Somebody in one of my online communities was recently diagnosed with MS. I talk to newbies a lot about dealing with my MS. Every time, I recreate the wheel. I should probably save those messages so that it’s a little easier to compose my thoughts in the future. Here are a few exerpts from my messages to her.

I don’t mind at all. I’ve been there. I was 30 when I was diagnosed. The good news is that you’re going to make it. MS therapies have come so far in recent years. Has your doctor put you on any meds yet? I’ve been on Avonex for three years now and will be switching to Rebif in a few weeks.

Did you catch it early? I was very fortunate in that we caught mine very early.

You don’t have to become an expert overnight. Your neurologist has to be your partner through this.

My Aunt Velma was diagnosed almost 25 years ago, and she’s a thriving grandmother of three. If she can make it that long, we all can.

So what do you want to know?

I’ve been on Avonex for three years, and it does tend to make me sick the next day. This can be minimized by taking an over the counter pain reliever like Tylenol or Alieve. I was also taking 5mg of Prednisone with my shot, and that made it a lot better.

My new neurologist doesn’t like my taking the prednisone, so she wanted to try something else. Rebif and Avonex are essentially the same drug, just a different administration of it. Rebif is injected into the skin, where Avonex is injected into the muscle.

I’m very fortunate that I haven’t missed much work due to having MS. I get tired a lot, and frequently I’ll come in a little later or go home a little earlier. My boss is pretty understanding, and as long as the work gets done, he’s not making a big deal out of the number of hours I’m in the office.

You’ll get things worked out. You just have to believe in yourself.