consultant appointment - want to change meds

so tomorrow is my day to see consultant. i really want to change meds and have previously been told no, but maybe looking into it when i have my next appointment

I have a fear of needles (i know silly), and its a big build up to do my injection (auto injection), and sometimes miss a dose.

i want to change to tablets, am i being selfish to ask of this as i am on a DMD already?

is there any tips for me to persuade consultant to move me over?

thank you, i hope you are right

From seeing on here oral tablets are now what they offer to newly diagnosed patients, so fingers and toes crossed

needles bring pain and additional complications.

why would anyone be refused an opportunity to change? i would recommend that you DEMAND to be changed; don’t go in there requesting it.

Tecfidera is better at doing what it is supposed to do than injectable alternatives. it is painless. it has few and short lived side effects. It is simply better in every respect.

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Hey, don’t beat yourself up about not wanting to do the injections, who in their right mind would? When it was clear that the Tysabri wasn’t working for me I was absolutely dreading seeing the neurologist, because when I started the Tysabri last year the other 2 treatment options were both injections.

Thankfully, what I was offered this year, please note, offered, was different infusions or tablets. They can’t make you take any drug, they’re not legally allowed to do that. They can strongly advise you as to what they feel would be best for you, but they can’t force a treatment on you. So if you want to switch to Tecfidera, go ahead and ask, and good luck with it!

See as stress is a big contributor towards worse symptoms and relapses, I can’t see why your consultant would have a problem with you moving away from auto-injecting :slight_smile: Unless they’re a butthole of course…are they a butthole?

I reckon that changing from one first line treatment to another should be possible. Changing to a second line treatment is a different matter; for example, if you are currently on a beta-interferon type injectable, you should have ‘failed’ on it. In other words, have been taking it and continued to have relapses. However, Tecfidera is a first line treatment (just like Avonex, betaferon, rebif and copaxone) so there shouldn’t really be too much of an argument. Especially since you are needle shy. I remember what it was like when I first had Avonex, making my hand actually do the intra-muscular injection was sometimes a case of close my eyes and stab. And I’m not too bothered by needles. It must be hard if you are!

Thank you everyone for your replies, and helping me be confident to tell my consultant, not ask, to be changed.

The service is not full up and running so there is a 2/3 month wait, but consultant said there was no problem for me to change over.

Excellent, well done and good luck!