MS Active Source

Frequently Asked Questions

• Overview
• About MS
• Diagnosing MS
• Lifestyle options
• Finding support
• Treating MS
• Neuro-physiotherapy

Questions often asked about how to treat Multiple Sclerosis

Q: What factors should I consider before choosing a therapy?

A: Ultimately, you must weigh the pros and cons of any therapy with your neurologist in order to choose a therapy that best meets your treatment goals and lifestyle.

Here are some questions to consider when choosing a treatment:

• Does the therapy work to slow the progression of disability?
• Does the therapy work to reduce relapses?
• How often is the therapy given?
• How is the therapy administered?
• What kinds of side-effects are associated with the therapy?
  
• What impact will these common side effects have on my life?

Since MS is a chronic, life-long disease, it is important to choose a therapy that works for you. For many people, the most important measure of a therapy’s effectiveness is whether the drug has a proven ability to slow the progression of disability.

Staying on therapy is the best way you can positively manage your MS. Therefore, it is also important to choose a therapy with side-effects you can manage over the long run.

Discuss your options with your neurologist before making any therapy decisions.

Q: Why is there a difference in injection frequency for similar treatments - eg interferon beta?

A: Drugs injected directly into the muscle tissue (IM) are released slowly into the bloodstream. Since IM injection allows effective amounts of medicine to stay in the body longer, you don’t have to inject it as frequently.

Drugs injected subcutaneously tend to remain in the body for a shorter period of time, so they need to be injected more frequently (daily or every other day).

Ultimately, you should discuss your treatment options with your neurologist to choose a therapy that meets your treatment goals and lifestyle.

Q: What expectations should I have from therapy?

A: Since MS is so unpredictable, no two people will have the same course of illness or the same symptoms. One thing that nearly all people with MS have in common is relapses/attacks, the outward effects that can be disruptive to your daily life. A proven treatment programme can take some of the unpredictability out of life with MS.

Occasional relapses can still be a part of life with MS. When they occur, it is very natural to question the efficacy of your therapy so remember that no therapy can completely eliminate relapses and by starting therapy early and staying on it, will help to reduce the number of relapses you may experience.

Q: Does any drug slow the progression of the disease?

A: Disease-modifying therapies - interferon betas, glatiramer acetate and nataluzimab - have been shown to reduce the frequency of relapses in RRMS; interferon betas and nataluzimab may also delay the progression of disability in relapsing forms of MS.

Q: What about complementary or alternative medicine?

A: Many people with MS try other complementary or alternative therapies. There is some evidence that some of these therapies may have a beneficial effect.

If you are considering such a treatment, it is always a good idea to get as much information as possible about the treatment from your doctor and an accredited practitioner of the therapy or treatment. More information on complementary therapies can be found by clicking on this link. 

If there are any questions that you would like an answer to please contact the MS Active Source team by clicking here.

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