This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

[cjwithms]

I have read and re-read the info on both Avonex and Copaxone and can't make a decision on which one to choose. I have been on Avonex in the past and got the flu like smptoms for a few days and the needles are so long, they still still just scare me and my husband, who injected them for me.

I thought about trying Copaxone this time, but I read about the "bumps" and had a similar experience when I had to take medicine for a blood clot. The worst thing I read on these boards about Copaxone was the "attacks" that people had after about 10-15 times, where they had to call 911...and it seemed like more than a few had this experience.

So...I can't figure out which one to choose, but based on the restart of attacks every 28 days, I need to choose one now...like by tomorrow.

My doctor is also putting me on a steriod infusion, just once a month to help to settle these recent attacks that are coming on now that I have finished cancer treatment for Hodgkin's disease.

Anyone have any suggestions or a favorite here? Any response will help

[dignan]

If the avonex needles scare you and your husband, why not give copaxone a try and see if you get the injection site reactions. Not everybody gets them, so maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones. If not, you can always make a change. On efficacy they are pretty comparable, so I think it is really more about preference and side effects.

[Absentee]

I went with copax, mainly because of the "flu-like" symptoms of the others. Whatever you choose, don't make a decision based on relatively uncommon side effects like th "attck" you write about. Of course they are probably awful, but remember, there are many people taking the drug and we tend to only hear about people who write because they HAVE had the "attack".

Me personally, I had what I would say an adrenaline OD for the first month or so after shots. Light headed, chills, just odd feeling. And I did not die or call 911. I knew it might be some sort of reaction to the stress of shooting up but followed the advice and breathed through it and stayed calm.

You can do it - either way. Good luck.

[chrishasms]

Copaxone Copaxone Copaxone. Avonex will make you feel like you have been thrown down a flight of stairs 2 days a week. Plus after immune ablation they use Copaxone as a vaccine to reteach the immune system to not attack myelin. It has also shown to have a nerve protective factors as well.

The bumps suck and it stings a little bit but in 5 minutes life goes on as normal.