Saturday, June 28, 2014

Tecfidera – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Tecfidera – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I started Tecfidera 9 months ago, I kind of expected side effects but I was trying to be positive so I expected none.  Well, I got them;  I got sharp pains in my abdomen, pains like I never experienced ever before but with medication my doctor recommended and eating fatty kind of foods like blueberry muffins when I took my medication during meals it helped with the pain.  Diarrhea was also a side effect; not normal diarrhea but the kind that woke you up in the middle of the night running to the bathroom and not being able to make it.  I lost lots of clothes due to this as well as the feeling that my whole body emptied with each episode which was only one time a day (there was nothing left inside me, I think stuff from high school came out, really).  My doctor gave me medication finally for this as well.


After 2 to 3 months the side effects were gone, only occasional episodes when I ate something that wasn’t healthy for my body I guess, tacos, burritos,  HYPERLINK "http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDIQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fallrecipes.com%2Frecipes%2Fpasta%2Fspaghetti%2F&ei=CLw5U7LDH-LCyQHg2oCIBw&usg=AFQjCNG6SdEq5ewxY4JHhJX2_I8u9GTH1g&bvm=bv.63808443,d.aWc" Spaghetti , anything that had spice in it.  You have to be careful what you eat and understand if it causes symptoms take it out of your diet.

I was doing so well with Tecfidera.  I noticed I now had leg strength and I felt almost normal where I could now accomplish more things and could overdue it without getting too sick now.   I felt good.  I thought this was a great medication for me!  I have tried everything else so there was really nothing left to try and this one was working.

Two months ago everything changed; my diarrhea was now back and back with a vengeance.  It got to the point I could not even eat soup without it happening, everything I ate caused problems