Just DX What Med Should I Choose

[AmyC1213]

Hi my name is Amy, I was just diagnosed last week and my Doc gave me a choice between Avonex, Copaxone and Extavia. I have 6 kids 17-5 year old twins and I work full time. I don't mind needles...I did IVF...so I've been there done that. I am more woried about the side effects. I do not have time to be out sick from work or not be able to take care of my family. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I have been reading many of the threads and am leaning more towards Avonex. Thanks

[Nanobaby]

I chose Avonex because of the fact that it's only once a week. With 6 kids and full-time work, I'd definitely advise Avonex so that it frees up your time for your life .

The downside is the flu-like symptoms, but you may not have any or they may not impede you in any way. A lot of people take their injection at night so that if any side effects arise, they're asleep so they're not bothered by them. Or, they take the injection on Friday night so that they have the weekend to recover.

[hunterd]

AMY, WELCOME TO MS WORLD!!!!!! any of the choices for treatment is a good choice. depending on you, some treatments may be better than others. just do your research carefully, and if you decide down the road to switch meds, you have already done some homework, good luck.

[BigA]

Amy,

welcome to our little club. You seem to have a good attitude already whcih will serve you well. You should know that the first year is the hardest.

If you've done IVF, then you really should have no trouble with either of them. I think your best choices are between copaxone and avonex.

Copaxone is great because it has so few side effects. You may have welts and skin reactions, however. That said, many many people get used to it and inject daily for years and years and the long term literature on copaxone looks very good.

Avonex gets the shot part all done in one day and then you get to forget about it for a week. It's also flooding your body with far less medication than Extavia. That one shot, however, is a doosey. Depending on how you react, you may feel like hell for a day. (I take mine on Saturdays so it doesn't interfere with work.) Plus, you have to have quarterly blood tests to make sure your blood, liver and thyroid are ok.

Both are fine and you can always switch. One more consideration is that with Copaxone, should you lose your job or insurance for a time, Shared Solutions is less supportive, whereas MSActive Source is more generous.

Finally, I can't recommend Dr. Jelinek's program more strongly. I consider it a must-read for anyone just diagnosed. It will educate you and give you hope.

http://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Mul...3&sr=8-1-spell