Helping you navigate your medication choices
When it comes to treating MS, your needs and your treatment choices will change over time. These frequently asked questions address some of the common questions we get asked by our patients.
Newly diagnosed with MS
I was just diagnosed with MS. Am I going to end up needing a wheelchair?
Since the “MS treatment era” began in the late 1990s, fewer people with MS have progressed to severe levels of disability. As stronger medicines become available, we expect to see more people maintain a high level of function and quality of life.
I was just diagnosed with MS. Why does my doctor want me to start taking medicine now? Can’t we give my MS a chance to heal on its own?
Taking medicine can help you maintain and even improve quality of life. When research compared people who started a medicine right away, versus people who waited, those who started medicine right away had higher quality of life over time. This is because the medicine helps the nerves remain healthy over time.
Starting treatment for MS
I am not having any problems with my MS. Should I start taking medicine now, or can I wait a few years before starting?
Taking medicine can help you maintain and even improve quality of life. When research compared how people who started a medicine right away did long term versus people who waited, the people who started right away had higher quality of life over time. This is because the medication helps the nerves remain healthy over time.
Note: The interferon medicines (such as Avonex, Betaseron, Extavia, Plegridy and Rebif) are one exception to this because they cause side effects, such as flu like symptoms, that impact quality of life.
I’ve heard the medicines prevent relapses in the short term, but they won’t protect my MS from getting worse over time.
Taking medicine for your MS has both short term and long term benefits. In the short term, it can help prevent relapses and this keeps the nerves healthy. Over time, healthy nerves lead to a healthy nervous system and a better quality of life. The longer you stay on a medicine, the higher quality of life will be.
Moving to a stronger treatment
I am taking a low strength medicine and it is working well to treat my MS. Why should I think about switching to a higher strength medicine?
Research shows that higher strength medicines lead to higher quality of life over time. This is because the medicine’s benefits, in terms of protecting the nervous system, build over time.
Don’t high strength medicines come with more risks?
Risk of side effects can go up along with the medicine strength. But higher strength medicine still leads to better quality of life - even after taking into account the risks of the medicine. This is because higher strength medicines are better at keeping MS from getting worse.
Think about the risk of getting PML while taking a high strength medicine. PML is a serious brain infection caused by a brain virus called JC virus. JC virus sometimes becomes active during treatment with high strength medicines like Tysabri.
Even after you account for the risk of getting PML, you are still more likely to have better quality of life taking a high strength medicine, than taking a lower strength medicine.
Understanding PML Risk on Tysabri
Understanding PML Risk on Tysabri
Stopping treatment
I feel like my function has continued to worsen. My doctor has told me that I have transitioned to secondary progressive MS. Should I stop taking medicine?
Not necessarily. It used to be that medicine was stopped once MS progressed (when MS gets worse even without relapses). Today we know that people with secondary progressive MS are likely to have better function when treated with a powerful medicine, versus not taking any medicine.
