Hi all,
just thought i would post a good news story to motivate those who may be struggling with Tec. When I started it i was hit really hard with the side effects - stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, intense flushing, itching, even hives. This lasted about 3 months for me but i was determined not to quit as i had already been on copaxone and after continued relapses and lesion formation through the 18 months i was on that and even through pregnancy (which should be protective) I needed something to slow things down! Tec has done that for me as far as we can tell. I have been relapse free for 18 months (I used to relapse multiple times a year, including during pregnancy which is rare) so this is huge for me! The side effects really are transient. I still flush occasionally but it passes quickly. The key for me it so eat plenty of food with each dose (and i noticed the packaging now says to take with food, it didn't say that when it first came out here in Canada, it said 'with or without' but with is definitely recommended!
so there it is! no relapses, and i had my first stable MRI (i.e. no new lesions compared to 6 months earlier and 1 large one actually shrunk!). This MRI was at the 1 year mark and i have another coming up in a couple of weeks at to see 18 months, fingers crossed for another stable one!
Stick with it, it does get easier! (and yes you will feel like a you rattle at first - i was taking so many things to manage the side effects for those first few months but by about month 4 I was completely off all additional OTC meds as the side effects were completely gone.
Good news story (18 months on Tec)
Re: Good news story (18 months on Tec)
Congratulations! You were strong that you did not give up the at the beginning I have seen many people quit because of the side effects. I wish you good luck with your next MRI, keep us updatedBouncycat wrote:Hi all,
just thought i would post a good news story to motivate those who may be struggling with Tec. When I started it i was hit really hard with the side effects - stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, intense flushing, itching, even hives. This lasted about 3 months for me but i was determined not to quit as i had already been on copaxone and after continued relapses and lesion formation through the 18 months i was on that and even through pregnancy (which should be protective) I needed something to slow things down! Tec has done that for me as far as we can tell. I have been relapse free for 18 months (I used to relapse multiple times a year, including during pregnancy which is rare) so this is huge for me! The side effects really are transient. I still flush occasionally but it passes quickly. The key for me it so eat plenty of food with each dose (and i noticed the packaging now says to take with food, it didn't say that when it first came out here in Canada, it said 'with or without' but with is definitely recommended!
so there it is! no relapses, and i had my first stable MRI (i.e. no new lesions compared to 6 months earlier and 1 large one actually shrunk!). This MRI was at the 1 year mark and i have another coming up in a couple of weeks at to see 18 months, fingers crossed for another stable one!
Stick with it, it does get easier! (and yes you will feel like a you rattle at first - i was taking so many things to manage the side effects for those first few months but by about month 4 I was completely off all additional OTC meds as the side effects were completely gone.
