I'M ON AVONEX TOO AND I GET NO SIDE EFFECTS YET ITS BEEN NEW TO ME LIKE 10 SHOTS OR MORE EVERY MON FOR ME. I KNOW STREROIDS CAN MAKE YOUR HAIR FALL OUT THATS WHAT I READ I HOPE THIS HELPS LOVE YA APRIL

I do not take any of the MS drugs.......cannot afford them and I have thinning hair and hair line and dental problems. Went to the dentist today (clinic) and had exrays done and was told I have to have 9 teeth pulled. I cannot affor that either or the partial plates.........so I guess I am going to be a toothless hairless old lady. I laugh about it, but I am so depressed about it. I am know for always having a smile for everyone and now my teeth are so bad they need to be pulled. I did notice my teeth got worse once I was dx with MS.

Call the Avonex toll free line (I don't have the number handy) and ask them.

I have never had dental problems from Avonex nor have I ever had hair thinning problems from Avonex. I have never had the problems from either Rebif or Avonex (both are interferon drugs). I have been on interferon drugs for 11 years.

But ask your MS doctor as some people with MS have trigeminal jaw problems (spelling??). Some have the real bad jaw pain that puzzled their dentist until the MS doc figured it out. So ask your neuro doc about it if she/he is a MS specialist. That is one reason why is is very important to have a MS specialist as a doc.

Good luck. And BTW, the hair thinning problem is a side effect of some other drugs I have read (can't remember which offhand). Sorry, not more of a help. But please call your doc or the Avonex people.

My hair never fell out but I also take Tegretol and they think that's what causes it.

I have never been on Avonex, but I am on Betaseron, which is another interferon.

I did not experience any hair loss from the Betaseron, but I now have my first cavity ever. I have never had a cavity, so it really really sucks.

I did however lose A LOT of hair from the steroid treatments. Handfuls would come out every time I ran my hands through my hair. The hair loss stopped about 4-5 months after the treatments and started to regrow again.

I WAS TOLD HAIR LOSS CAN BE A SYMPTOM OF AVONEX. I WAS ON IT FOR A SHORT TIME,AND MY HAIR DID START TYO COME OUT,MORE THAN USUAL. I HAVE BEEN OFF IT FOR ABOUT 5 MONTHS,MY HAIR HAS GONE BACK TO NORMAL.MY PCP KEEPS TELLING ME I NEED TO GET ON AN MS DRUG,I TRIED COPAXONE AND AVONEX. I PERTSONALLY FEEL THAT I FEEL BETTER WITHOUT THEM. HOPE THIS HELPS
THERESA

I had hair loss when on Avonex. I stopped, the hair loss stopped, I started back up and it started back up. I have very thick hair and did not see a difference. But it would fall out in large amounts in the shower.

I did not see it as a side effect of Avonex, until I did some deep digging. And it is listed as a rare side effect.

That being said... it can also indicate something else, so you should still talk to your doctor about it.

I have been on Copaxone- 5 yrs and Rebif 8months. Currently on LDN. I have about 1/5 the hair I had 5 yrs ago. Had lots of tests done- horrmones, iron, saw a dermatologist, talked to neurologist. No apparent cause. Only 33 so menopause is still a ways off. Kind of frustrating. Oh, never did steroids in the 19 yrs since diagnosis. Have not noticed dental issues.

Forgot to add, the hair is still thinning. Cannot correlate loss with timing of drugs. Just for fun, I guess.

I am going into my 5th year of being on Avonex. I don't think that my hair loss which isn't that much is due to it. It's probably other meds I have been on since 1992. I have TMJ and have been wearing a splint since 1992. My gums are bleeding and I think it due to the splint not fitting right and it also contains bacteria from mouth. I going get herbal treatment for gums and I can order splint online. It's a mold kit to imprint the teeth. I really can't afford to see dentist right now either but I know those two things should help me.

I hope this helps. I wish you well.

Bunni