Embrace Your Destiny: The ABC's of MS Drug Therapy

Medicine box for Techfidera

The first thing my neurologist asked me to do was to select my drug therapy. Drug therapies I have since learned are extremely important to start as soon as being diagnosed. Why? Because it's critical to stop or slow down progression of the disease. There is no cure. My biggest regret is not going for a diagnosis earlier. Research reports that patients who do not go on drug therapy, usually need some assistance for walking within fifteen years. 


When I was diagnosed seventeen years ago, there were the big three ABC drug therapies:

• AVONEX
• BETA 1A or Rebif
• COPAXON

This was in 2000. The drugs were all injectable drugs. I picked Avonex to start because of the positive reports from patients taking it and it was only taken once a week. The side effects of flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, headache, and generally feeling bad seemed tolerable.  At that time, the drug came in a refrigerated box with all the necessary tools. Other than feeling crappy one day a week, the other downside was refrigeration being necessary which was a concern when traveling.

The other drug I took was Copaxon. This was a daily injection but had a short needle. The side effects were minimal because they were mainly skin irritations. My main issue with the drug was the indentations it left where the shots were given. Over five or six years, there were lots of hits to the same area. 

I had good results with both drugs. Some people pick the Rebif drug and have good results. Having never tried that, I cannot speak first hand. Good news for people who have a needle phobia. There are now pills to take! There is no excuse for not taking the drugs! Currently, I take Techfidera. This pill is taken twice a day pill and I can report minimal side effects. There is also Aubagio which is one pill once a day.

The most powerful drugs are infusions. I was on Tysabri for two years. This drug is an infusion done once a month at an infusion center. It is very powerful. I had excellent results while I was taking it. After 24 to 48 hours once a month, I felt strong, had good energy, and felt like it helped my walking.However, risks are high. Every six months, my doctor would discuss the increasing risks because of more deaths occurring from the PML conditions that can be the worst side effect. At one point, after I had been doing the infusions for about two years, he advised stopping that drug. That's when I started Copaxon. Now, there is another infusible drug called Lemtrada. Patients taking both Tysabri and Lemstrada are closely monitored during the infusion, and frequent blood works, and MRI's. 

The drugs are helpful in stabilizing the disease so the patient doesn't have exacerbations or flare-ups. Since I never could account for an exacerbation through all 17 years, I looked more for improvement in walking. For this issue, there are other drugs, but I'm convinced the alternative therapies I've been doing the past three years have done more for me. I'll tell you more about these other possibilities in other posts.