Dear Smokey, you have made the right decision.
As mentioned by others… the presence of JCV is not a reason to not take Tecfidera. If Tecfidera causes a sustained reduction of your blood cell count, then there might be a reason to find an alternative DMD. Consequently, it would be wise for you to have your blood tested every three months. Your blood cell count will dip initially, but then should recover to about 80% of what they were before you started the Tec. If this is high enough, then PML is highly unlikely and thus JCV is not a concern.
To help ensure this safety, my annual MRI not only looks for lesion activity due to MS, but also any signs of a PML infection occurring.
As far as taking the drug goes… full stomach is ESSENTIAL. For sure the advice sheet with the drug says it is not necessary, but that is like them saying that the side effects are not life threatening! As mentioned the type of food you eat is not important. the quantity you eat however can be influential on the side effects you may have to endure. You do not need to stuff yourself, but you do need to have a your standard ‘meat and two veg’, sit down type affair. then you simply take your Tec about 75% through the meal.
The only rule is to not take your two daily doses within four hours of each other. and so if you do not do brekkie, safe dose one for lunch.
One other indispensable chunk of advice which has not yet been mentioned, which i think ought to be standard for all:
do not be in a hurry to start taking the full dose. the drug is hardcore. give your body time to adjust to the new chemical soon to become resident in your system. you will start ont he 120mg dose capsules, and i believe people should be allowed to be prescribed these indefinitely. i would strongly recommend:
week 1 - 1 pill daily
week 2 - 2 pills daily
week 3 - 3 pills daily
week 4 - full dose
if at any time, you suffer side effects which are intolerable, revert back to the dosage of the previous week and then go back up again the next week. following this strategy until you are happily taking the 100% daily dose and then you can opt for the 240 mg capsules.
Good luck and if you encounter any questions or challenges over the weeks to come, make a post in here; there are many experienced tec-heads ready to help you out! (not that you are likely to need it!)