My orange has a drug problem...

Thanks to many dedicated people out there and advancements in technology there are several Disease Modifying Drugs (DMD) available for those with MS. Before you would basically just get sent home and told to come back when it got worse. It was commonly accepted that those with the disease would eventually be immobile. Fact is, today only 1/3 of MS patients end up wheelchair bound. The DMD's currently on the market do not ease or alter the symptoms that go along with MS, but effect your body on the inside in hopes to slow down the disease progression, and exacerbations. (attacks or flares) By the mid 1990's the first 3 DMD's were approved by the FDA, these treatments became known as the ABC drugs due to their names: Avonex, Betaseron, and Copaxone. In 2002 an equally productive drug called Rebif was released. By 2010, 4 more drugs were approved and today their are 3 more treatments that should be approved in the next few years.

When it came time for me to go over my drug options with my neurologist I expected her to just pick one for me. However, I was sent home from her office with 4 large books/DVD's full of information on the ABC drugs plus Rebif. I was to do my own research and pick a drug my family and I felt was best. This was the same day I was diagnosed and i went home with an information overload. I had 2 weeks to make my decision and I must say I hardly opened her material but got online instead. The drugs were all very similar, all of them were self injections they just differed on how often and location. They also all shared the same main side effect of flu-like symptoms. As well as they all had similar pricing. Unfortunately that pricing is between 3-4 thousand dollars a month! After lots a reading, and a homemade flow chart my English teacher would be proud of, I chose Avonex.

I chose Avonex because, well, first of all you only inject once a week whereas the others were everyday day up to every 3 days. Also the percentage of people who experienced the side effects was significantly lower compared to the other drugs. After getting my doctor's approval, and playing phone tag with the drug company I finally scheduled for a nurse to come train me for self injections. I also very, very fortunately found out I qualify for financial aid from the drug company.

I never really had any reservations on giving myself injections. Now don't get me wrong I'm not exactly excited about the idea. I just understood and accepted this was something I had to do. I received a whole kit in the mail with my needles, syringes already fill with the medication, a sharps container, and a booklet. I never felt nervous until the night before my nurse was to come I went through the booklet and actually looked at the needles. They next day Nurse Kim came over to train my mother and I. We talked about side effects and needle safety among many other things. Then it came time to practice. Nurse Kim brought out a nice looking orange that I got to pretend was my leg. I learned how to remove the excess medicine since my first month is a titration period where I start with a lower dose and work my way up. I also learned how to assemble the needle to the syringe clean my skin and stab my orange.
1...2...3! I let that poor orange have it! I was very surprised at how easily the needle went into the orange. I wondered how similar my skin could actually be to that. Next was Mom's turn. I didn't pay too much attention to how she did, I probably should have in case she needs to do it for me some day. Then before I knew it, it was time for me to actually do it to myself for real. I had a small moment when I thought about panicking. If I could just delay it, but what's the sense in waiting longer? It would just give myself a chance to worry more.

I very carefully rolled up the right pant leg to my capris. I very carefully squirted out the extra liquid. I very carefully layed out my now assembled injection, alcohol swab, gauz, and bandage. I then very carefully cleaned my skin held my skin tight. Took three very slow and careful deep breaths. 1.... inhale 2... exhale 3... inhale and while I exhaled that last time I pushed that needle down into my leg. Almost like I used to force of my breath to push it in. And in it went. If I didn't know better I'd of thought I was stabbing the orange again. I was so shocked how easy it was. Then I had to release the meds and remove the needle. Although I was very careful, that did sting a little. And there it was, all done. My mom then got very excited she couldn't believe it went that quickly. Now I just had to wait to see how the side effects would hit.

I pre-medicated with ibuprofen before, after the shot, and before bed to combat the flu feeling. I ached all night and woke up feeling like a train ran over me. My head hurt,  my body hurt, I was in a fog. I had a fever for most of the night going from burning to freezing. I slept in till almost noon. Took some more ibuprofen then just stayed in bed. Thankfully by about 2 i ate some soup, showered and felt much better. Besides being tired I was back to as normal as I get. All in all I think I will handle this medication just fine. Or at least for the first month till I get the full dose and an auto-injector pen.