This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Got a question.... I have been on Rebif for a while now. I try to inject every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Lately, I have had alot on my mind, and have been scatter brained at best. I have missed a couple of my dates for injection. I have just been injecting on the very next day, wich has my schedule all screwed up. I reckon what I am asking is.... How important is it to make sure you get the three injections a week? What happens if you only inject twice in a week? Is Rebif something that builds up in your bloodstream? or is it a new shot every time? I know its not a big deal, but it has me perplexed...Does everyone inject 3x a week?

Not sure about this part, but one thing is that subcutaneous shots (of which Rebif is one) aren't absorbed as well as, say an intra-muscular shot, or, even better, IV. So that's one reason the dosing is more frequent than Avonex, which is exactly the same interferon.

The other thing I have read is that dosing schedules for these medicines are the same as what was tried in the clinical trials. And, based on what I have read, those were almost educated guesses. So, it is possible that only 2 days/week of Rebif is enough, but that has never been tested, and 3 days/week is what was done in trials.

So, I guess this doesn't really answer your question. But I think the standard answer you will get from your doctor is to try and get back on schedule as soon as possible.

.

Bubba, I have had the same problem from time to time. The first time I just tried switching days in mid stream. For example, Monday, forgot Wednesday so do Thursday and then skip to Saturday. That gets confusing quick.

And if you forget Saturday then you can't do Sunday because you need 48 hours between shots so you couldn't do Monday if you did Sunday. That is more confusion than we need.

So what I do now when I miss a scheduled shot is to forget about that one and carry on with the regular schedule. Two weeks later, I will skip another and two weeks later I skip another. That way I'm back on the Mon-Wed-Fri schedule, starting a new pack of needles on the Monday after a six week cycle. So far I have had to do that 2 or 3 times (I've been on the stuff for years) and have had no ill effects.

Hope this helps.

_________________
Carpe Diem

i've never understood why they ask you to inject mon wed and fri to keep the weekend free from side effects. i inject sun tue and thursday. inject on friday and you suffer the side effects on the saturday when you want to go out and do things.

I tried injecting twice a week earlier in Jan this year in a bid to save cost. It was a bad decision for me as the relapzs come in fast and furious after that. I experienced 6 relapz up today with shorter time in between relapzs. I had a good year last year with only 1 minor relapz. Now I'm back to 3 times per week.

I will definately keep up three times a week then. I would just like to go one week without having to worry about a schedule. Just one week....
For me, injecting is no big deal, and takes me about 20 seconds from start to finish. But it's the constant, in the back of your mind, did I, didn't I?
I do not no if it is a coinsedence or not but i have screwed my schedule up for the past two weeks, and I have been nauseous and very, veruy tired all day. I haven't missed any, just different days...

Bubba, I have missed and screwed up my schedule a few times also. I always try and inject 3 x a week though. If I have something planned for Tues, Thurs or Sat- I'll just change the day. I don't know if I'm screwing anything up but I haven't had any real problems. With my shots I occasionally have spurts where I feel more tired or nauseous for a week or so and then it goes away. I guess I've never really thought about why. I hate the whole injection process so I can understand why you feel like it's a burden. I guess it's just a fact of life for us right now that we have to accept. I've only been doing this for 3 years and I can't imagine having to do it 3 more years so I hope something better and easier comes out soon. Until then I'm gonna hang in there as best I can.
Judie

Hi,

i am abt. a year on rebif, once i messed it up on a friday night, had been away from home, so calles the mslifeline, a doctor called me back said, i could take the next shot on sunday, or just do it on monday again to stay in my schedule. but i should not miss it twice in a row.....

in wanted to ask you guys, what times you take it? i used to take it at 10pm, but hated take it out with me.....am tsken it since may in the morning, so i am free of it at night......

I've been on Rebif 44 mcg for 5.5 years. I have stuck to the 3 times per week schedule without fail so far, although I have come close to forgetting and missing a dose. My typical schedule is M, W, Sat in the evenings. But I often change this up depending on what's going on in my social, work and travel schedule. For example, I might do M, W, Sat, Tues, Thu, Sat, M, W, F, M, Thu, Sat, etc. I just make sure it's at least ~48 hours and no more than ~72 hours since my last dose. My neuro said this was completely fine to do.