Newly diagnosed

[butterfly25]

Hi everyone! Don't really know where to start but ill give it a go. Im a 25 year old female and I have just been diagnosed with M.S this last week. It all started back in feb when i woke up really really weak. I progressively got worse over the next week and ended up losing all the feeling in my skin and lost a good bit of mobility too. I was admitted to hospital and had an MRI and a lumbar puncture while there. The results of my MRI showed an inflammation on my brain that the doc's thought was caused by some sort of infection. Long story short I was put on steroids and let out after a week. I was out of work for a month but slowly but surely started to recover. i had a relapse when i went back to work and have still been suffering terrible tiredness and some tingling and headaches for a while now but I've been feeling a lot better. I had a follow up MRI at the end of june and got my results on Wednesday just gone where I told I had M.S. It has been such a terrible shock for me, my partner and family. I really don't know where to begin with dealing with it. I am going to start my treatment soon and will be on avonex once a week. Has anyone tried this medication?
Its such a shock to have been told this but I've been told by many that it is quite easily treated and its good that i found out now so i can start treatment asap. Everyone is being really positive but I'm really scared and I don't really know what to be doing with myself.
I heard that a good diet and exercise is really important for keeping relapses at bay and battling symptoms. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice about what I should do first and where is the best place to start.
Thanks xx

[jimmylegs]

welcome to TiMS, butterfly. sorry to hear your unpleasant news! i haven't tried avonex, but many here have. there's a specific avonex discussion forum, which you can find on the main index under the heading 'treatments'. i'm into the nutrition side of things, some of my thoughts and fave sites are included in my 'signature' links, below. again, welcome to the forum!

[butterfly25]

Hi Jimmylegs!

Thanks so much for the reply. Ill definitely take a look at those links. I really appreciate it

[want2bike]

Dr. Swank spent 50 years proving his diet. Some people use diet instead of drugs to treat MS. You should look at all the information you can find before making that decision. Here is a link to what some have to say about Avonex.

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.a ... ame=AVONEX



http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/healt ... .html?_r=2

http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis. ... gram/Diet/

[NHE]

I am going to start my treatment soon and will be on avonex once a week. Has anyone tried this medication?

I was on Avonex for 10 years. I recommend taking 400 mg of ibuprofen at the time of your shot and then again about 5 or 6 hours later. Repeat as needed. A dose the next day may be helpful as well. I did better injecting in the middle of the day around noon. It seems that my body would not thermoregulate well if I injected in the evening and then tried to sleep through it as Biogen suggests. More specifically, I would get bad chills and shakes. I was better able to manage the side effects during the day. Plan on feeling like crud the day after and just take it easy.

You might be interested to read my post on injection site locations.
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/avonex-f5 ... tml#p70084


NHE