Posted by Brian I was on Avonex for a year and I could not stand it. The side effects were too much for me to handle, in particular, the flu-like symptoms. I would take my injections on Friday evenings and I would be miserable in bed or on the couch all Saturday and Sunday with the flu-like symptoms. I could not enjoy the weekend. It was suggested to me that I should inject at night to sleep through the symptoms, but I would get a fever and chills that made me shiver so much I would have trouble sleeping. I even tried to pre-medicate with Advil or Motrin about 45 minutes prior to the injection, but it did not seem to work. Not only that, but the thigh that I would inject into would be so sore that it caused me to limp and made it uncomfortable, even painful, to walk up stairs. Just as my right thigh would start to feel better, it was Friday again and time to inject my left thigh and go through it all over again. I was told that my body would eventually get used to the Avonex and the flu-like symptoms would go away, but after struggling with it for a year, I saw no end in sight. I switched to Copaxone and tolerated it much better. Injecting everyday was a pain, but no side effects. I ended up having an alergic reaction to the Copaxone and had to stop taking it. Now I am on Rebif and it is going well so far. I hope the Avonex works for you. Remember to get periodic blood tests to check liver function. Good Luck! Brian
on 4/12/2007, 5:31 pm, in reply to "Starting Avonex therapy"
12.19.20.201
Here is what I experienced on Avonex. Remember, everyone is different:
Message Thread:
« Back to thread