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travis842 wrote:

Ladymac wrote:I don' t know if taking pepto with the pill would render some compromise of the medication. Pepto contains Bismuth which is a very strong neutralizer, I would think the pill with the meal and then after a couple hours if you need something like pepto it would help settle the stomach and not inactivate some of the ingredients. Just my opinion, I am not a doctor.

Thanks good point Lm. I could try another way and see what will make Tecfidera easier to take. I have tried many costly things but will try again. Back to the old drawing board.

I CAN TODAY SAY NO PEPTO OR BEANO. SO FAR SO GOOD. BODY IS GETTING USE TO IT NOW AFTER 1MO&1WK. JUST FYI. YAAAAY !!!

Great!

Ginger tea is a great idea!! I've used before and can't wait to do so again.
I'm starting on Ladymacs diet suggestions today (thx to you!) but ...
If I'm really honest I have very bad eating habits. ESP for a Mser..... More of a grazer than 3 mealer. Usually don't eat until 11 or later, often 1 "meal" and snacks rest of time (but they're usually not junk food at least).

Soooo I will try to follow the 3 meal guidance... And the pain should motivate me!! But if not, what do you folks think is real key? Is it keeping a full stomach thri put the day or eating with the med or the aspirin? We prolly don't know yet but welcome any thoughts!

Jspinnerlamar,

How are you doing? Any improvements with the diet and timing of your meds?

Blessings

Are you feeling better?

Travis 842,

Are you feeling better???

Miss Katie,

Hi there. I have found that sometimes I have to PM someone to get an answer because unless they have checked the box to let them know if someone responds, they may not get back on the site for a while. If you PM and they have their account set that it is ok for Admin to email them that you have a message, they will get an email stating that they have a private message from someone on this site.

Good Luck!

Ladymac,

Thank you for posting this link on the side effect thread. Last night was my worst night so far. Severe stomach pain, watery stool and vomiting. This was tragic cause until last night cause this was the first time I vomited in roughly 20 years. I have read your dieting plan and have started it today. I do hope this helps cause I cant imagine living like this offshore at work for much longer

I hope you have an experience of it getting better with time--it has for me and others on this site--once I started following the diet advice. I find I can't let my stomach get empty. And I've definitely cut down on carbonation of any kind...and if I even start to feel shaky or chills or a flush coming on (as I got better the side effects seemed to come in waves,not constantly)I take Tums or Rolaids and that seems to help too.

First day on Tecfidera and side effects kicked in after very first dose. Thanks for posting the diet suggestions! Gilenya was so much easier but my doc had some concerns regarding possible long term effects.

What dose did you guys start out with? I was under the impression I was supposed to get some type of starter dose for the first week. However, my Neuro prescribed me to take one 240 mg capsule twice daily...for the whole month.

With that said, I have been on Tecfidera for one week and 2 days. I experienced horrible itching and flushing about 2 hours after my first dose. From the second dose on, I have had some itching and a tad bit of flushing.

As far as the GI problems, I have not followed any type of diet (didn't give it much thought until seeing it on the forum). I have just made sure I have eaten before I took the pill. One time I forgot. I did have pains in the pit of my stomach about an hour or so after I took the pill. I immediately at a snack. I don't remember what it was but knowing me it was probably chips. The stomach pain went away.

Although I do not seem to be having a big issue with the normal side effects, my vision did get blurry a couple of days ago. Not sure if it is a residual symptom of a past bout with ON or a side effect of this medication. I have had the blurry vision for 3 days now...in both of my eyes.

I haven't contacted my doctor yet. If it is anything like the BS I went through with my Copaxone, he will just tell me to keep taking it and not even look into it.

Hi Littlered,

Please check out www.tecfidera.com regarding dosages and patient instructions. It also has the dosage instructions for physicians. You can download, print, and then discuss with your doctor.

The Starter dose package I was prescribed was 120mg per dose x 2 doses a day for 7 days then 240 mg per dose X 2 doses a day thereafter.

I hope things get better for you.

Blessings,

This post made me decide to join this forum. Thank you so, so much Ladymac! So very helpful. I'm on week four of Tecfidera and last night was the worst I've had for side effects. Reading this thread I see I'm not alone in my experience, and that was incredibly heartening. Thank you for the advice here. I've already started to apply it and feel 100% better.

-S

Hi everyone. Just wanted to share my experience with Tecfidera. I didn't start having gastrointestinal problems until week 3, but when it started, it was terrible. I lost 10 lbs in a week and had to stop the medication. After talking with my neuro and reading postings from several forums, I decided to try the change of diet along with aspirin like so many have suggested. It helped a little bit for me, not much. Anyway, my husband knows someone with a pharmacy background who told him that Tecfidera creates an acid biproduct when it breaks down (or something like that) and that's what causes the GI symptoms. So, I thought I'd try out an antacid. Pepto didn't help, so I tried Zantac. Well, for me, this helped a ton. I know others have concerns about antacids inhibiting drug absorption, but I figure it's better than getting no drug in me at all. I'll try to wean myself off in time! Good luck!

Dear tfMAgirl,

For those of us who already had GERD and were on proton pump inhibitors like Prevacid or Prilosec, etc., we contacted our GI specialists about taking our GERD medication twice a day (these aren't regular antacids). I am currently on Prevacid and take it first thing in the AM with all meds EXCEPT Tecfidera. One hour later I have breakfast and then take my Tecfidera.

In the Evening I take my 2nd Prevacid 1 hour before eating my evening meal where I take my Tecfidera. At bedtime I take all my other PM meds.

Now this is not recommending or saying anyone has to be on a GERD medication. I already had (and some others did as well) severe GERD before taking Tecfidera, it was a matter of managing the GERD with taking other medications, not having an empty stomach (causing acidic situation in general overall) and taking another of my GERD medication 1 hour before the evening Tecfidera.

Now on Tecfidera for 4 months and not having any side effects, I have just finished 1 having my Tecfidera in the AM with a BOOST PLUS PROTEIN premade shake without any issues. I am not a big breakfast person, but did the protocol of the diet to take with the first Tecfidera a day as described in the start of this post I made until I felt I could try something different. In the beginning I lost weight, then started slowly gaining weight. I am now able to have salad and some type of meat, chicken pork at dinner with or without vegetables or fruits without any issues.

Once I finish 2 more weeks of gradually making the new changes with my diet I will be attempting to drop the evening GERD Medicine (the Prevacid I have been on for years).

Blessing,