Advice in meds
Hi everyone. I was diagnosed in January with rrms.
I was in the hospital yesterday to tell them what treatment I wanted to take. My choice had been for rebif. My doctor was leaning more towards tecfidera as the chances of relapse are lower. She spoke to me about the JC virus and PML. I'm not very confused and don't know if the percentage of relapse is worth the risk of pml. I know it's a joke chance to get this but I'm worried.
I would appreciate any opinion or advice or personal experience in this. Thank you
Hi @orlamk and welcome. Being run down by a car is a possible side-effect of crossing the road too! The thing with the Disease Modifying Treatments (DMTs) is that you have someone monitoring the road to see if a car is coming! MS comes with some rather worrying side-effects too, so we need to manage this, to avoid progression. Rebif is a "first line" DMT, which was one of the first. There are better options, e.g. Tecfidera. You might want to follow the following links, which provide an introduction to DMTs, indepth details about the options and a tool to help you decide:- https://support.mstrust.org.uk/file/store-pdfs/Disease-modifying-drugs-WEB.pdf https://support.mstrust.org.uk/file/DMD-Book-Final-WEB.pdf https://www.mstrust.org.uk/about-ms/ms-treatments/ms-decisions-aid This is a decision which shouldn't be rushed, so take your time, do the research, then have another discussion with your Neuro.
@orlamk Hi and welcome. By the time I've typed this you'll have at least two other welcome messages.... I take TEC have done for 9 months now. The jc virus and pml do happen but very rarely. Read the advice on an aspirin box it will say may cause headaches... You will be well looked after and you will have regular tests to keep an eye on things. Ask anything you like we'll find an answer eventually. Hi again.