A Good Thread

[MSer]

Going on my second month too. I am very Pleased at how my body is reacting to it. I do have flushing and itching every once in a while. No stomach problems. Drippy nose in the evenings.... But so far so good I LOVE the take chocolate before and after the PM pill (that the Neuro nurse suggested). YUM...

I have noticed when I have a well balanced meal (protein/complex carb/good fat) I do not have the flushing. I do drink a lot of water during the day, I think that helps too.

I am going to see my Doctor on Monday. I would like to know how long it takes for your body to get use to the Pill.

Have a good one everyone!

[Willow63]

I love TEC.

I exercise every day and have lost 7 lbs (the good way - not from being sick).

My fatigue is way down (from copaxone).

I do get a drippy nose on occassion, but it is very slight.

Follow all the tips on this TEC forum for best of Luck.

[REG53]

Hello everyone,

I just finished my 1st wk. being on the 240mg. I have done well. I had some bloating and stomach ache but it was mild. I also have a runny nose now and then.

I started my 2nd wk. on 240mg today and so far so good.

So far I am happy with TEC. and I hope it helps everyone.

[jmiller61]

Howdy folks,

Well must say that since starting Tec, not too bad so far. This is only day 5 of taking it and I have only experienced flushing of the face.

So it will be interesting to see what the side effects are when I start the higher dose. Right now the effects are much better than taking the Avonex shot.

Good luck

[TheBeans]

Going into Week 7 and so far all I've really had to deal with is itching and drippy nose and a bit more fatigue than is usual. Had two days of GI issues but nothing more since and no stomach issues either. Flushing continues but I honestly don't know if it's flushing from the Tec or just my regular old hotflashes...they feel the same to me.

[MSer]

Saw my Neurologist last week. He was really pleased with my progress on Tec. He addressed the "tiredness" issue and other issues by saying it takes a while for the interferon from
rebif to get completely out of your system. He told me I should feel a difference soon. He was right. I am pleased to say I DO have more energy, I DO feel "better" that I did when I was on Rebif. I still get a drippy nose every once in a while. I haven't had any flushing for a week. So I am sooo pleased! I hope many of you have the same experience!

[rdl926]

Feeling Good

I have been a lurker on this site for awhile now. I finally feel like I can say something about feeling better taking Tec. At first I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to jinx myself.

Been taking Tec for about a month now. Can honestly say I am not as tired as I used to be on Avonex. But the best improvement is my drop foot on my right side has improved.

My foot has been dragging for years, and about 10 days ago all of a sudden my whole leg started to get stronger.

One of the tests the neuro makes me do (that I haven't been able to do in years) is lay on my back, take one leg and run the heal of the foot down the opposite shin. The left leg has always been able to do that OK, but the right leg couldn't even get off the table.

Not anymore! I try it every day and I can actually do it now. I can't wait to visit the neuro and show him i can do it now.

[REG53]

Hello everyone,

I started my 2nd month today and doing very well. The mild stomach ache and bloating are less often now.
I am so thankful!

rdl926-- Fantastic news about you drop foot, so happy for you.

[hsmaldo]

So far, so good

I'm on day 2 of the low dose 120 mg 2x/day and I haven't had any side effects so far.

In the morning, I take a baby aspirin and a probiotic about 1/2 hour prior to breakfast. For breakfast, I have a small container of oatmeal with coconut oil and protein powder. I take my pill right afterwards with 16 oz of water.

I make sure to eat smaller snacks throughout the day, NOT waiting until I'm starving to eat.

I drink about 13 glasses of water throughout the entire day.

About an hour before dinner, I take another baby aspirin and probiotic, eat dinner and then take the pill with another 16 oz of water.

My dr prescribed the low dose for 4 weeks. After that I'll move up to the 240 mgs. I'll update with progress as applicable.

Thank you all for this thread, it DID help encourage me to start the meds and not be so worried about the side effects!

[ggnutsc]

Update...Finishing week 11 today

Today marks the end of 11 weeks on Tec for me. Initially when I started the 240mg, I had a couple days of GI issues, and that has been it. I have the runny nose a couple of hours after taking my pills, and I seem to be producing more mucous, but that is about the extent of it. Otherwise as I mentioned in another thread, I have really not modified my diet, or normal routine at all. My biggest challenge is remembering to take my pill at night after supper... I recently had a blood/urine test to check my liver and kidney functions. My Dr said it was all good.

So to any of you who are on the fence with the Tec, and worrying about side effects... Know that while some are having issues with it, there are also a lot of us that are finding good success with Tecfidara.

[kmallory1]

I've been on Tec about 5 weeks. I had one spectacular episode of flushing about 4 hours after the first dose, but it only lasted about an hour.

I've had no GI symptoms to speak of. I get slightly nauseated occasionally when my stomach is completely empty, but a few crackers relieve that. My constipation has even improved.

I'm taking every pill with food, but not taking an aspirin because I kept forgetting it anyway.

Overall, it's been much easier than I expected. After reading all the posts about problems with side effects I had really dreaded starting.

[ladybug162]

After having to come off of tec because of stomach issues and having to titrate slower...I am now going on my second week of the full 240 dose and doing well.

So far so good! I wish you all the best of luck!

[nosrepmodnar]

Thank you for this thread

I was getting concerned.
My neuro discussed BG12 with me last year, noting the lack of side effects and high efficacy.
It has since been released and we discussed it a couple months ago at my routine visit.
Took another spinal MRI, since I seem to be having increasing problems with my right side and we will talk about making the switch when I go back to go over the MRI.
He is in an academic hospital so I do not know if he is being cautious as an example to the students, since the tysabri backlash after it was mass released he is erring on the side of safety and recommended waiting until the results to give it some months on the market and possibly switching then or waiting for tecfidera to be out for a year and then going onto it.
I was getting concerned with all the issues I see on here, it is good to hear about the cases where it has worked well too.
Looking forward to get off rebif and the away from the needles to give myself time to recover from all the hard lumps under the skin.

[lisatherese]

I've been on it 9 or 10 weeks. In the first 2 or 3 weeks I had intermittent flushing, itching, and bloating, but I read these threads & started taking probiotic & aspirin before my morning dose & those have all but disappeared. I do have a dry cough & runny nose most days, but those are better than the daily Copaxone shot and lumps. So far I can't really tell if I feel any better or worse, as I live in Phoenix so it's hard to tell what's med related & what's related to this obscene heat.

[nosrepmodnar]

The sad part is the damage done stays done and they just keep getting worse, it can only prevent new problems