After nine months I'm done with the Rebif. I took week off just to see how I'd feel and I FEEL GREAT! I didn't remember what it felt to feel normal. My start was with a craniotomy and then straight to the bif before I had a chance to heal from that. I felt miserable (with the occasional ok day) for a year.

My surgical anniversary was the 19th and I had to see if things could be better. Well they can be and are. I figure I'll look into tysabri after a while. No more of those nasty adderals (sp) I worked all day every day this week and felt good at the end of the day. The flue like symptoms and the shot itself I could handle but the fatigue, which I can now directly attribute to the bif, was beyond livable. Ucckkk.

Of course the obligatory, I know we're all different, everybody should follow the advise of their own conscience and doctor.

Hey Keith,

Above all else we have to be our own health advocate and take full responsibility for our health, med, and circumstances. We do have the power to make our own choices to better our lives as we best know what our body needs for us to feel better.

Congratulations on your new beginning. I hope this continues for you.

Thanks Craig. You're right about having to look out for yourself. I've got a lesson in that the last year. Just finding something that's livable is hard and takes time but it has to be done. I know the bif works for a lot of people but I just couldn't deal with the profound tiredness anymore. Another attack down the road might change my mind but for now I got to get back to normal life.

Work's been great with me but I can't push it forever. Does it seem like I'm rationalizing some? Feels like it.

Good for you for trying, and sorry it didn't work out.

Have you considered Copaxone? Apparently the side-effects aren't as bad for some people.

Cherie

you're right to try something different.
sometimes meds don't work and the side effects aren't worth the benefits.

please keep us posted.
glad you're feeling good.

Hi Keith..
I totally understand what you've been going thru, as I went thru the same on Rebif for nearly a year. When I couldn't take anymore, and realized the medication was making me feel worse than the illness it was supposedly helping, my neuro had me stop taking it. I, too, felt almost instantly better. He put me on Copaxone, and I never had a bad reaction to it. The Rebif was definately working, because the follow-up MRI I had before quiting showed improvement in the old and nothing new, but I felt like a zombie..a sick zombie..I hope you find something that works well for you!

That's it to a T PE. My MRI's have shown improvement and nothing new. But a zombie is right or a zombie hopped up on amphetatimines. There's a mental picture for ya! lol

Doesn't copaxone cause fatigue too? I'm liking what I'm hearing from people I know that are doing tysabri. Leaning that way but I have to wait till my next neuro appt. in March.

I appreciate the feedback from everyone though, it's hard to pick - they all suck is what it amounts to. We are lucky to have them available though. My uncle just had roids and he's jacked up from 30 years of them now.

Copaxone can cause fatigue, again, varies from person to person. I quit taking DMD's last summer, and felt a little more awake. This is not a course of action I would recommend to anyone, but being progressive, it seemed pointless to experience any more fatigue than a I had to since there's nothing that shows DMD's are effective for progressive MS anyway (nothing I've heard of, that is)..That's not to say I wouldn't try something again in the future if that view changed. It's a tough choice each of us has to make. Seems like there are no "easy" choices with this disease..

Kao - That's great! Sometimes a change in meds is what we need. I am glad that has worked for you.

I did the same with Paxil. Although I still get fatigued is nothing like what it was when I was on Paxil. I felt so much better within a couple of weeks of not taking it.

No, the Copaxone does not make me tired or fatigued. For me, going on Copaxone was a good decision. My last MRI, when compared to last years, showed no changes. I was thrilled.

We all have to do what works best for us and what we are comfortable with. It may sound weird but after I take my Copaxone I meditate and think of the meds going to my brain and stopping MS in it's tracks. The mind too can be powerful medicine.

Good luck in your decision process. Keep us posted.