Beta Interferon 1a

  Hello I am a 37 yo F with spms. I have been taking Avonex for over a year now. The flu like sx were very intense and lasted for nearly 8 months. They began to diminish after that. Now, after over 12 months...I have begun to experience those same intense side effects following my injection. My fever can rise as high as 103, aches, muscle stiffness...etc. Along with the fevers I also experience (as with the early treatment) flare or intensity of: visual difficulties, periphral neuropathy (scalding skin), bladder, speech difficulty.
  My Questions:
  #1- Is this recurrance of the injection side effects normal after all of this time??
  #2- I have heard that we can develope antibodies against the interferon 1a. THis reaction almost seems the opposite to me??
  #3- I have developed severe spasticity in my outer portion of my  right thigh. This causes extreme sesitivity to gentle-pressure like an exposed nerve.. VERY painful!! However, the skin remains to be without feeling on the surface and there is no bruising. ( I can ***** it or run my hand across it and not feel a thing!! Go figure!) This "mix" of sensation has me worried. As this leg has not been functional for 19 months. I am unable to inject into that thigh at all with out running the risk of "hitting" a deep nerve track.......happens 90% of tries.
  Help!! I can not find any information relating to these questions!!
=========================================================================================
Thanks for the question. The Interferons can have antibodies produced against them and depending on the study and the specific  IFN the rates vary from 3 to 20 percent. Usually if you develop AB then the drug becomes less effective not that it causes a reaction in your body. The avonex is given IM and hence we see less injection site problems. I'm not sure why you are having such strong reactions again after the injections but I would recommend pretreating with tylenol (what has your MS doctor suggested?) Any fever can worsen neurologic problems so that is probably what is causing the worsening of your symptoms. If you are having alot of "nerve" like pain then you may ask your doctor about neurontin which is an anti epilepsy medication that has been showen to be helpful with nerve type pain. Good luck
This information is provided for general medical education purposes. Please consult your doctor regarding diagnostic and treatment options.