betaseron medication

On August 20th, I quit taking Betaseron cold turkey when I finally received my new oral medication Tecfidera. For the last few days I have been dealing with horrible body aches, diarrhea, cold sweats & the inability to eat (not feeling sick, just not being hungry or interested in eating). I do not have a fever, a cough, allergies or anything else I can conclude to be at fault for these annoying symptoms. My doctor's nurse does not think you can have withdrawal from taking Betaseron.

I have to change my medication and I'm not sure what medicine I should go on. I'm left with 4choices Rebif, Betaseron, Tecfidera, and tysabri.

I have been taking Betaseron for over 14 years, with no substantial side effects. I was told I would have to switch over to Extavia after the first of the year. ??????????? I have a couple problems with the Extavia, One being it looks to me that Extavia may be trying to save some money ,[[ At the patients expense ] one--a possible cheaper syringe???

I have been off of Betaseron for about 2 weeks now and my eyes are back to being very uncomfortable. Before I started Avonex eye pressure and pain was a huge problem. Now it is is starting again.

m not on betaseron, but am glad to hear you are making a change to see if you can find a combination to slow your MS. Getting the new MRI done on the stronger machine is so important for your baseline... it will give your new neuro a good view as to where you are coming from. And you're right, it might show where you have new damage that is causing your changes.

However, there are several drugs your doctor can prescribe for symptomatic treatment. Many people here are on medication to aid with their fatigue, spacticity, etc. and many of us have had IV courses of methylprednisolone when in the midst of an acute relapse. Some of us even have glorious wrinkle-free bladders (Botox can be used for urinary issues common to MS). We are lucky these days as we have many treatment options to choose from.

No I don't take any medication other than Betaseron, Gabapentin for pain and celexa, to keep depression at bay I see my Neuro next week, so will bring this up with him, thanks Tyler

I just tried the auto injector for my Betaseron and it worked great. To my surprise it did not hurt! It is getting very difficult to push the medication in manually so I think this is the perfect answer!

I too read in an article or publication on APS and MS. I've read that MS patients can have a low to medium positive result in the anticardiolipin IgG or IgM who are on beta-interferons.. It also stated a significant fraction of patients with true MS may have positive serology for IgG or IgM anticardiolipin antibody. My research has stated via Neurology books (googled them and you can get snippets of pages) that there are people with MS who have positive serology for IgG or M.

I am going to be starting Betaseron soon. I have read up on it quite a bit, but am curious to know if any of you are currently taking this, have been on it, etc... and if so, what was it like for you? My biggest concern about this one is that everything I read warns of extreme depression. That is already a daily struggle for me, pretty bad. Sure hope I don't get worse with this medication. I hate getting in those ruts of depression. For me, it can last for months on end...

I got my lab results today and it shows I am anemic. The only medication I take that lists anemia as a side effect is rebif. Has anybody on an interferon experienced this? I realize there may be no connection but wanted to know what others have had. I have always had high hemaglobins so is new for me. All other lab was normal.

ve been given info on copaxone, avonex, and betaseron. The info is all from their respective manufacturers and seems pretty bias. I'm having trouble deciding which course to take. So my question is... which do I take? What's the best? Thanks guys!

Thank you Alex.

My Neuro wants me to switch from Rebif to Betaseron. I have been taking Rebif since March 09 and have had to do one round of Solu Medrol in May and will find out tomorrow if I have to do another. I also have pretty bad injection site reactions which is why the Neuro wants the switch. I guess Rebif has acid in the injection and it makes the site reactions worse? My question is, I am under the impression that Betaseron is not pre mixed and also that there is not an auto injector?

It's crazy, isn't it? Even with the supposed help we have in this country for people who are underinsured, we still have to pay an arm and a leg for our medication and health care. I'm guessing that you don't qualify for the assisted medication program through Betaseron. Have you tried another group, like Copaxone? As far as I can tell, they're about the same.

I started Beta a little over 2 months ago and have not been the same since. Major pain & fatigue from around 8 to 30 hours after each shot. I've gone from walking with very slight balance/gait issues, to needing a cane and the buggies at stores. I'm waiting for my next dr appt (in 2 months) to get a tag for my car because I have difficulty getting across parking lots and then into and around the stores. I was not this way before the medication.

I used Betaseron and now Gilanya. I have better results so far with gilenya. Origionally, I chose Betaseron over Avonex because I would rather have less side effects more often that be completely wiped out once a week as a mother of little ones. The Gilenya does not seem to cause such a problem. I hope that you can get the med that best suits you approved with your insurance. Sometimes the doctors office has to get ugly with the insurance on your behalf. Best wishes to you!

The specialist at UCSF is switching me to Tysabri and has told me to go ahead and stop my Betaseron. It has now been 2 shots that I missed (well didn't take) and for the past 2 days I have been feeling like someone beat the crud outta me. My husband is insisting it is cuz I am not taking my shots. I don't see how that can be. We went to UCSF Monday night (4 hr drive), had my Dr appt Tues which took 4 hrs.

I have MS and Neuropathy. I am currently on Tysabri. Previously I was on Betaseron and IVIG. When I went to Tysabri my doctor took me off IVIG and now my Neuropathy is worse, my feet and legs are on fire. Does any one know if it is safe to be on Tysabri and IVIG at the same time? My doctor said she would need to consult with other doctors before she would add IVIG to my treatment.

ve been trying to figure out what to do about health insurance. My neurologist and I were discussing Betaseron and gawking at the out-of-pocket cost. Luckily he was nice enough to waive the fee for my next visit, but we haven't figured out a solution for the medication. He told me to come back when I got insurance so I could get a proper diagnosis and a prescription. Does Medicaid cover Betaseron?

He did warn me about the miscarage risk. The last visit, he said to get off Betaseron 1 month before ttc. The BetaPlus nurse said give it two months. My husband and I discussed this. The current plan is to get off the Betaseron at the end of next week. That would be 2 wks in to the last pack of bc pills. We are planning to use alternate methods of bc for the next cycle. That would put me off of Betaseron 8 wks prior to the hoped for conception, and off the bc pills for 6 wks.

Copaxone is the weakest and he did not recommend it for me. Betaseron, Rebif and Avonex are essentially the same drug, Intefereon beta, administered in different doses. My Neuro is a big believer in Neutralizing antibodies. Avonex NAB rate is around 5% Rebif around 10-15% Betaseron 25-30% NABs can bind to the active side of the interferon molecule rendering it useless. So naturally (if you believe in NABs) you would likely pick the one with the lowest NABs.

I saw on your other post the mention that they want you to take Rebif instead. Be sure that your neuro is fine with that - they are both interferons and work the same way.

Betaseron medication

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