Rebif Part 2

You've reached Rebif Part 2. If you would like to read part 1 first, click here.

Rebif Part 2 ~ What's the dose?

Another thing you will learn is the proper dosage when you begin taking this treatment. The makers of Rebif suggest taking only 20% of the dose for the first week or so. After that, you will increase it to 50% or half the normal dose for the next couple of weeks. And after completing the previous doses successfully with no adverse effects, only then will you continue the treatments at the full recommended dose.

The reason for this is so that the side effects are not too severe when you start taking Rebif. Their reasoning is if you gradually increase the dose, hopefully the side effects you experience will also be minimal. So, what are the side effects? Here is a short list.

Rebif Part 2 ~ What are the side effects

Like many of the injection treatments for MS, the symptoms are similar to what you may experience with the others.

Flu-like Symptoms

• fatigue
• chills
• fever
• muscle aches
• sweating

Injection Site Reactions

• swelling
• redness
• discoloration
• pain

Most of these symptoms will probably go away or at least become less and less severe the longer you take Rebif. If by chance, you continue to experience them or they begin getting worse, then talk to healthcare practitioner. The nurse and or doctor can make adjustments to the dosage in order to make the injections more tolerable.

Sometimes an injection site can become inflamed, hardened, or even lumpy. You shouldn't inject into a site that is hard or lumpy. Call your doctor or nurse and let them know.

More than likely, they will suggest that you skip that particular site for the time being. Go on to one of the other *eight sites – stomach (not your belly button), thigh, butt, back of upper arm – both of your sides. When the problematic area has healed, then you can add that site back to your rotation.

*You should not inject in any of these sites until after you have met with the nurse who will train you on how to do the injections in each area. You do not want to inject your medication into your belly button.

When to take Rebif: Days of the week and Time

If you decide to take Rebif as your disease modifying treatment, you will be instructed to take it three days a week. It's best to take it on the same three days every week with 48 hours between each injection. In other words, if you decide to take it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; you will schedule it around the same time on each of those days.

With that said, the best time to take it is late afternoon or evening. If you choose an evening time, say right before you go to bed, many of the side effects may be over with by the time you wake up. At least the severity of the symptoms will have gone away by then.

And as I mentioned earlier, the symptoms usually go away or at least become less bothersome over time. Interferons don't work for everyone, though. 

Cir's experience

Unfortunately, Cir is one of those people that they don't work for. We're not sure why, but none of the interferons worked – Avonex, Betaseron, or Rebif. The side effects he experienced when he started taking them never went away. And in some cases, they became even more severe.

Cir would have flu-like symptoms every other day. He tried to deal with it for about three or four months; however, they never got any better. And because he had already tried the other interferons, he realized sooner rather than later that more than likely it wouldn't get any better.

His nurse did call and ask him why he had stopped. She wanted to know why he hadn't called her. Her job is to keep patients on therapy and in her eyes she had failed. Cir on the other hand, based on his previous experience, that the situation would not get any better for him.

Now we have to admit, the nurse was one of the nicest people we have ever met. She did her job very well. In addition to teaching Cir, she also taught me and our youngest daughter how to give him the injections. (Cir wasn't the guinea pig, thank goodness, but we learned by using an orange...., I'm sure he was glad of that).

Now you may very well be able to take Rebif. It may not bother you the way it bothered Cir. If you are one of the lucky ones, that's great. According to the makers, it helps:

• reduce brain lesion activity on MRI's
• prevent relapses over an average of 64 weeks

So, talk to your doctor and between the two of you, decide what the right disease modifying therapy is for you. Ultimately, that is the goal. If it's Rebif, that's great. Find something that works well for you and keep doing it, whether it's a specific treatment, diet, exercise, or a combination of several things. Consistency is key when it comes to any of the available treatments.

If nothing Works, What then?

Of course, there are some who may not be able to tolerate any of the treatments available. If that's the case, what do you do? You can wait to see what treatments that are not yet available, finally become approved for your type of MS.

You can volunteer to be part of a study for a new medication. The only thing about that is, they don't always know what the side effects will be until after the study is completed. If you have problems with other medications, you may not be a good fit for trying out totally new treatments before they are approved by the FDA.

You can go the natural or alternative route. Learn about other non-invasive types of treatment, such as diet, vitamin supplements, or treatments like acupuncture, cryotherapy, and more. These are more geared toward alleviating symptoms and not necessarily slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis. You may, unfortunately, end up becoming progressively worse over time.

I hope Rebif Part 2 has answered some of your questions and will help you decide if you want to start or continue taking this medication. If not, here is another article on the site Drugs.com that may give you a better explanation that can help you make up your mind. (Link will open in a new window).

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