Which Medication would you Recommend for MS?

Which (CRAB/Tysabri) medication do think has the least side affects? Please vote because this poll is for an individual trying to make a serious decision, and the doctor told this person to choose their own treatment.

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25%

 (1) 

Avonex

0%

 (0) 

Betasteron

50%

 (2) 

Copaxon

0%

 (0) 

Ribif

25%

 (1) 

Tysabri

4 Members voted

[Lulu54]

Linda, I know you are on Tysabri with great luck.  But if I'm thinking right, Tysabri wouldn't be offered to a first time DMD user unless there were highly unusual circumstances.  It is considered a drug to be used only when only  the CRAB drugs were ineffective.  

[Quixotic1]

As for choosing your own, which seems to be normal these days, for the interferons, it is a matter of choosing your route and shedule.  After a given length of time - about 6 months - they all work about the same.

For the interferons Avonex is known to have the fewest side effects and the lowest incidence of creating neurtralizing antibodies.  Then comes Rebif and betseron is known to have the highest dose, the highest incidence of side effects and, by far, the highest incidence of neutralizing antibodies.

Copaxone seems to be without many/any body side effect at all, but the local side effects can apparently be quite annoying.  One that we don't talk about is fat necrosis - that is, the death of fat tissue and the creation of "potholes" where it has occurred.  these woulde be permanent and would be visible forever.  These occur with some notable frequency.

Quix

[doublevision1]

The interferons may also cause problems with liver function (in a small minority, me included), hence the regular blood tests to keep an eye on this, which are not necessary with Copaxone.