Well I have been on rebif since last may at 22mcg. Touch wood I have had no side effects but the injections sting really bad. I also can only tolerate 5 injection sites. My neuro referred me to another neuro who is full on in the know with the drugs for rrms and I saw him today at Souhampton. The good news is he has no problem with me switching over as rebif and teriflonomide both have the same success rate. No more jabs!!. The downside is that I have to have a blood test every 2 weeks for 6 months to check for liver damage. Fingers crossed I will stay well on the tablets and can have no stress of the jabs. Keep well everyone. Dawn xx
I hope you get on well with Aubagio Dawn.
Can i ask you please if the blood tests are just done at your gp surgery/blood clinic or will you have to travel to the hospital for them?
As this is a pretty new drug it would be great if you could let us know how you get on and any side effects you have.
Are you not tempted to wait for BG12 which might be available later this year and has a higher reduction in relapse rate than Aubagio?
Sorry for all the questions! I’m just curious and a bit nosey!
Teresa.x
Hi Teresa,
The blood tests can be taken where I choose, either at the surgery,the local chemist that has a blood clinic every morning or by my ms nurse.
This tablet is very similar he said to a rheumatoid arthritis pill with regards to side effects but it does exactly the same as rebif. He is sending me all the bumff in the post to read and if I still want to swap then I just need to give him a call.
I will keep you posted.
Dawn x
I’m considering this tablet over the injections. Im currently not any mediation but I need to choose
Hi all,
Just an update, I received the brochure about switching to aubagio from rebif and I have decided to stay on the rebif until the bg12 hopefully gets liscensed here.
My reasons? - well the 2 weekly blood tests for 6 months weren’t too bad when you compare 6 injections but it was the other side effects. More than 1 in 10 - raised liver levels, nausea, diorreah, hair thinning. Then there were the 1 in 10 side effects:
The same as the more than 1 in 10 with the added extras of:
under or over active thyroids, upper respiratory tract infection, urinary infection, gastroenteritis, pins and needles, tooth ache,acne,back pain, nerve pain, spasms, heavy periods, anxiety, - to name but a few! - These side effects are very common and there are a hell of alot more of them!
Although my rebif jabs hurt, I am well on them and have had no side effects at all so why risk being ill? The bg12 tablets have very few so I will wait for them.
Dawn x
Blimey - I’ve just agreed to switch from Rebif to Aubigo so interesting post - thanks. Need to look into bg12 tablets - haven’t heard of these ones - do they go under a different name? If better don’t see why I couldn’t switch to these from Aubigo. Not too worried about the potential side effects. What will be will be - if too bad I suppose I could switch back to rebif. Blood tests - hopefully my GP practice will agree to do these for 6 months. My MS says under no obligation to agree. Otherwise I will have to get them done at a hospital where parking is usually impossible. Thanks again Min xx
Hi Min
BG12 is also known as Tecifidera, it’s yet to be approved in England but hopefully it will get passed in the next few months.
I’m also holding out for this, so hopefully it’ll be given the go ahead soon
Ruth x
Thanks Ruth This is now ringing bells. This is the one you need to take twice daily. I often forget my lunch time meds. So would need a very effective method to remind me for this one. Teresa - how much more effective is the bg12/Tecfidera than Aubagio? Hugs Min xx
Who can get the bg12?
Well answered my own question and a bit of google search found: Results show that at two years, Tecfidera taken twice daily (BID; n=45) significantly reduced annualized relapse rate (ARR) by 60 percent (p=0.0018) and the proportion of patients who relapsed by 63 percent (p=0.0030). There was no significant effect of Tecfidera on 12-week confirmed disability progression. - from MS UK website So 100% better than rebif or Aubagio. However MS has to be active to qualify when approved by NICE. How they define this I think is 2 relapses in the previous year. How significant these relapses have to be I do not know. I have relapsed 13 times since 16th July last year. They have not been disabling. More sensory still painful and uncomfortable… So I would call these significant. My Neuro probably not!!! Big question - how much does it cost??? - more googling!!! Stop rambling now min!!! Hugs Min xx
So latest is I have raised LFTs so couldn’t start Aubagio until they are normal. MS nurse is going to ask neuro if I could start bg12 instead. Which she said will become available in November!!! Whether this is true will wait to be seen. So that would be fantastic for me if neuro agrees considering how much better it is. The twice daily problem. Often forget lunchtime meds but never bedtime ones so that would work. Hugs Min xx