Good luck. I have been on Avonex since 1997 with no major problems. Sure I had some minor flu like symptoms at first but those are gone. I took 2 Aleve about an hour before my show. I still do but I'm not sure if I need it anymore.

Thank you everyone. I spoke with my Dr and he said that the side effects I am having are not desired effects and to try a couple more shots and if the side effects dont improve that we might have to try somthing else. I pre and post medicate and drink plenty of water. I just feel like crap and I almost feel like my MS is worse now that I started treatment. I start feeling the side effects within 1-2 hrs and it goes like this...start getting a little cold one hour mark,by the 2nd hour the fever starts, then feels like I have to constantly stretch my muscles, then my muscles feel very tight and start jurking around which I cant controll all within 4hrs, then extreme cold blood presure drops heart rate goes up I know its because of the fever all this lasts about 12 hrs or so. Then I feel like crap for days. I do shot #4 this Friday nervous about it because I am a surgical tech and I will be on call this weekend and I know that there is no way I can drive let-alone work the first 24hrs after the shot, so we will see. Thank you all for your positive words of encouragement. I hate that anyone has to go through this but it does help to know you are not alone.

I sincerely hope you find that each shot brings on less and less side effect responses!

Hi everyone! I also hope your side effects get less. I am new to this website, never knew it existed and am so happy to talk with others that have this disease. I was diagnosed 13 years ago and put on copaxone within a month. I had very few side effects so continued it until last year. Although I was having about one excacerbation per year, my neurologist at the time thought that was ok because I was still walking unassisted most of the time and still working. Last year the legs got stiffer and feet would not stop burning so I went on rebif. The legs and feet eventually got better, but the side effects have been awful. Headaches and depression. So my neuro suggests Avonex, but I noticed additional side effects such as hallucinations. Right now, I am manually injecting about 38 mcgs of rebif and so far not getting bad symptoms unless I hit a vein. Have any of you ever done this? Any comments or suggestions? I would appreciate it. Thank you, Laurie

Hi Laurie, welcome to NeuroTalk.

I don't know much about Rebif, I was on another interferon..Avonex. Couldn't take the side effects..

Well I went to the doctor 9/11/12 and found out that I am having a relapse and that is why the shot is so bad. I just did my 2nd steroid infusion today not for sure if its helping cause I still have the relapse side effects. I fear that this symptoms wont go away.

Welcome Laurie!

Debbie, sorry to hear you are having a flare, but glad to know that may be why you were having a rough go of the injections. Hope you feel better sooner rather than later