avonex and pregnancy

And your right, there are practically no statisics on pregnancy and avonex because the risk of miscarriage is so high.

Rena gave you good info. If you might be pregnant and want the pregnancy then yes, I would stop the Avonex. But, Rena is right, you should have the talk immediately with your neurologist. If the shot is given late it is not the end of the world. Tons of people miss a whole week or more and they do not slip back to square one. There is a 2 day slide allowed anyway. Another day or so will not mean a relapse. Avonex is well-known as a strong abortifactant.

I relapsed in January and am now back on avonex. I was symptomatic free through out pregnancy and breastfeeding. When beastfeeding ended I relapsed with in 3 weeks. I was very disappointed and had a horrible time trying to look after my 6 month old baby inbetween the cortisone drips. But we got though it. Am now feeling great and just have to get through the weekly shots until the new drug arrives in South Africa in a few years. Hope you all well.

) and still have a safe and fulfilling sex life. Your best bet is to discuss this with your doctors and possibly and Infectious Disease Doctor. The doctors may recommend vaccinating your partner. They may also consider the risk of contracting HPV to be a low risk exposure and do nothing. Most people with MS can be vaccinated with "non-live virus" vaccines. Gardasil is a VLP (Virus Like Partials) vaccine (so it is safe) protecting against infection by HPV types 16, 18, 6, and 11.

However, being on an Interferon MS med does often cause miscarriage. The interferons are Avonex, Rebif and Betaseron. Copaxone is not known to increase risk of miscarriage, but it must carry the warning. Pregnancy is not dangerous for women with MS. In fact, there is some data that over time it may be beneficial to the course of the disease. I would recommend that you be tested for the MS mimic that does cause increased miscarriages.

Hello Everyone :) I haven't been around on the forum or a while due to a string of horrible bad luck, but things are starting to look up so here I am :). I have a question about DMDs I have been on Avonex now for 5 weeks and have noticed a huge difference in my muscle spasms. It's as if the off switch got flipped! I went from having them literally 24/7 literally. My neuro said she hadn't really seen anything quite that severe she could see muscle spasms everywhere during my exams.

Does Avonex cause a lot of leg weakness and aching? Or is that something more associated with MS itself?

The sole purpose of Copaxone, Rebif, Avonex and Betaseron is to slow the progression of the disease and reduce the number of relapses. If you look at the studies, people on these CRAB's still have relapses, they just don't have as many relapses as people who are not on a CRAB. So it should not be a surprise to any of us on a DMD when we do have a relapse. The CRAB should be making it less intense and shorter in duration, hopefully.

Well Avonex is a lot like beta. Got a fever of 102 and feel like death. It hit me within 3hrs after the shot. Well at least it's just once a week.

I DONT GIVE MYSELF THE INJECTIONS EACH WEEK, MY HUSBAND DOES BUT THEY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AVONEX HAS IS GREAT. WE PAID 10 A MONTH AND WHEN HE CHANGED JOBS AND WE LOST INSURANCE I HAVE BEEN GETTING IT FOR FREE. I DO STILL GET ACHY, EMOTIONAL BUT FEEL LIKE I AM ADJUSTING TO THE MEDICATION. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CHOICE. HOPE THINGS GO WELL WITH YOUR INSURANCE.

//www.rxlist.com/avonex-drug.htm) and, like other proteins, can only work within a very small range of conditions (ie pH, temperature). As the stomach is a fairly acidic environment, proteins will denature (fall apart) and so Avonex would be rendered useless. That said, there is a therapy available in pill form (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429205613.htm). Called "cladribine", it may very well be the first treatment for MS that does not involve regular injections.

t affect your spirits, even though I think depression is listed as a side affect. I have been on Avonex for about a year and a half and have found that my right side reacts better when injected than my left. I also inject in the early evening, then take 2 tylenol and two naprox about an an hour later. Usually I wake up pretty free of the yucks next morning.

t have your rx yet, that tells you the problem goes back to your neurologist and the Avonex reps and you can deal with them on Monday. It is so frustrating to know that you are so close, but then have to wait and wait some more to start treatment. I know from my own personal experiences.

I am sorry you suffered the side effects. I was on Avonex for 15 years and found that if I started ibuprofen around 4:00 in the afternoon and took it every 4 hours or so, and took the shot around 8 pm on a Friday night, I felt okay by Saturday afternoon. I also put ibuprofen next to my bed in case the side effects woke me up during the night. I wish you all the best. Just remember HANG IN it will get easier.

AS PROMISED, I WENT AND READ THE PAMPHLET THAT COMES WITH THE AVONEX AND I DID NOT FIND ANYTHING IN IT THAT MENTIONS CALCIUM DEFIENCY. I EVEN READ IT TWICE TO SEE IF I WAS MISSING SOMETHING, BUT DID NOT FIND ANYTHING. LIKE I SAID IN MY PREVIOUS POST, I WILL BE SEEING MY NEURO ON TUESDAY AND WILL MAKE IT A POINT TO ASK HER ABOUT IT. WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY.

My sister has been on Avonex for 10 years and she told me the first couple of months are the worst. And so far it is true, it is getting better with each injection. She said she still has some weeks where it wipes her out but for the most part she is fine with it..

I do the injection at bed time, then take one Aleve and an Ambien. Once in a while I wake up with muted flu symptoms, and then I take another Aleve, and that does the trick. By morning the whole thing is over for me. This sort of thing is very individual, and reactions are all over the map. Some have no effects, and a relative few have bad ones that last 3 or 4 days. Here's hoping your side effects are light or non-existent.

m pretty sure that I have seen someone on this site ask about hair loss with Avonex, maybe they will see this and answer you.

I saw my neuro today (a new one, and much better), he said i can stop rebif cold turkey and im stopping as of now! yay! He also said its important to get the chicken pox vaccination as i have no immunity to it (did not have it as a child) and it can be very harmful to the baby when pregnant. I am booking in for that in a week and then he said i can start trying for a baby soon after. He said alot of other things too which helped me so much and put my mind at rest finally!

After at least of 5 weeks of worsening effects from Copaxone and 8 weeks total, it's all over between us. I truly tried. Almost went to counseling. Arbitration was an option, and so on. The bottom line is that I had terrible allergic reactions that snowballed. I tried several kinds of antihistamines, plus Singulair, and a bunch of different creams. All I got were hives, bruises, welts, rashes and misery.

Avonex possible side effects are depression and flu-like symptoms--fever/shivers, body aches and pains, general crappiness. These are usually helped by aspirin, or similar products, particularly ibuprofen. I was on Avonex for a number of years. What you describe sounds to me much more like a relapse. I'm betting OTC products don't help. And although I do understand wanting a bit of a break from Avonex, not a good idea.

I've been on Avonex for nearly two years, and have had almost no infections. I'll be interested in hearing from others on this drug.

Hi fellow Washingtonian! I've been on Avonex for over 5 years and have never had a reaction like that! I mostly just have a headache or a little achey and that is only once in awhile. I would call my neuro pronto and/or biogen/idec, the makers of Avonex. I think they have someone on call to answer questions. Even the place where you get your Rx should have someone who can answer your question. Best wishes! I sure hope it clears up soon! That must be miserable!

Avonex and pregnancy

Common Questions and Answers about Avonex and pregnancy

avonex