I started this sunday night, and I'll say this much: It's a walk in the park compared to my experience with Avonex years ago. Those two experiences(each one I used it 3 months, this was a year apart) scared me off of meds for a LONG time.
There's an excellent support group for those of us taking this med on FB. On that group you'll find side effects vary. Some have wicked stomach issues just the first month & things go away. Some flush a bit here and there the first 3-4 weeks & then it goes away.
The majority of the people on it have had little to zero side effects. The first pill of the lower dosage & the first pill of the higher are the ones most apt to bring about flushing. I had it 3 1/2 hrs after my very first pill. Lasted an hour and went away. Nothing since.
Sure I'm a bit more tired then normal the last few days but everyone says that's normal the first five -six days then it vanishes. And truthfully I have moments during the day of horrid fatigue & then moments where I could run a marathon.
That's what the Tec is doing. Nothing more. No stomach issues, nada.
I don't think it's awful at all. The great thing is that for almost everyone who has had horrible problems they rode it out & by 6th week, as they were told by the nurses, the side effects go away.
This definitely is MUCH different compared to Avonex where I spent 3 days feeling like I had the flu, 2 feeling like I wanted to eat people's heads, and then 2 ok before I had to start it all over again.
Plus there's less of a chance of liver issues, no hair thinning/loss, no extreme weight gain issues(opposite, it does seem to repress your appetite a little & most people lose a few lbs).
I definitely wouldn't call the side effects awful. I mean YES some people get the stomach pain very, very extreme, but we're talking out of 800 people in this group only 2 people have had this happen. And no one has flared yet.
There's an excellent support group for those of us taking this med on FB. On that group you'll find side effects vary. Some have wicked stomach issues just the first month & things go away. Some flush a bit here and there the first 3-4 weeks & then it goes away.
The majority of the people on it have had little to zero side effects. The first pill of the lower dosage & the first pill of the higher are the ones most apt to bring about flushing. I had it 3 1/2 hrs after my very first pill. Lasted an hour and went away. Nothing since.
Sure I'm a bit more tired then normal the last few days but everyone says that's normal the first five -six days then it vanishes. And truthfully I have moments during the day of horrid fatigue & then moments where I could run a marathon.
That's what the Tec is doing. Nothing more. No stomach issues, nada.
I don't think it's awful at all. The great thing is that for almost everyone who has had horrible problems they rode it out & by 6th week, as they were told by the nurses, the side effects go away.
This definitely is MUCH different compared to Avonex where I spent 3 days feeling like I had the flu, 2 feeling like I wanted to eat people's heads, and then 2 ok before I had to start it all over again.
Plus there's less of a chance of liver issues, no hair thinning/loss, no extreme weight gain issues(opposite, it does seem to repress your appetite a little & most people lose a few lbs).
I definitely wouldn't call the side effects awful. I mean YES some people get the stomach pain very, very extreme, but we're talking out of 800 people in this group only 2 people have had this happen. And no one has flared yet.
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