General Medicine

» Jennifer Gerics - Rebif: anyone taking?

Is anyone taking Rebif? Can you state your own personal side-effects and/or advantages? Have you tried any of the other CRAB drugs?

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» loveisjoy - Rebif: anyone taking?

In response to Rebif: anyone taking? posted by JenniferGerics:

After about 7 years of taking Betaseron, I was forced to make a switch recently to Rebif.

My insurance carrier took Betaseron off of its drug formulary, (don't know why), so my neurologist switched me to Rebif.

I was happy to discover that the Rebif comes in a prefilled syringe, that is administered Mon,Wed,and Fridays only. That greatly improves the "hassle" factor, because Betaseron was an every-other-day, mix it yourself affair.

I really didn't have any side effects with Betaseron other than the bruising and redness (at times itchy) at the injection site. After 2 months of being on Rebif, I find that I have similar site reactions. In addition, although the syringe and needle for Rebif is substantially smaller than the Betaseron version, the Rebif injection STINGS like a son-of-a-gun. The burning lasts several minutes after the injection.

I have found that letting the Rebif come to room temperature before administering helps ameliorate the sting. I don't bother with the auto-injector devices because I have found those to be tricky to coordinate. I just poke myself the old fashioned way.

As for how well the treatment works, I can't say. I don't feel any better or worse in any respect. I'll just have to hope that on some level it's helping to keep more MS problems at bay.

-- posted by loveisjoy

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» Jennifer Gerics - Rebif: anyone taking?

In response to Rebif: anyone taking? posted by loveisjoy:

I was thinking of switching to Rebif (just to get out of doing an extra shot each week), but I'm doing fairly well on Betaseron. Finally the flu-like side effects aren't too bad. I also like that I can throw the medication in my bag and take it to wherever I'm going without refrigerating it. I hear that Rebif and Betaseron are the most effective drugs. Hopefully...

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» kazinmich - I'm taking Rebif

For a month now. The 8mcg was easy, the 22 wasn't bad but brought on more of the fever/cold chills at night and the 44 seems to be ok, but seems like it takes me forever to slowly give myself. It's easier in my belly than my thighs for the shots. I ice beforehand, then use alcohol, then the shot then massage for a minute or two. It doesn't seem too bad actually.

Kaz

-- posted by kazinmich

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» Jennifer Gerics - I'm taking Rebif

In response to I'm taking Rebif posted by kazinmich:

Do you find that the shots sting at all? I've heard that if you don't let them warm to room temperature this can happen. I find the legs then the stomach the easiest, but the least stressful is the good old shot in the butt done by my husband! Lots of padding to work with!

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