betaseron news

So the doc tells me I don't have a UTI. That's the good news. The bad news is that I'm still experiencing muscle spasms and spasticity on Betaseron. I thought this would go away when the fever resolved, but it hasn't. Who else on here is taking Betaseron (or some sort of interferon?) And if so, did you have problems with muscle stiffness, and did it resolve?

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.

ve kicked around the CRABs here, a lot. Copaxone, Rebif, Avonex, and Betaseron are the primary four. Your doctor didn't offer Tysabri as your fifth, did he? I like the Decision Maker tool in the uk that walks you through the drugs and helps you figure what is important for you. You can access this at http://www.msdecisions.org.uk welcome to the world of drugs aand bills. I'm glad to hear you are getting treatment for your CIS. Congrats on that one.

Hi Mandy - I wondered where you went. Mild-shild huh? Have you any imaging lately? See if you've had improvements w/lesions? I've heard all good things about betaseron/feron. One of the top MS Docs here in Jersey prescribes it primarily over the others.

Well, the neuro just called, he said "Good news, negative LP, you dont have MS". What an idiot. We argued, well, I did, he couldnt take it. I told him a ngative LP means nothing, he mumbled something,,,,,,who knows. I lost it then, about the part where he told me since I was on Betaseron last year (only for about 6 mos), he said since it didnt help me then, thats more proof I dont have MS. Um, DUH, it made me feel like I had terminal flu sx!

I've been on Betaseron since a year after I was diagnosed in 2000. 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 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?

I went for my 6 month followup on copaxone and post dx. The good news is that the copaxone seems to be "doing its job" cause no new lesions. Bad news is that I was dx'd pretty advanced with a bunch of lesions. They told me the damage I already have isn't going away. The rheumatologist wants to figure out a drug that will cover both the lupus and the ms. My neuro started talking about tysabri. It scares the **** out of me. I just looked it up.

I do indeed have MS per the MS specialist. Oh, and he even told me that a negative LP does NOT rule out MS. While I'm not excited about the news (who would be) I am relieved to finally know for sure. I also found out I had deficits in areas that I didn't realize. I guess I've been compensating for them. I'm also not sure I would have been scheduled for cognitive testing until I totally lost my train of thought while speaking to him....more than once......lol.

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???

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 just received my letter stating that I can receive Betaseron for $50 a month. We have to pay up front on our insurance, so I filled out the form for patient assistance (upon Betaseron rep's recommendation). I found the form by googling "Betaseron Patient Assistance Program". Have you been directed to the form?

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.

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.

Pretty much said I wouldnt be sitting there looking like this if I had been on meds (not sure that that is entirley true only a 30% chance in my opinion) She gave me the option of another med covered by my health insurance which is Betaseron. Gave me the CD to watch and sent RX to pharmacy. Of course I come home and read all teh possible side effects and its making me want to do nothing now. I am so med paranoid (and Im a Nurse for Pete's sake!

Hard to answer your question without more information. Why do you have only those four choices? Avonex (which I’ve used for 11 years) and others are notably absent from your list. Avonex, Rebif, and Betaseron have been around longest and have the strongest safety profiles. If your MS is more aggressive, then you may be more inclined to consider Gilenya, Tecfidera, Aubagio, or Tysabri. All of the DMDs are discussed from a neutral perspective at the link below: http://www.nationalmssociety.

I have been on Betaseron since 1995. I have not had an attack since I started using the Betaseron. 3 1/2 year ago I slipped on the stairs and landed hard on my tailbone. A pain shot up through my back and gave me a terrible headache. Over the next few days, my leg started going numb. Went to the doctor and he sent me for x-rays and gave me muscle relaxants. Nothing on the x-ray. Sent me to my neurologist. He examined me and said it was MS and had me take three courses of solumedrol.

That is fantastic news about your Betaseron. That's the whole idea of the DMD's. To help prevent any further disability or further attacks. I hope you continue on your path of no new symptoms. That's great news. I think I am correct when I say that DMD's come with about a 30-40% chance to being effective at slowing down relapses or even preventing new ones; even reducing lesion load and brain volume loss. That would include, Avonex, Rebif, Copaxone and Betaseron.

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...

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