Because of the nature of the disease and existing medication, you can’t pop a pill for MS symptoms – you need a subcutaneous injection. The injection needle is about 15mm (almost an inch!) long and inserted perpendicularly to the skin. Possible subcutaneous injection sites include the buttocks, stomach and the back portion of the upper arms.

Do the subcutaneous Rebif (interferon beta) injections help?

Well Rebif, isn’t a cure and it doesn’t claim to be. It is a disease modifying drug that claims to reduces the frequency of exacerbations and slows the progression of disability. So three injections per week – every week religiously – stab wounds the way I look at it

I’m sure everybody has heard of or experienced the case where a medication meant to help a one condition aggravates or generates another condition. Kinda where if you’ve got a headache the doctor prescribes this pill only to generate a stomach ulcer.

Rebif is no different. On YouTube a young girl was demonstrating the correct injection procedure. Initially, I thought she added the hand full of headache pills and pain killers for dramatic effect – hell no!

Sure one of the Rebif side effects noted on the packaging information is the headache, but what Serona failed to say was that this headache was the mother of all headaches. If there was noble ache prize, Rebif would be clear a winner.

To put the Rebif subcutaneous injection headache into perspective, a guillotine or bullet would be a blessing.

Now onto the injection site stab wounds. You don’t have to be very smart to realize that you’ve got only a limited amount of skin that can be jabbed regularly. Sure move the needle around but even still, the area does begin to hurt – almost as though you’ve been punched and bruised.

When you next need an injection in that area – a couple days later – it still hurts even though the needle is nowhere near the last injection location.

Serono say the side effects of Rebif are manageable – headache, depression, nausea, flu-like symptoms, severe liver injury, injection side reactions but what about long term side effects? What about the effect on current or future pregnancy or sperm?

A couple years ago, Fosamax (Bisphosphonate) was released to help those suffering from osteoporosis – a bone weakening disease which leads to fractures. Now they’ve found that the drug is responsible for the development of a bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) or “dead jaw“.

Somewhat contradictory wouldn’t you say for a medication that’s meant to protect the bone?

What unknown (unpublished) side effects does Rebif have?

Now I know MS affects the brain – but with the little that I’ve got left – I struggle to see the value of a medication that makes my head explode, doesn’t cure the disease and supposedly maximizes the time between relapses.

My final thought is this: Rebif is the trademark name for “Chinese Hamster Ovary” juice Read the information leaflet!!!

Bookmark to: