I am/was considered mild.

I was scared to death and really listened when they told me how damaging all this could be and I really needed to start a med NOW so I went on Betaseron. 2 months later my liver functions were SOARING! it was frying my liver! I felt fine, but scared the clinic.

They continued to tell me horror stories about folks that didnt get on the meds, and how NOW is the time to take advantage of these meds, and while they are expensive, so is my eye sight, and will this next attack be the one that robs me of my sight, or my ability to walk...Scared the huband to bits. So, we washed off beta and went onto copaxone. I took the shot everyday. It burned like mad/wild bees on steroids. Some folks take six months for it to show its working, others up to a year. I took the full year and then some. Each shot ate more and more fat pad out from under me, and with each passing month i felt like I lost a bit more of me. I begged for the last year to be let off the stuff. I got lectures, scare tactics and high pressure sales.

I did my own research. ALL DMDs with the exception of Tysabri have about a 33% chance of preventing the next relapse. (they argued but what if THAT relapse is the one that takes your ability to walk?!) And if you do end up in a relaspse it has about a 10% chance of making that relapse less severe or shorter. Those are bad odds if you ask me. TY has a much higher track record and is covered under major medical due to its being administered in a hospital or clinic setting but its only a 37% chance of preventing the next relapse. It also comes with the risk of PML or a brain infection that can really do some damage. After a truck load of research the husband and I decided to go armed to the MD for our next visit. We laid out the facts, reaserch and our opinion and said "we quit, no more! I would rather be in a wheel chair and have my wits about me than not be able to function mentally, and be a blathering idiot who can walk around" With that, he glanced at our papers, said he knew all of these facts and agreed that it was our choice, and with that, I had my last shot.

I eat a spectacular diet. I exercise. I try to have a good attitude. I am working hard to look stuff up for myself, and lead a well balanced life. Do I still have MS? yep! you betcha! has it progressed? yep, it has, but it was progressing in tiny increments even while on their meds. From what I can tell, I have pretty typical symptoms, and pretty typical reactions. FRom the fuzzy vision when I am hot, to the MS hug. On some things like it affecting my Vagus and Phrenic nerve, I am not so lucky, but that has been an ongoing issue for decades.

Bottom line is that YOU and only YOU can make the choice to take or not take the meds that come with this disease. STudies DO show that folks who take the drugs fair better in the long run. STudies do show that folks on the drugs have fewer, and shorter relapses,(ONE less per calendar year) but studies also show a truck load of folks quit because they simply cannot deal with the side effects. So, drag out your best reading glasses, turn on the over head light, and start reading. I hope what ever lane you choose that you do it with information, and insight into how it fits YOUR life, and YOUR situation, and YOUR finances and YOUR motivations. In the end, that is the best you can hope for.

by the way, boston is GREAT! I chose to go to Dartmouth, but it was a close call.

I hope you feel better. Thats MY story, and MY way. Let us know what you decide.