Dreaded side effect syndrome...

It all started when I was a young lad. Medicine to make us better, had unforeseen down sides. Remember Cod Liver Oil? It was supposed to cure what ailed us, but made us shiver at the thought of seeing that bottle in mom's hand, and a tablespoon in the other. Then it was the joyful "Malaria pill" that we were forced to swallow every Tuesday, when I vacationed in South East Asia. Yep, the Sargent's stood over you like mom did, and watched you swallow the orange tablet with some liquid to insure that you didn't hide it in your mouth. So for the next few days, that pill made you reserve a spot in the latrine (Outhouse - Yes, war is hell...) with some good reading materials.

Later it was the "Sotalol" that was prescribed to me when I suddenly developed Atrial Fibrillation, which is an Irregular Heartbeat. This led to the discovery of a birth defect called a Patent foramen ovale (Hole in the Heart) and the fear of this drugs first line warning: "However, unlike many other medications, sotalol can often cause life-threatening side effects". So much for that, which leads me to this episodes story...

I believe that anyone who takes a DMD, or as the majority are better known "CRAB" drugs, have their fears of well published, documented, and highly discussed SIDE EFFECTS! I mean that after you are DX'ed with a debilitating disease, you then are subjected to picking a drug that has several serious side effects from death, to flu like symptoms, and the dreaded IPIR! (Where's mom with the Cod liver oil when you need her!)

So for MS medications, let's run them down with a brief overview of warnings for each one:

TYSABRI - Increases your chance of getting a rare brain infection that usually causes death or severe disability. This infection is called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). PML usually happens in people with weakened immune systems.

Rebif/Avonex/Betaseron - Flu-Like Symptoms: The most important side effect is the flu-like symptoms, which are experienced by about 69%/60%/76% of patients. These include: fever, chills, sweating, muscle aches and fatigue,but not nausea or stomach upset.

Copaxone - Acute Panic-Type Attacks or the dreaded IPIR (Immediate Post Injection Reaction): These are a pretty rare side effect of Copaxone, but can be pretty scary. These reactions involve flushing, chest pain, heart palpitations, anxiety, constriction of the throat and/or trouble breathing. These symptoms happen within minutes of an injection, last about 15 minutes, and go away by themselves. They happen in about 10% of patients at least once, usually after several months of being on treatment.


Well wasn't that a delightful set of warnings? Now I have a joyful set of circumstances to look out for, don't you agree? Weighing out the side effects, how many times a week that the needle had to be administered, and the results of clinical studies. I finally decided that the Copaxone drug was for me! You just can't run away from the thoughts of the side effects happening. Now it's a waiting game, to see if the drug will work, and when will my first IPIR experience happen.

Isn't life grand! And no, they are not the Golden Years...