avonex side effects treatment

I was on Avonex for several years. No digestive problems but many flu-like symptoms, worse sometimes than others. I learned from experience that these effects would start 2 or 3 hours after my shot, so I did it at night before bed, after which I took 2 Aleve, since these are long-lasting. The net result was that I'd sleep through whatever the Avonex side effects might be, buffered by Aleve.

Hi Jason, Avonex was not an option for me from my neuro so I went with copaxone, a daily injection of a totally different type drug with no side effects. I passed on the Rebif because it has the same side effects as avonex, but is injected three times a week. If avonex, with its once a week injection had been an option I would have seriously considered it instead of the copax.

Worth nothing is that the flu-like side effects of Avonex often are less troubling after the first few weeks or months, but I've never seen anyone suggest that the mood-related side effects dissipate.

I'm sorry you feel so poorly. I haven't started any disease modfying drug yet, that will come in mid August. I've heard this about Avonex. The National MS Society website has some great info: www.nationalmssociety.org Here is what is a small portion of what is said about Avonex side effects: "Flu-like symptoms are a fairly common side effect during the initial weeks of Avonex treatment. It is recommended that you take your Avonex injection before bedtime.

m dealing with along with diabetes and copd, and supposedly has the least amount of side effects. I was able to stay on it for about a year before I began having bad skin reactions. Currently, I am awaiting a full eval by rheumie to see if I can do something like rebif or avonex - with lupus, I make my own interferon and that class of dmd's could possibly make the lupus worse..As you can see, my point is this - just like MS is different for everyone, so is finding the right treatment.

Does anyone know of long-term side-effects of Avonex? I've had about 8 or 9 injections so far - was diagnosed a few mos. ago. I will see the (MS) dr. in 2 days, a 3 month follow-up visit. Does anyone know of any questions I should ask her? Thank you very much! I appreciate any feedback.

Hi - I am starting on Avonex next week and of course am concerned about side effects but like the once a week part of the treatment. Those that are on Avonex how do you handle the side effects any tips you can give me?

I have a Clinically isolated syndrome with two inactive lesions in my MRI. We talked about treatment options, and he thinks that at this stage Avonex or Copaxone might work, but he told me to seek more information and decide which drug I want to choose. What should I take into account to choose one drug over the other? What has been your experience as a first user of these drugs? I assume there have been dozens of threads like this: How can I look up more info on this site and elsewhere?

I started avonex in December. The side effects weren't nearly as bad as the mail order pharmacy made it sound. I must of gotten lucky :) After being on avonex for a few months the little flu like symptoms I did have went away. I was able to tell that sleep the night that you give the shop is VERY important! I also recommend lots of water if you don't already drink a lot.

Sorry to hear you're still experiencing some side effects from the Avonex. Hopefully, with the additional reduction in dosage you'll feel better soon. Like you, I am relatively new to Avonex (started Dec. 07) and am still experiencing new symptoms. I suppose its hard to know if its working or not since the symptoms could be worse. Granted, I'm starting to have difficulty walking which is surprising to me since I was just diagnosed in November.

True, the worst effects may come before sleep time, but any side effects are more likely out of the way by work time at 6 a.m. Sunday. And by being awake, you can maintain the dosing of acetaminophen or whatever drug at two every however many hours, and you can keep drinking lots of water. To Aroma_1, the official documentation says that you have to have injections 48 hours apart. I would recommend doing whatever you can to maintain a consistent schedule, especially early in treatment.

This is NOT the way side effects are from Avonex. If you took your shot on Monday and some of the symptoms you describe on Wednesday, it would not be from the Avonex. Avonex side effects, if they are going to occur, start not long after the shot and linger STRAIGHT THROUGH, until they end. Some people have little to no side effects. When I took Avonex for over 3 years, my flu like side effects, didn't let up until around the 3rd day after my shot.

I take Avonex once a week and, even after 7 1/2 years, still get the unpredictable, nasty side-effects. Taking Tylenol usually works to stave off such flu-like side effects but even that doesn't always work. Hang in there, is all I can say.

ve read, the thyroid and depression are contraindicaitons for using Avonex. I have extreme medication sensitivity, tend to have side effects easily. My mother died of chf. With all I've read about avonex, I truly feel it is a very poor choice for me.

the only reason being is its just 1 shot a week...i figure that the side effects from all are realativly the same....

I take Cellcept and only Cellcept. I've been on it now for over a month. My MS doctor prescribed it for my PPMS since there's really no treatment for PPMS. I haven't had any side effects from it. When I first started on it, I did get some headaches but nothing I couldn't handle. In my case, I take it to hopefully slow down the progression of my particular form of this disease. Let me know if I can answer any questions.

Hi, Isabel. I've been on Avonex since June '08. Unlike many others here, I haven't had a let-up of the flu-like side effects. That's the bad news. The good news is that I've found how to manage them well. 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.

I took Wellbutrin for several years and recently went back on it for a year. No weight gain, no sexual side effects, no sleepiness. Those are the good things. Wellbutrin when i first started it made me slightly agitated and a little manic. Those side effects wore off as I got used to the medicine. To counter the side effect of the agitation my doctor precribed buspar (antianxotic). That combo worked very well for many years.

I have been on Avonex for almost 6 months. Just when I thought the side effects were getting better I feel awful again. I inject on Friday night and feel flu like for at least 24 hours again. Thanks Quix for that tid bit. I am considering going off of it. I do seem very depressed like I just want to quit all of my meds my job my house chores etc. and throwing a big pity party for myself. The job is not an option cause we really need the $$$.

I haven't heard about Avonex causing those side effects long term. It may be worth it to have your blood glucose checked. Having diabetes can cause this delay in healing. As always, your doctor knows best.

We do know that some people never really adjust to the side effects of the interferons like Avonex - the depression and flu like symptoms can be very real and hard on some people. I would strongly urge you to talk with your doctor about trying a different type of therapy drug that isn't an interferon. We know that for some reason these drugs work in slowing down the progression of MS and there's nothing else available to us right now that would do the same.

Avonex side effects treatment

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