Barb, This is not the end of your options!

First, there's a difference between persistent and transient antibodies. You absolutely may have either. Usual protocol is to continue to treat if benefits have been seen, despite a positive test, and re-assess after three months, and you state that you have seen positive benefits. Make sure that you pretreat with benadryl or claritin and make sure they are running the IV at a slower rate. In many folks it makes a HUGE difference. Tell your neuro you want the MRI at 6 months to see whether it shows improvement, to help you decide on your next move, because of the problems you have experienced.

Second, despite how you may feel now, as Av8rgirl stated, there are other options available. Investigation into MS treatment is continuing to move forward after being stalled for YEARS! More is known about MS today and there are more meds in the pipeline than ever before, some with excellent data coming out of the trials! Look at www.clinicaltrials.gov for more information on trials for MS.

There are many folks here who have been hearing "A cure in our lifetime" for years. This IS going to happen at some point. With the advances in science in the past decade, I truly believe we are closer than ever to figuring out the whats and whys of MS. I have an up and coming Neuroscience/Molecular Biology Masters candidate in my family and she has a personal stake in this fight. It's one of the reasons she has chosen the path she is on, as a researcher.

Until it's figured out, there will continue to be better treatments designed to delay progression and reduce relapses. That's what we have now and despite the drawbacks and flaws of each drug available, and the fact that they do not work for everyone the same way, we DO have options.