I was diagnosed with RRMS in February after bouts of optic neuritis and numb feet last year, and possibly some other issues that had happened since 2012 which may have been early relapses. The neurologist said that the MRI scans had showed lesions commensurate with MS rather than Neuro-Myelitis Optica which up until that time had been a possibility. I had been taking cortico-steroids since Christmas in an attempt to calm my system down, which it did successfully. After a couple of months on it, I got the feeling back in my feet, and I was signed off by the ophtalmologist last week.
I was offered the choice of Rebif or Tecfidera as DMT. I’m aware that there is a school of thought that suggests hitting MS early with the hardest drug, but there is also quite a bit of data available that also indicates Rebif being effective over the long term if started early.
The MS nurse visited last Thursday to get me set up on the titration regime, but having read the manuals and watched some videos, I was fairly confident in delaying my first shot until the following Monday. By doing this, I can keep to a schedule that suits me. So anyway Monday evening came. I took a couple of paracetamol tablets at 9-30pm as a pre-emptive strike, injected at 10-15, and went to bed at 11-00. I woke up at my usual 6-30 am, not feeling any worse for the experience. I shall take the tablets all this week but leave them off for the second week and see how I go. I’ll start them again for the third week when I increase the dose, and leave them off for the fourth if it seems OK. I’ll start them again for the first week of the full dose.
I’ve got the cool pack travelling kit and am awaiting a travelling sharps bin to be delivered tomorrow. Off on a short holiday next week, so I’ll see how I can adapt my injection routine to not being at home. I try and keep positive by thinking that I have to inject 3 times a week. Diabetics may have to do it multiple times a day!