TYSABRI

8 Years On Tysabri – MS Tuesday

MS

On my birthday of this year, I will have been on Tysabri for eight years. It is so hard for me to wrap my mind around that because at times it seems like I just started yesterday. I also look back, and I see how far I have come and how much I have learned about the healthcare system in this country. I also have learned the most drug companies have programs to make medications cheaper and that give them to you for free.

As I sit here and think about the first infusion that I ever I had I am amazed that I am a still taking this medication. I had an atrocious reaction to the first treatment so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to stay on it not to mention how much money it costs every month. I don’t know that I ever wrote about what happened the very first time I got the medication, so I am going to add it to my list of things to share.

I have to wonder what my life would be like if I hadn’t started Tysabri and if I wasn’t on any treatment. I have been stable the entire time I have been on the medication which for me is a huge deal. Since I have been diagnosed the MS was never stable but like I said it has been for eight years.

It also has given me my life back. Okay not given me my life back because I have no idea what it would feel like to be a normal functioning person but it makes me feel like I can anything I want to do. I still have hard days, but I don’t want to know how much different things would be if I didn’t have this medication.

Those are just a few of the thoughts I have about having been on Tysabri for eight years. I will be back with a small MS update in the next few weeks as well. Let me know if there is anything you would like to know about as well.

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2016 Margaret Margaret

Multiple Sclerosis Update-March 2016

MS Update-March 2016 N

I had my infusion, and I also saw my Multiple Sclerosis doctor on Monday, March 21st, so I figured that now was a good time to post a small update on how things are going and how I am feeling.

If I am going to be a one hundred percent honest with everyone I have to admit that I have been feeling pretty sick most days for the past couple of months.  Which has made my life harder but is part if the game when you have diseases like Multiple Sclerosis.  The last time I saw my doctor was back in December before I switched jobs and insurance companies.  I am sure the new job along with the stress of it is part of the problem.

I also have been feeling like I going to have a relapse soon because of some strange things that I have been feeling for the past couple of weeks.  I remember one morning a couple of weeks ago that as I stood up to turn off my alarm my legs gave out. After I had sat back down for a few minutes, I was able to walk, but my legs did feel weak. I also have also had times where out of nowhere I feel like my legs may give out on me.  They haven’t thanked God, but it is such a strange feeling to feel your legs get weak and then have it go away after a few minutes.

Nothing was changed at my doctor’s appointment which I guess is a good thing. The only thing that she did was to schedule my next MRI for the 2nd of April, so I have that to look forward too. So other than all that my life has been pretty stable which is always a good thing. I hope you are all doing well, and I hope to see you back here tomorrow for another book review.

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2016 Margaret Margaret

Updates: Doctors Appointment, Multiple Sclerosis, and Everything Else

Updates

I had a doctors appointment on Monday June 8th and I wanted to write a short update about that appointment and also an update about how I have been feeling lately.  I also decided as I was writing this post that I wanted to include just a general life update because  I am truly struggling with things right now.  I can’t tell everything that is bothering me but I will tell what I can and maybe I will still write what is going on and password protect those posts and if you want to check them out you can email me and I will give you the password for them.  Anyway lets get on to the MS update because that is the easiest and quickest part of this post.

As I said before I had a doctor’s appointment Monday afternoon with my neurologist.  I hadn’t had an MRI or anything since I saw her last but she does like to see me every so often because of the medication I am on and things like that.   I haven’t been feeling the greatest lately but there is nothing that can really be done about that because I just don’t feel well.  My headaches are getting bad again which totally sucks because I went so long without having them or at least not having super bads one.  I know that the reason I am having them is because of allergies and also just the stress of life.  I have an MRI in August and I don’t have to see the doctor again until December so that will be nice.

Now on to the life crap that I am willing or able to talk about.  I have no idea where to start or what I even want to say.  I guess the first place to start is with the fact that the daughter I placed for adoption will be 10 this year and I am honestly not sure where the time went.  It has also been a hard year this year when it comes to dealing with the adoption and I am not sure why this year has been so hard for me.

Another thing that has been hard for me this year is family things and usually I don’t really care what goes on with family members but this year that has changed for me.  What is funny about it all is that what I am sad about didn’t even happen this year and to be honest I am not sure why it is now bothers me like it is.  I am sure it is because of everything else going on that is making all the little things in life that usually don’t affect me hard for me to deal with right now.

Anyway that is all I can think of right now so I am going to leave it like this.

How are things going for you???

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Margaret Margaret

Multiple Sclerosis Tuesday-Updated Treatments Post

MS

This week’s MS Tuesday post is going to be an update to my post where I talk about the treatments there are for Multiple Sclerosis.  If you want to check out the original post you can click here but I am going to copy and paste the old post and updated it with the new treatments that have come out since that post was originally published.

I am going to do a small overview of the different Multiple Sclerosis medications out there right now.  I want to start by saying that there is no cure of MS right now.   There are a few medications that will hopefully slow the progression on the disease.

The first group of drugs are called Immune modulating drugs. They work by keeping the immune cells from interacting with other cells.  This group consists of 3 different drugs they are called Betaseron, Rebif, and Avonex.  There is one other drug that is under this type of medication and it is Copaxone.  This one is made of amino acids and works differently than the interferon’s.

There is Tysabri that attaches itself to the blood brain barrier and doesn’t let immune cells into the brain.  There are several other treatments such as: Novantrone, Cytoxan, Imuran, Rheumatrex, and Trexall.  All of those treatments are drugs that will suppress the immune system.

Since I posted the original post they have come out with several pill’s that you can now take.  Before you had to have shots and/or an infusion so coming out with pills was huge for people who have MS.  The names of the pills are: Gilenya, Tecfidera and Aubagio.  I don’t know much about the new drugs out because right now Tysabri is still working for me so I am not in a hurry to try any new medication right now.

They will sometimes give a person steroid treatment if they are having an MS flare up or relapse.  I have been given steroids several times and I will always refuse them now.  I don’t think they really didn’t anything but make me gain weight and make my eyes see funny colors.  I can see why they do them but I would rather have some disability than deal with the side effects of the drugs.

I have taken several different MS medications and if you would like to know which ones I have taken and how they affected me please let me know.  There are also medications that we are given to help manage side effects of medications and also to deal with how the disease affects each of us as well.  If you would like to know anything else please let me know!

The sites I used to get the information for this post from: 
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/understanding_multiple_sclerosis_medications/page6_em.htm#inter (original site I used)
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/basics/treatment/con-20026689 (new treatments info)
Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

MS Tuesday-Latest MRI & Update

MSI had an MRI the last Saturday in August and I just had my 6 month appointment with my doctor so I wanted to write a quick update.  I am sure most people aren’t really interested in these updates but I want to be able to look back later and see what has changed and this is the easiest way to record how things are now.

Anyway let’s get on to how things are for me now.  For the most part things are okay.  I mean I don’t feel good hardly ever but I am starting to think that this is my new normal and because of that I am not going to really complain about it.  I know things could be so much worse for me so I am trying to stay positive about everything.

My latest MRI showed that I am still stable and there are no signs that I am developing PML so I can still stay on the Tysabri.  Which for me is a great thing because it is the only thing that has ever kept me stable so for me it does work and I don’t know what I would do if I had to stop taking it.  I know that there are pills out now but they are still so knew that I don’t want to start on them until they have been out longer.

This is also the first appointment in years where we didn’t change any medications and we just are going to keep doing what we are doing and see what happens in the next few months.  The only real change is the fact that my doctor wants to start seeing me every three months now instead of every 6 months which isn’t a huge problem just more time-consuming is all.

So all is all I am still stable and nothing much is really going on so I can’t really complain about things now.  I have the MS Hug happen a few times in the past couple of weeks but it is hard to say that is what it is when it could also be my back injury so who knows about that.

If you have any questions or requests for something you would like to see please leave them in comments!

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Weird MS Symptom

MS

It is time for another MS Tuesday post.  I haven’t done one of these in a while because I haven’t had anything to talk about when it comes to my Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  Like I have said before if there is ever anything you want to see in one of these posts please let me know and I would be more than happy to write about it.

Anyway today I am going to write about a weird feeling I had the last week.  I am not sure if I have ever written about the very first MS symptom that I had but this post will ties into that.  The first symptom that I know was the MS was when I was in high school and my left leg started to drag at random times and it just wouldn’t work.  I can remember going to see doctors about this and everyone thinking we were making it up but long story short this was the first time I realized that something was wrong.

So last week I had a really weird feeling in my left leg.  The best way I can describe it is by saying it felt like it was going to give out while I was walking.  I haven’t felt anything like that before and I hope I don’t ever have to feel it again.  My leg never did give out but it felt like it could at any moment.  As I write it down I guess a better way to describe it would be weakness in my leg.

The medication that I take for the MS can cause you to get a condition called PML and the signs of that can seem like an MS relapse. So my doctor tells me that if I have any weird things going on that last for more than a day to call her and they will get me in to make sure that I am not getting PML.  Thank god the feeling was gone by the next morning so I  can just chalk it up to a random MS symptom.  I am for sure going to tell her about when I see her in September after the MRI I have scheduled at the end of August.

Other than that I have been totally stable and haven’t had anything other than the headaches but I have had them for as long as I can remember so I forget most of the time that they are even there.

How have you been doing?  Is there anything about MS you would like to know?

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Margaret Margaret