Hi

I was on Beta for 4 years before I stopped to try Tysabri.

It took me about 6 months to get used to the side effects, but I am very med sensitive. I pre-medicated with tylenol and/or aleve and titrated up very slowly.

I started on Beta before the autoinflictor and when it came out, I tried it and had horrible site reactions, so went back to manual injections.

I did use the pre-mixed formula that's out now and did find it a lot more "user friendly" especially when travelling as it could go thru the x-ray at the airport (I travel a lot).

I did not inject my arms at all as the red marks were too noticable and b/c I am in the sun a lot with my work, they just plain hurt!

I used Arnica Gel to help with the red marks. You can get it at GNC or any health food/products store. It will help with making the redness/soreness go away a bit quicker.

If I was sick with a cold or flu, I skipped my shot. I found that I had bad side effects and my doc said that it was ok to skip the shot.

After Tysabri was pulled and I was left with a choice, I went on Copaxone. I did not tolerate that at all and then decided to wait for Ty. That was a long wait! I eventually was not approved for Ty and decided to enter into a clinical trial that I am now in for Tovaxin.

I wish you well on Betaseron. I found the nurses at MSPathways a wealth of information and always there to help when I had questions. They have a great website. If you haven't signed up on it yet, I recommend it.