Treating exacerbations

I have an exacerbation, which has lasted over two years. I was diagnosed 40 years ago but never got any treatment till now when my primary care provider referred me to a new neurologist. After an MRI, he put me on self-injected copaxone 40 mg. I have been on it for 2 months but cannot see any improvement. How long does this treatment take to work? I cannot take Tecfidera because my bone marrow is already suppressed due to lupus and/or radiation treatments for breast cancer in 2013.

Any help?

Hi Connie,

I'm sorry to read that you are experiencing problems right now, but it's great that you've been referred to a new neurologist who wants to try disease-modifying therapy. However, disease-modifying therapies are not really supposed to improve symptoms or disability. The are supposed to slow down the disease, reducing the risk of disease progression as measured by number of relapses, number of lesions, or disability progression.

Some patients might experience an improvement but that is not what patients should typically expect with the drugs. When you experience a relapse (exacerbation or acute attack), high-dose steroids may reduce the time to recovery.

There may be treatments or strategies that would be effective in reducing particular symptoms, however. It would be good to let your neurologist know if there are things which continue to interfere with your ability to function regularly.

If you have questions regarding specific symptoms, we can try to help guide you to more information.

Best wishes,
Lisa (site moderator)