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I developed shingles a couple months after having Tysabri treatments. I understand that a person is more suseptible to developing shingles if they have had drugs that suppress the immune system. I want to know if anyone else has developed shingles after Tysabri or if there might be a link at all. If so I'm wondering if it would be such a good idea to resume Tysabri treatment if it becomes available again.

Thanks,

Xanthia

I saw on Fox News Sunday Housecall today, 6/5/05, something about shingles. He was discussing a vaccine that will soon be available to help prevent or lessen cases of shingles. Shingles come from the chicken pox virus. If you had them, the virus is laying dormant all along your spine. When the immune system is suppressed, sometimes, not always, the virus is reactivated into shingles and go along the nerves they were laying dormant on. If you were taking more than tysabri, maybe your immune system was surpressed too much. If not, then that may become a side effect for tysabri users. But the vaccine sounded nice. I had an aunt recently that had a very bad case of shingles. Just some knowledge.

xanthia, were you taking anything else along with the Tysabri? Did Biogen have you come in for a post-Tysabri check-up?

I took Rebif for about a year however I stopped taking it a year before I began the Tysabri treatments. I was never contacted by Biogen about any follow up tests however.

I already posted this information, but wanted to say, that about 3 weeks after starting the ABX regimen that many on this board are following I developed shingles. It was an unpleasant surprise. I was healthy, active, not run down in any way, in fact feeling great and taking lots of vitamin, getting lots of exercise. It was cleared up in a couple of weeks but left me uneasy, I'm still not clear why ABX would have had a negative impact on my immune system or triggered this in some other way.