MS, treatments, the great debate

[Thinkimjob]

Maybe you'd be worse, maybe you wouldn't. And that applies whether you take a dmd or you don't.
I do believe drugs work if you think they will work - the placebo effect. The trouble is it is hard to believe a drug is working, when it quite clearly isn't any more.
I was told I would probably have 10 'good' years, right at the start. That was bang on.
The last three have been downhill, all the way. That's with dmds from day one, and a rapid diagnosis.

I'd like to think the dmds did some good, otherwise a lot of pain for not much gain.
There's not really a choice - like the philosophical question 'can a man who will be executed in the morning freely choose to die?'. I'd say, no, stupid question, you're dead whatever you decide.
But you can choose to give dmds a go, you can choose the one you 'like' (ha) best, and you can maintain the faith for as long as you can. I did.
It's probably worth it, just in case it works well for you, but it doesn't stop the exciting progression.

[a.nukem]

I used Avonex from April 2010 to January 2011. The side effects sucked for the first few months but then I'd spend one, sometimes two days after my injection feeling a little out of sorts. The problem was that mentally/emotionally I wasn't doing well with having to use a needle on myself. It's hard for me to overcome. It's not the fear of the needle... it's the reliance on something.. the constant reminder of why I have to take it. So I went off the Avonex and have been to this day.

Now I'm going back on it. I have a new neuro who wants me on a DMD and I figure I'll give Avonex another try because it wasn't horrible with the sideaffects but I can't stand the thought of having to inject myself more than once a week. It's a personal choice. If I can't handle it after a year then I'm done with it... but I want to try again and see how it goes so that I can say I honestly tried. I just had my second MRI since being dx in April 2010. Just a quick glance at it looks like I've gained a few new scars, but who can say if they would really have been prevented by taking a few more months of the medication? My mental health has been better off of the medication, but I am always stuck wondering.... what if?

Many people (and doctors) fully believe in taking a DMD no matter what. It's a question of is all of it worth it in the end if you can prevent even one relapse? One more bit of damage? Some say yes.... some say they will just take their chances. The choice is yours, and I hope that you think about it. It's never easy to find the answer, but know that we are all here to listen.

[Camsue]

a lot of good responses

like my 'tag line' says "I did get better"...I've been on Betaseron for 17 years..side effects were rough in the beginning (chills, flu like sxs in am)

There were no meds except steriods and I took a regiment twice, but since taking ibuprofen in pm when I get the shot, I no longer suffer side effects.

It is a personal decision but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you use a DMD...placebo or not, I still 'function'

[dpmich]

When I got dx I chose to go on Beta. The neuro and nurse gave me the info on the (then) 4 dmds and let me go home and investigate all of them. I was on Beta for 6 years, the side effects weren't "bad" just achy, fevery feeling occasionally, the night of the injections.

When I KNEW it had helped was when I had to go off Beta. I had to do the washout period for 6 weeks. The 4th day after starting my new dmd I went into a full blown, horrid exacerbation. (I was titrating up the 1st dose was only a 1/4 of a full shot strength.) I know it wasn't the new med so it had to be the Beta had kept everything under control for me.

It is our own unique choice to make and not an easy one.

Debbie