You are very lucky that there is Tysabri as an option. Don't be afraid of switching.

There are people who are progressive when diagnosed, but that does not seem to be you. Because you have more active lesions. You seem to be someone who responded poorly to two meds when there are other medication options out there.

Here is a site for diagnosing SP, note it is not based on the ineffectiveness of Med to control lesions or Relapses...it is increasing "disaablity" despite the meds.

http://www.mssociety.org.uk/about_ms/types_of_ms/what_is_spms.html

Actually as SP approaches relapses decrease and disability increases despite the meds. Both RR & SP cause disability. They just do it differently RR causes disability in an episodically through incomplete recovery of relapses. SP is continuous. The goal of the meds are to lessen the # of relapses when the incomplete recovery can occur. Evey relapse is associated with an active lesion-some active lesions may be too small for an MRI to measure in case anyone gets angry that they had a relapse and there was no active lesion. Maybe they were too small to be picked up by MRI but that is not your case. Your lesions are visible on MRI. And they are gonna control to the best available med that is out there the possibility of a relapse to prevent disdability from incomplete recovery.

There is a fantastic chart that shows the progression of RR to SP.

It shows how lesions develop,relapses and disability accumulate through each stage. Take a look at it. And even print it out so you can look at it a few times over a month. I swear I saw more & more things in it each time I looked at it. A person really needs to look at it a few times to understand to understand the residual affects left after a relapse, how they are below a "clinical threshold" meaning not visible and then they stat to be above the "clinical threshold" You can find that graph here.....its half way down this website labeled it's the second one of two graphs that begin with the label "MRI and Clinical Pattern in MS" To help you understand them you might need to understand the two words "Inflammatory" & "Neurodegenerative". The RR stage with active lesions & relapses is Inflammatory. Relapses happen because of inflammation associated with demylenation of the nerves. In SP relapses, thus inflamation no longer happens, the damage is directly to the nerves or "Neurodegenerative".

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/msprognosis.html

If you want to go even further that that about SP, in this site it lists signs of RR transitioning to SP. Under Multiple Sclerosis-It's Types and then under Relapse Remission it lists 11 signs that RR is progressing to SP.

http://www.thjuland.net/0site.html

Knowing what to expect is sometimes very calming. These are some sites to look at so your not going into it blind. But to be understood is that medicine is advancing very rapidly & you are young so you will benifit from these advances. So you may not get to the point where it is Neurodegenerative and not Inflamatory any more.

BTW here is a link to a video on Tysabri on the nmss site.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/multimedia-library/webcasts--podcasts/tysabri/index.aspx

I was DX'd on 2-2-07 and immediately started on Avonex. After 13 months I again had active lesions. I was switched to Tysabri and have never looked back. I feel great and can do things I thought I would have to give up...................never give up, never....ever...............as the old saying goes............."Quitters never win and winners never quit"........... never guit................dealing with MS is all about perspectives..............keep yours positive...........stay calm and forward thinking................questions...........ask...............

PS............nnyl1 is an excellent source of info and support...........listen to her..............

well p'bably Should not say this----some dont --like it-I dont know why-but gonna do it anhow-cause in my heart --it the right thing to do-p'baly the only thing to do--here i go with -my big mouth flapping--CHECK INTO LDN--LOW DOSE NALTREXONE--and having said all this--ms truly sux --and i think i speak for all of us--we truly wish you the best-on this horrible unfair journey with ms

I was on Avonex for my first year, then my MRI showed active lesions too. He put me on Tysabri, but during my second infusion, I had a severe reaction to it (hives, swelling, fever) and it was immediately stopped. I can no longer take it and have been on Copaxone ever since (8 months now) I have heard good things about Tysabri, and just because I am "allergic" to it, doesn't mean you will be. I hope it works for you.

Good Point AngieS, just because a person tries Tysabri does not mean they forever eliminate the other options and can go back to one of the other meds. That was a reassuring for me to understand when I started Tysabri. That I could go back. It wasn't a one way road I had selected.

Some people got hostile to me when I kept saying I can go back, but I needed to be able to tell myself that it wasn't a one way street. I wasn't eliminating any treatment options because of Tysabri. Perfect treatment options do not exist for MS yet. It's just selecting the "best" treatment option that works "best" for the individual. They all work to a degree, some better and some lesser in an individual. it's just the best one for the individual.You have been tested on two kinds.

You were tested on an Interferon (Betaseron but it also could have been Avonnex, or Rebif but it was the interferon Betaseron for you), & glutimer acetate(copaxone): Two kinds.
Now your doc wants yo to try a third kind.

Those three kinds of meds(Interferon,glutermer acetate & Tysabri) function in three different ways to control lesions/relapse.

Of the three, it may be the case that the interferon(betaseron) controlled relapses the "best" for you although not perfect. That might be the case? None of them are perfect its just selecting the "best one" for you. There are people who tried Tysabri, it wasn't the best for them and they went back to Copaxone, Rebif, betaseron, Avonex. Some even went to an immune suppressent like Novatrone, but they didn't eliminate any treatment options because they tried Tysabri.

More as an FYI to yourself and your Neurologist to check this out.

Novantrone is a cancer cooker that they use to shut down MS activity by basically slamming the immune system hard. It can only be used a few times during your life, however, it is a big nuke in terms of stopping the damages that happen due to active lesions.

That plus a course of IVMP (Solumedrol) can usually stop any active inflammatory activity completely, and let the interferons and copaxone do their thing better.

Good luck.