rebif and side effects

I was only on Betaseron for 4 months, and I had tried Rebif for 4 months as well. Both gave me darker, half-dollar sized blotches around my injection site, and the use of the auto-injector helped a little bit. The spots faded after a couple of weeks. In a way, it helped me remember which site I was supposed to inject next (I know, bad gallows humor)! Try Shell's advise.

You might want to do a bit more research on the timing of taking this injection It takes a few hours for the side effects to hit and by doing your injection just before bedtime the timing is you are feeling flu-like as you are waking in the morning. As I understand it, if you adjust the timing and do it several hours before bed, the flu-like symptoms occur more while you are asleep. There is good information on the page for Rebif, which is another interferon like betaseron - http://www.

d rather inject daily then deal with the Rebif side effects and increase in depression! I have been on Copaxone for a week already and the ONLY side effect I have had is injection site stinging. No fever, No sweats, No fatigue, No muscle pain, and No other flu like symptoms. I hope things get better for you soon! Take Care!

Alex and DJ are right - the prudent thing to do is call your doctor. Depression is a known side effect of the interferon DMDs and can be treated. Don't delay and make the call. If its not the Rebif, it could very well be that you are reacting to your own situation (situational depression) or to the physical effects of the disease (chemical depression).

hi Marizzy, and welcome to the forum. I can say that since this is your first post! I'm glad you have decided to join in the conversation. I am also a heart patient - I had a heart attack last year at the age of 53. I am fine but do remain aware of all things cardio. Have you called the Rebif hotline and talked to them about side effects? I am on copaxone and very know little about the other DMD's and their side effects, but I will look and see if I can find some answers.

I have been on Rebif for four months now, and I am not going to do another shot, I can't handle the side effects. I've tried premedicating and nothing seems to work. How many of you are in the same situation? and what did you do?

Hi there, I used Rebif for a year and had the typical flu like side effects and injection site reactions (I believeCopaxone has similar side effects). I took acetaminophen to help with those. I had a major depressive episode several years before and was also treated for depression several times after that. Rebif did not make my depression recur but it is always wise to keep an eye out, and as immisceo says, if your daughter's depressiin returns the insurance company will back off.

Thank you, MsmsinFl. Unfortunately, I tend to be very sensitive to medications, and their side-effects. So, I was not altogether shocked when I noticed it. I have already made plans that if I begin losing mine rapidly my friends and I are going to have ahead shaving party. A good friend who recently went through chemo has offered me her scarves. By the way, TSH is only for men, correct? That would not apply to me. I have already lost 5 pounds in 7 days from the nausea it has caused.

in addition to a few flu side effects, my lip has started twitching and was wondering if this too could be a side effect?

My question is how goos is rebif for treating MS.

Tecfidera has more side effects than Rebif but not everyone gets the side effects. Also Tecfidera has not been around as long so they do not know what long term side effects there are. I would go with the one you will best follow through with if that is a pill then Tecfidera.

I would recommend Rebif, i have been on it for 6 years, its very easy to use, comes with an autoject so it helps you do the needle yourself and had little side effects for me. If i took panadol one hour before the Rebif i would have no flu like symptoms and no problems. Ive just gone off Rebif so that i can get pregnant but as soon as ive had the baby im going straight back on it as i tolerated it well and it definately helped my MS in that i had less lesions and relapses.

twopack- Thanks for the details and the support; and, yes, I am hopeful that summer will bring relief from both my foot and my Rebif side effects. You are correct about the non-weightbearing being an extended period of time-8 weeks, actually, which is 4 more weeks from now. Mike_Shuswap- I will keep your suggestion in mind. I see my surgeon again on the 18th of this month, and will ask him again about the NSAID's and how much longer I must remain off of them.

My side effects on Rebif are tolerable, I just like the idea of only injecting once a week, since my work schedule is somewhat variable. My recent lab results did show slightly elevated AST and ALT readings, so I will probably be getting in touch with my ms nurse to see what she thinks about that.

ve been using Rebif for just over 10 months now. The side effects slowly got less and less, and now as long as I take a couple Tytenol extra stength before injecting, I usually don't notice any side effects. I had an MRI a couple months ago that showed no changes from the one done a year previously. No matter which DMD you choose, the important thing is you're ARE choosing one. It's great you're taking a proactive approach to managing your MS.

Hi Frog, i love the stuff. I have taken Avonex, Rebif, Copaxone(sp), and back on Rebif. The side effects are minimal and something tylenol can take care of. The three days a week bit is nice and I think you will like it. As much as something like that can be liked. You may have some extra perspiration at night but turn up the fan a tad. Hope it works for you well...

They were high, so at that point my neuro instructed me to go off all meds and supplements, and no alcohol, stayed on Rebif and they remained high when test was repeated. Went off Rebif, stayed off other meds and alcohol, they returned to normal, and remained so after I started other meds again and consumed alcohol again. This is how we could be certain it was Rebif causing the prolem.

When he heard about this he was adamant that the Interferons were off my possible list of meds. He would not re-prescribe Avonex and said that Rebif and Betaseron would likely (not definitely) be worse. As a physician, myself, this makes sense. When a person has a problem that is associated with a class of medications, they can be possibly have that problem with all members of that class.

Seems to me I had side effects on the lower dose when I first started taking Rebif. I still get them but to a lesser degree. I take 2 Tylenol extra strength 1/2 hour before injecting. I skip the Tylenol every so often, but usually wake up in the night with a headache and end up taking them anyway. Like Shell says, your body will adjust to the med in time.

The effectiveness of both is very similar. It comes down to whether one can tolerate their respective side effects, and how they would fit into your lifestyle ie 3x week injection vs daily. I had a brief trial run on Rebif but had to discontinue as it elevated my liver enzymes too much. I never made it up to the full dose which may explain why I never experienced flu like symptoms. The shot itself was painless with no site reaction. I switched to Copaxone and was on it for six years.

If you would forget to take pills, for example, you need to be on an injectible. Consider the common side effects and which ones you can most readily live with. You may not even suffer the side effects, but you need to be prepared for them. I’m sorry you hadn’t had a response for 20 hours … ask questions anytime!

Would any of you be willing to PM me and tell me your experiences once you ramped up to full dose on Rebif? I mean the UNVARNISHED truth..... what side effects did you have?....how long were you at full dose before the side effects kicked in?...how severe were they?....how long did it last - did your body get used to the dosage at some point? Friday nite was one full week at the full dose for me. Had very mild side effects previously.

Hi Gigi and welcome. I have been on rebif for 8 months, and have gotten more used to the side effects and manage them pretty well with advil and tylenol. I don't use the autoinjector. I couldn't really be bothered with all the pieces and figuring out how to use it! (Yes I'm a bit impatient!). The company that makes REBIF has a number that you can call to speak to a nurse anytime you have questions re Rebif.

Rebif and side effects

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