The Scheduled Shot, Which At Once Was Not

Ha. I bet you were expecting a tidy little package of info about how I'm surviving my first day of hamster ovary injections. Well guess what--I'm not!

As I have mentioned before, DSO is the man. At my appointment last week, we sat down and took a much more exhaustive look at the treatment options that are available to me. And while DSO explained that Rebif is a really good option when evaluating the three interferon choices (Rebif, Avonex, and Betaseron), there is another option that Dr. MS did not discuss with me at the time of my initial diagnosis.

Enter: Copaxone. Sweet, sweet Copaxone.

Allow me to back up for a minute and give you some background information. Another important conversation DSO and I had was about the stage of MS I was diagnosed with. He reviewed my test results, bumped them up against the MRI I had in 2005, and agreed with Dr. MS's assessment that I have MS.

From there DSO took it a step further and clarified that he believed I have been graced with a mild case of the disease. Ultimately, my symptoms have been visual, and (for the most part) are limited to situations involving intense heat, activity, and/or stress. He clarified that with the progress of my symptoms to date (much more of an inconvenience than a "disability" at this point, with at least 5 years of lesions on record), the side-effects I had a good chance of having with Rebif would likely slow me down more than the disease itself.

Copaxone, on the other hand, does not have the same side effects that are associated with the interferons (which, he explained, are similar to the cells introduced into the body the day before getting the flu--causing fatigue, muscle aches, fever, and general malaise). So while my new treatment plan consists of daily injections (instead of 3x/week), the side effects are much less severe--AND the results in clinical trials are right in line with those from interferons. Oh--and the daily injections? Frankly, I think the routine will be much easier to remember than 3x/week.

So color me happy, I have a new plan--one that is pretty gosh darn palatable if I do say so myself.

P.S. The change in treatment plans has ultimately pushed back my meeting with the Needle Advisor to July 7. Until then... you'll have to muddle your way through a hodgepodge of posts about other random topics.