Tysabri is a dream come true for many individuals with Multiple Sclerosis. Personally, I have opted to take Gilenya (for now), but Tysabri was very tempting when I considered my options after it became apparent that Rebif would not work out for me any longer. However, along with Tysabri’s side effects comes one very sinister danger: PML. One patient on Gilenya has been diagnosed with PML, and it can happen to anyone whether or not they have MS. Knowing that medication (especially newer medications) may bring a risk of PML has frightened us all.
pml
Diary Of A Gilenya Pioneer: Latest Gilenya Test Results
My one year anniversary of taking Gilenya occurred in May, but my first MRI results and latest blood test since beginning treatment occurred only recently. Multiple Sclerosis can be a very unpredictable disease, but prior to treatment with Gilenya I averaged 2 – 3 relapses per year. My neurologists have told met hat the average gap between relapses is 18 months which I have never achieved. However, I am getting closer every day as this is the longest relapse-free period I have ever had since diagnosis. My Gilenya test results during my last office visit were overwhelmingly positive.
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Diary Of A Gilenya Pioneer: Gilenya Results After One Year On Gilenya
Happy anniversary to me! One year ago today I took my first dose of Gilenya. My heart rate waxed and waned that day, but in the 12 months since my life has steadily improved. I don’t expect roses today, but I am ecstatic that the drug is working for me. Until this time last year, I was in a pattern of a relapse every few months. I have now been relapse-free for one year and counting! So far, Gilenya results have been fantastic.
I began the journey secretly hopeful that I might be one of those few people who miraculously have so many of their lesions shrink and heal on Gilenya, but I was also reasonable. Most of my damage is well over a year old, and most neurologists will tell you to stop expecting any improvement after one year. May 5 2011, deep down I believed that I was stuck with what I had in spite of any contradictory fantasies.
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Diary Of A Gilenya Pioneer: The Gilenya Approval Tests Begin!
Some good news in my quest to start Gilenya – which is really starting to feel like a quest for the holy grail. I’ve written previously about my hopes for Gilenya and of my frustrations with the slow process. On the day I ceased Rebif I also saw a gastroenterologist for my elevated liver enzymes. The tally so far is $800 for the consult, $600 for the results, and forthcoming bills for some blood tests and an abdomenal ultrasound. Results are that I am clear of all liver diseases – he seemed disappointed. With the liver investigation closed, I am set to begin the Gilenya approval tests required by my neurologist, by my insurance provider, and by Novartis.
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Diary Of A Gilenya Pioneer: Switching To Gilenya!
As it turns out, similarly to my father’s results with Avonex, Rebif has caused my liver enzymes to shoot up to about 3X the upper limit of normal in the span of slightly less than 2 years. My options?
1) Tysabri : the risk of PML is too severe for me to brave this drug – reputed to be a risk of death or severe disability as high as 1 in 200 for some individuals and 1 in 2000 for others
2) Copaxone : statistically slightly less effective than interferons – works great for my father but I truly don’t want to do a daily injection except as a last resort
3) Gilenya : aka Fingolimod – when this was approved by the FDA I wrote a blog post to summarize all the information I could find – it is the only oral disease modifying drug for Multiple Sclerosis – DING! DING! DING!
I have chosen to switch to Gilenya.
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Gilenya: First Oral Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis
There has been a huge breakthrough in MS treatment! An oral medication by Novartis, Gilenya (formerly Gingolimod and FTY720), has finally been approved by the FDA to be available by prescription as a daily 0.5 mg capsule as a first line treatment in October.
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Are Neurologists Pushing Tysabri?
It was a dark and stormy night. The hospital corridors were abandoned and echoing with every step. There was a suspicious lack of signage directing individuals to the basement seminar. I had no idea that I had registered for an evening of neurologists pushing Tysabri onto a room full of medicare patients.
My parents assured me that although they’ve gone to many MS events they had never been to a spectacle like this before.
Last night I trekked down to the basement of a hospital branch one county away to attend an MS event my parents had alerted me to called Dialogue of Hope and Health. I can’t deny that I was hoping that the “hope” in the title of the event referred to the new oral medications soon to be available (at least in other countries) or perhaps stem cell developments. It turned out to be something between a sales pitch and damage control conducted by a local neurologist and some Tysabri sales reps.