When I first was diagnosed with MS, my doctor suggested Avonex. At the time, it was one of the most aggressive medications available. He wanted me to look over the other meds, as well. I asked him to put it to me like I were his son. He said he’d go with Avonex. That’s what I did.

There are two great benefits to Avonex. 1) It works for me. And it works really well. 2) It’s only once a week. Other medications are every other day or twice a week.

However, there are two pitfalls to Avonex. 1) The needle is 1.25 inches long because it’s an intramuscular injection. It doesn’t hurt any more than a sub-cue injection, but it’s a mental thing. 2) The side effects suck. About four or five hours after the injection, I feel like I have the flu. This can be minimized with ibuprofin or Alieve and/or Prednisone. But it still takes a toll on you.

I’ve also learned that the side effects are minimized when you’re more relaxed during the injection. This is why it’s such a huge benefit to have a friend do the injection for me.