I need some advice, I have recently been diagnosed with RRMS after having an MRI and a lumbar puncture. I am now seeing an MS specialist in london and he has requested another MRI that i will be having soon. He thinks i have had 2 attacks this year effecting my leg and my hand. I am a second year nursing student and he has told me to look into the different medications and mentioned that i may qualify for Tysabri but im unsure how it will affect my immune system. so I was wondering if anyone who is either a nurse and has MS or is taking either Tysabri, Ocrevus, or cladribine how they have found their immune systems after or if there have been any limitation!
As all three drugs can weaken your immune system, there is a possibility of a greater number of infections and viruses. The worst of these can occur with Tysabri; the rare virus PML can affect a person who has the antibodies to the John Cunningham Virus. For this reason, tests for JCV are conducted before starting on Tysabri and at regular intervals thereafter.
It seems to me that the safest option, and in fact possibly the easiest to take, is Ocrevus. No serious side effects have been detected and it’s relapse reduction potential is about the same as Tysabri (about 70% as measured against placebo). As it’s a 6 monthly infusion rather than monthly, it would also mean less time is involved in the infusions.
I’m not a nurse and have only experienced Tysabri out of the three drugs you are considering. Unfortunately Tysabri gave me elevated liver enzymes so I had to stop taking it. Many people are happy taking Tysabri and it’s worked wonders in preventing relapses.
Basically though, asking for peoples experience is useful, also comparing the three drugs against each other, and taking the advice of your MS nurse and neurologist when deciding which drug to choose. Best of luck.