I'm one of those people who doesn't have allergies or bad reactions, Barb. Stuff just doesn't work sometimes...

I didn't use the interferons because I like my liver. I WOULD have had to try them if Tysabri hadn't been re-approved.

Copaxone just DIDN't work. It was like injecting water, except for the giant welts and itching! I was told "that's how you know it is working!" but it didn't work for me.

I got lucky with Tysabri. I never forget that someday it may STOP working for me. For now, it does. When I see someone try it and NOT have it work, I cannot express how bad I feel for them, because it HAS worked so well for me. I think it's like "survivor's guilt".

There are new breakthroughs coming. There's stuff that is in PIII trials right now for MS. When they broke the genetic code they were able to take pieces of genes and see why they do what they do, and they ARE working on MS.

Look how long it took from when the first MS drugs came along! Ask anyone who has had this stupid disease since the 80s. They were there. They had a LOTTERY to see who would get the drugs because they couldn't make it fast enough.

I have a cousin who is younger than I am, she was diagnosed in the early 80s and there were no drugs available. She was diagnosed by being put in hot bathwater!! She has major disability now because the drugs came too late for her. Her sister was diagnosed in the 90s. She went on drugs immediately. She has deficits, but it has been slowed because of Rebif and Avonex and Betaseron and copaxone. Now she is holding back the floodgates with Tysabri, too.

Medicine is going to be an individualized thing someday and people are going to look back and wonder why the heck we thought the drugs we took were so good. We're getting closer to that now. Someday people will just step into a scanner and it will tell them everything they need to do to fix what is wrong. They will have a printout that tells them what they are at risk for and how to fix it. We aren't there yet, but it IS coming.

It might not be there for us but I believe it will be there for our kids.

I don't know if this helps at all but even if it doesn't, I am hugging you right now. There are people here who are fighting for every one of us. Never feel bad for what you need to say. WE will support you and how you feel!