Don't know. Sometimes I think that they aren't and then I read an old journal and it sounds like I wrote it today. So I guess in some ways I am about the same.

Have a journal (easy for me to say, hard to do) helps when I actually do it.

Good luck. Your doctor will tell you how you are progressing. My doctor always does. Most of the time I am about the same.

yes, I believe there is a liver enzyme type test that can tell if the med is not working, but I'm not totally sure. Hopefully somebody else with knowledge of this will chime in here.

Hi Tom

This was actually the subject we discussed at my support group tonight, one of the hot shot MS specialists in Chicago was there. I was going to put a thread up, and since there was some other stuff to share as well, I still am going to, but I hope that if you read it, it will help to answer your question.

nikki

Just seems like my energy level has droped. Thought maybe the meds weren't doing their job. Need an energy booster.

I have had MS for over 20 years and have been on 3 different drugs- right now it is Rebif. I too feel as though it is no longer working. My latest and the last three MRI's say no new lesions butI am getting worse. My doctor has changed my MS diagnosis from relapsing-remitting to chronic- progressive. What to do? Continue on drug that gives me bad side effefts, or take nothing? Either way, I feel the same. Any thoughts??

I used betaseron for 3 years and it worked well for mot of the three years,. Then I started walking like a robot, it was visible. An MRI showed 1 activew lesion on my occipita lobe., The doc switched my meds to tysabri.

I was walking so stiffl because it hurt to flex my muscles to walk
sdo I would walk with as little mucle flexing as possible. I hurt.

Before I could move in the morning I would take some tylenol that was on my bedside table and wait 20 minutes for it to work and the return of the sorness would dictate when I took more tylenol; through out the day.

The sopreness would wake me up while I slept, so I woulfd take some more tylenol to get back to sleep.

My nruro thought it was less betaseron not working in me, but more likely I had developed a side affect to betaseron after 3 problem free years with it-that being woken up in the night with pain was her largest tip that it was a medication induced symptom. It improved much when I started tysabri but whether it was starting tysabri or stopping betaseron, I will not know.

It could be a side affect that has dewveloped from betaseron after years of using it.

I remeber reading a post from myMSBS were he wrote he was dragging and his neuro gave him some steroids and thgat perked him up.If I can find were he wrote that I will put a link to it.....how lomg have you been dragging? And is there any other reason you can think of for causing it.

My PA at one time told me to call whenever I am ver tired, which I thought was amusing how do I distinguish always tired from very tired?

Perhaps you should give the doc a call and getr streroids at least and see what that does in this instance....many people take betaseron with monthly pulse steroids.

A lot of steroids aren't good for you, but you copuld try them for a while to see if it helps.

I looked at myMSBS past post and I didn't see what I thought I read. Maybe I didn't?

I was think for your issues you could post another thread about how people knew when they needed to switch meds.

For me it was my gait had changed much then that new active lesion sealed the deal. Remember it takes about 30 days for a new lesion to form, so was your last MRI more than 30 days before this fatigue started?...if so it could be a new lesion.

And then post about pulse steroids, how the decision was made to go to them....although switching to tysabri sounds better than putting all that extra steroids in your body. but maybe to see if it will help?

I know of one person who uses betaseron & pulse steroids and she loves the combination. I will send a message to her to ask her to look at your post & contribute if she has expereience you can use.

Yeah, this is a tough one. I switched meds when I seemed to have more relapses. My second opinion neuro warned me to be careful that any infection or similar wasn't an issue rather than relapse. It's easy to blame things on MS.

I wonder if we get immune to our treatment drugs and would just fare better from switching them out every few years.

Tom, what kind of diet do you maintain? What sort of exercise do you do, if any?

Nikki - I can hardle wait to read your post! It sounds like you have interesting news to share.

NNYL1 - I can relate to taking he tylenol in order to function better - that's the only way I got through my day when i was working. I wish I'd have known more about diet and exercise a few years back. Hindsight is always a kick in the butt, lol. Loved your comment on the tired versus very tired. I think I'd ask, lol. Just what in the world is he talking about. Is it the daily misery type tired that I should overlook, or if I start to feel like I have mono or can't lift up my head - is that what he means, lol. We sure need to make them elaborate. Easy for them to know what htey mean and would be great if we could read their mind, lol.

I'll be watching this post. It's very interesting to me.