MS Strength

I’m warming up for a new article. Getting the fingers limber and receptive to WORK. Thanksgiving was very cheerful and fun with the family– my parents, who live in the next town over, have had the festivities since I can remember. I told my mom I’d like to take it over in the future, but right now our house is way too small. We had Easter one year and that was a real hoot. So no major holidays in here, and if I ever do one again, it’s gonna be a potluck and someone else can make the bird (or it’s coming already cooked and garnished from Hinck’s Turkey Farm nearby.) I love one of the mottos from Alcoholics Anonymous: Keep It Simple, Stupid ( K.I.S.S. for short.)

I did have a nasty “shot” hangover from the Betaseron yesterday. Probably one of the reasons people don’t take interferons. I’m usually pretty good on it, and the flu-like side-effects have calmed down over the past few years, but I get what I call a rogue shot– similar to a rogue wave— where the effects are bigger and more turbulent than the shots before it. I get one about every two or three months. It feels like a really intense flu for the day: fever, chills, body aches, nausea, and a mind blowing headache. Lovely. So yesterday the household just lounged on the couches and watched the tube. Even the cat. Very supportive– thanks!

I went to the local community college last week and signed up for an abnormal psychology class, which comes in an online format. I took a library science course online about three years ago and I think the format’s great. Almost like independent study with a once-a-week meeting online. I’m mentally gearing up for this because I need something to do with my wandering brain. Something stimulating and interesting. Starts in January, just before my mind goes into hibernation, so not a moment too soon.

Here is some pretty exciting news: I was interviewed by New Mobility magazine a few months back about my lengthy disability case and one of the editors and then-columnist Josie and I got to talking about other things. She mentioned that she might be looking to pass the MS Life column on to a new columnist. We kept in touch and I submitted a sample column for their January issue. They notified me recently and told me I was hired to be the new columnist for 2009. The MS Life section is published every other month and it contains a profile of an MSer, a piece on coping, a piece on new research, and a wildcard. The January issue will have a profile on Joan from A Short in the Cord, giving information about her fantastic chat room. Parts of the mag can be viewed online at www.newmobility.com and I also found it at the main branch of our library system. The magazine is for active wheelchair users and the MS Life column provides news to those with moderate and progressive forms of MS.

Anything else new and exciting? Probably not. I have to admit that I live the placid, understimulating life of an 85 year old man. Which of course can be good and bad, depending on the day.

Now on to Copaxone and its advantages and its drawbacks…..

There are several injectable disease-modifying drugs on the market today to slow patients’ courses of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. These medications are defenses against the number and severity of future relapses and resulting disability. The drugs range in effectiveness and are therefore used for different severities of RRMS. At this time, these drugs are only indicated for relapsing-remitting MS and are not definitely proven to help progressive courses, although a couple of the medications are still used for this purpose. No medications are 100% effective and there is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis.

Avonex* is one of the said injectable drugs, and like all of the other medications, it comes with its advantages and its drawbacks. It is a manufactured interferon— specifically beta-1a— which is a protein that is also naturally produced by the body. Avonex has been proven to reduce the number and severity of MS relapses in patients, as well as the level of disability caused by relapses, and it has been on the market since 1996.

Avonex’s Advantages:

• The medication is only administered once a week, as opposed to the other drugs, one of which is injected daily
• Avonex can be received in prefilled syringes or easy packets which can be mixed by the patient
• The administration of Avonex causes less site reactions than most of the other medications
• Avonex has more than 10 years’ worth of proven results

Avonex’s Drawbacks:

• Being one of the interferon medications, Avonex can cause flu-like side-effects (fever, chills, nausea, and aches) for up to two days after a shot is administered
• Avonex is the only medication that is injected intramuscularly (IM), and so it has the longest needle
• Avonex can cause any of the following side-effects: depression, anemia, seizures (rare), heart abnormalities (rare), abnormal liver function readings, thyroid abnormalities, and reduced immunity to infections and illnesses
• Avonex is thought to be the least effective drug for MS because it has the lowest dose with the least amount of administrations. Rebif, another drug with the same chemical composition, is given at a higher dose (subcutaneously or just under the skin) several times a week.

*any decision to take medication should be thoroughly discussed with your doctor

• References:The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, The National MS Society