferons are the main treatment for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. The three injections per week and related flu symptoms are a common thread on MS message boards. I opted for the synthetic alternative, which was administered every day but did not have the flu symptom side effects. I don't know whether this is the same treatment, or whether you have a synthetic alternative, but I think you might ask your doctor. The synthetic alternative is made by Teva and is called Copaxone. I took it for four and a half years before having to leave my position as a classroom teacher because of the depression, anxiety, memory loss and confusion (all symptoms of ms, and supposedly not worsened by Copaxone.) None the less, when I did retire, I did stop the injections and felt remarkedly better for doing so. It might be that I so resented the imposition of such a self-treatment that the worsening of cognitive symptoms was due to the increase in depression, which was alleviated by antidepressants and the ability to control my own time that came with retirement. I don't really know. But if you can use the synthetic without the flu symptoms, it might be worth a try.  By the way, most MS patients using the interferons reported that after the initial three to six months, the side effects disappeared.  And… recent long term testing (ten years) have shown no slowing of the progression of ms with the use of interferons, which was it's only claim. The new oral meds take the same approach: time will tell whether they, too, fail to slow the progression. 

Not a very happy upbeat response, but I thought you ought to know of others' reactions to interferons. I don't know if the interferons differ from each other. I know all three of the ms brands, with the exception of the synthetic, are the same.

Interferons are the main treatment for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. The three injections per week and related flu symptoms are a common thread on MS message boards. I opted for the synthetic alternative, which was administered every day but did not have the flu symptom side effects. I don't know whether this is the same treatment, or whether you have a synthetic alternative, but I think you might ask your doctor. The synthetic alternative is made by Teva and is called Copaxone. I took it for four and a half years before having to leave my position as a classroom teacher because of the depression, anxiety, memory loss and confusion (all symptoms of ms, and supposedly not worsened by Copaxone.) None the less, when I did retire, I did stop the injections and felt remarkedly better for doing so. It might be that I so resented the imposition of such a self-treatment that the worsening of cognitive symptoms was due to the increase in depression, which was alleviated by antidepressants and the ability to control my own time that came with retirement. I don't really know. But if you can use the synthetic without the flu symptoms, it might be worth a try.  By the way, most MS patients using the interferons reported that after the initial three to six months, the side effects disappeared.  And… recent long term testing (ten years) have shown no slowing of the progression of ms with the use of interferons, which was it's only claim. The new oral meds take the same approach: time will tell whether they, too, fail to slow the progression. 

Not a very happy upbeat response, but I thought you ought to know of others' reactions to interferons. I don't know if the interferons differ from each other. I know all three of the ms brands, with the exception of the synthetic, are the same.

Interferons are the main treatment for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. The three injections per week and related flu symptoms are a common thread on MS message boards. I opted for the synthetic alternative, which was administered every day but did not have the flu symptom side effects. I don't know whether this is the same treatment, or whether you have a synthetic alternative, but I think you might ask your doctor. The synthetic alternative is made by Teva and is called Copaxone. I took it for four and a half years before having to leave my position as a classroom teacher because of the depression, anxiety, memory loss and confusion (all symptoms of ms, and supposedly not worsened by Copaxone.) None the less, when I did retire, I did stop the injections and felt remarkedly better for doing so. It might be that I so resented the imposition of such a self-treatment that the worsening of cognitive symptoms was due to the increase in depression, which was alleviated by antidepressants and the ability to control my own time that came with retirement. I don't really know. But if you can use the synthetic without the flu symptoms, it might be worth a try.  By the way, most MS patients using the interferons reported that after the initial three to six months, the side effects disappeared.  And… recent long term testing (ten years) have shown no slowing of the progression of ms with the use of interferons, which was it's only claim. The new oral meds take the same approach: time will tell whether they, too, fail to slow the progression. 

Not a very happy upbeat response, but I thought you ought to know of others' reactions to interferons. I don't know if the interferons differ from each other. I know all three of the ms brands, with the exception of the synthetic, are the same.