Gilenya vs. Copaxone

[Kathleen12486]

Hi all,

I am newly diagnosed and need to make a decision as to what treatment I want to go on. I have done some research on both Gilenya and Copaxone, but am not sure what direction to go in. I would appreciate any advice you could give me on the two medications.

Thank you!
Kathleen

[Alicious]

Copaxone is a heck of a lot safer, and my neuro says that the data being gathered now on Gilenya suggests it's not much more effective than Copaxone, and that the initial efficacy rate in the trials skewed higher than they are seeing now. Basically, it's a lot more danger with potentially little increased benefit beyond being a pill, but can come with a host of health issues. For those reasons, my money would be on Copaxone, personally.

Is your neuro willing to entertain the idea of Aubagio? It's in the same efficacy range as Copaxone, but is also a pill. I'd still choose Copaxone as it's the safest MS med on the market, but Aubagio may be an additional med to consider.

[BigA]

If you're worried, Copaxone has a long safety profile and you can always change if it doesn't work. I think Gilenya is safe, but then again, it's not been in the market that long.

Copaxone is always the best first choice, since it's the safest.

[TLC_31]

I tried Gilenya and it certainly proved unsafe for ME, but it has been used by many with good results. I simply switched back to Avonex, and you also would be able to switch drugs if your first choice doesn’t work out for whatever reason. We all respond differently to different drugs.

Copaxone and the interferons have better-established safety profiles (I’m not aware the Copaxone is “the safest”) and so a lower factor of risk than Gilenya or Aubagio, but they have their downsides as well. All drugs have side effects, and you really don’t know how badly they’ll affect you until you try. Which side effects would you be able to tolerate better? If your course of MS is relatively mild, how much risk do you need to accept? (A few might argue that your best choice is to take no DMD, that the risk of any drug is greater than the risk of progression.)

You don’t want to skip doses. Are you more inclined to forget a pill in the morning, or are you more inclined to skip a shot because you need a break from needles? The “best first choice” is the drug you can commit to using as directed.

More information on the drugs is at the link below. Ask more questions anytime!

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/abo...nts/index.aspx

[onlyairfare]

I took Copaxone for over 6 years, and now I have been on Gilenya for almost 3 months. I have not had any significant problems with either drug. Almost no side effects from Gilenya so far - perhaps I am a little more tired, perhaps a little more emotional.

Other than injection sites that were red and tender, and the fact that daily injections were a bit of a nuisance, I did fine on Copaxone, and I was glad I didn't have to put up with "flu-like" side effects of the interferons. I chose to stop it when my employer changed insurance plans and my co-pay went up to 25% of the list price, or $800 per month, nearly $10,000 per year out of pocket, and not worth it to me.

Fast forward about 4 years, when I fell, hit my head, and sustained a concussion. My neuro suggested I resume DMD's and he said Gilenya, so I took his advice. My insurance is different now, Novartis covers the $180 co-pay I would now owe with my current plan (at least to date, as the plan changed January 1, and I'm not sure how it's covered now).

I don't think I have had any relapses since beginning Copaxone in 2002, including the 4 years off DMDs, but then I was not having many relapses anyway since the mid-1990's. I have had MS since 1975, and most of my problems were ON, in the late 70's to early 1990's.

Bottom line, I'd say either medication, depending on whether you prefer a pill, or don't mind shots and like the fact that Copaxone has been around longer so we know more about it. Or maybe the cost and insurance question will be your deciding factor.