Friday, March 4, 2011

3.4.11

I had my monthly infusion today. I've been asked what that is, exactly. Every month I go to my neurologist's office to get my medication infused intravenously. The picture in my profile is from a day at treatment. The medication is called Tysabri. It definitely has an interesting past:

http://www.tysabri.com/tysbProject/tysb.portal/_baseurl/threeColLayout/SCSRepository/en_US/tysb/home/index.xml?utm_campaign=Biogen_Tysabri_Search_TysabriBranded&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Tysabri&utm_term=Tysabri

There were definitely some big decisions to be made when I made the choice to go on Tysabri. Looking at the link, you'll see that there can be some major side effects, but I truly believe that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Before I started taking Tysabri, I had at least one relapse a year, maybe two. My last relapse was in Feb 2009, at which point I was hospitalized so I could receive plasmapheresis. [I have past blogs from that time period]. After that, my doctor decided that the medication that I was on was not working like it should, so I started on Tysabri. I haven't had a relapse since. My feet are still numb (or tingly, I guess - I'm never sure quite what the word numb entails).

The drug is strictly monitored and requires a pre-authorization every three months, which in itself can cause issues. Despite the risks involved, I am very happy with the path that I am following right now for the course of the MS.

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