Most patients will have to use some combination of Multiple Sclerosis Medications during the course of their life. Depending on the progression of your disease, the relapse frequency you are experiencing, and the symptoms that trouble you the most, the MS medications you decide to use will fall into one of three main categories. And over the course of your battle with this debilitating disease, you will likely go back and forth between drugs in the different categories before you find a combination that works best for you. While new MS medications are being researched and even approved regularly, they will still likely fall into one of these categories until a cure is finally found.
The goal of some MS medications is to reduce the frequency of relapses or shorten the duration of the relapse it already underway
Some drugs are used to control a relapse after it has already started. When these drugs are used, the hope is that the attack can be shortened in its duration and the severity of the attack can be reduced. The most common drugs in this category are Corticosteroids, IVIG, and adrenocorticotropic hormone.
Patients with relapsing-remitting MS try to reduce the frequency of relapse and delay the associated disability. MS medications used for this most commonly are Interferon beta, Glatiramer and Mitoxantrone.
Disease modifying treatment is another category
Some Multiple Sclerosis medications are formulated to modify the course of the disease. They are attempting to slow the progression, or to delay the patient’s progression from a mild to a more severe form of the disease. In the category of disease modification, there are seven commonly used drugs approved by the FDA. In no particular order, and referred to by their brand names these drugs are:
Avonex, Betaseron, Rebif, Copaxone, Tysabri, Gilenya, and Extavia.
Of the drugs listed above, only Gilenya is an oral medication given in tablet form. Tysabri is given intravenously once a month. The rest are given as injections under the skin or into muscle at different intervals. While one is not necessarily more effective than another, the best medication for you is one that you will take regularly. It is best to discuss this with your doctor to see which drug best fits with your lifestyle so you will be more likely to stick with it.
Managing MS Symptoms
Some medications are used only to manage the symptoms of MS. They neither modify the disease nor do they reduce the relapse rate. But managing the symptoms of your MS is important to you quality of life. You may live a long time with Multiple Sclerosis, so finding the right combination of Multiple Sclerosis medications to relieve the symptoms that hinder you the most is important. Following is a MS medications list of drugs commonly used and the symptoms they help relieve:
Baclofen, Tizanidine, Diazepam amd Clonazepam – used to relieve Spasticity
Methylprednisolone, Oral Steroids – used to relieve Optic Neuritis
Antidepressants, Amantadine – used to fight fatigue
Aspirin, Acetaminophen, Opiates – for pain relief
Carbamazepine, other Anticonvulsants – to manage Trigeminal Neuralgia
Papaverine injections (men) – Sexual Dysfunction
Dalfampridine – to help make walking easier
This list is not meant to be complete, nor is it meant to offer specific medical advice. It is just meant to be a reference as a basis to start a discussion with your doctor about medication options.
