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.org/Treating-MS/Medications
Choose a medicine that you can adhere to the dosing schedule.
s work about the same and the choice you have to make depends on your personal preferences. Copaxone is one class of drug while Rebif, Avonex, and Betaseron are all interferons.
The British UK site has one of the best walk-throughs on picking a drug that I have seen. It discusses in depth each DMD and its side-effects and injection schedule/technique. Just pretend you live in the UK and spend about 45 minutes working through their presentation and you will feel so much smarter.
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.
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!
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.
The drugs with the longest safety data are the injectables (Copaxone, Rebif, Avonex, Betaseron), but there are three oral drugs these days too (Gilenya, Aubagio, Tecfidera), as well as a monthly infusion (Tysabri). There is also at least one "off-label" option with growing positive data (Rituxan is used by a couple of our members). Some of us (me!) are also volunteers on drug studies and are taking drugs that aren't out there yet.
what MS shots copaxone, rebif, betaseron & avonex has the smallest percentage of blood fractions
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.
Hi!
I'm an MS patient. I was diagnosed at 22 and am now 28. So, for 6 years I've tried a lot of MS therapies. I've done the Rebiff, Betaseron, and 1 other that I don't even remember the name of. Anyways, I started taking Avonex. This coming up week will be my 5th injection. I have suffered through the fever, the body aches, let me make that severe muscle pains, abdominal pains, and the list goes on. The one side effect that is really worrying me is the depression.
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