Interferon beta-1a IM Injection Treatment Report : PatientsLikeMe

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Home > Community Treatment Reports and Side Effects > Interferon beta-1a IM Injection Treatment Report

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What is Interferon beta-1a IM Injection?

Interferon beta-1a is a drug in the interferon family used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). It is produced by mammalian cells while Interferon beta-1b is produced in modified E. coli. Interferons have been shown to have about a 30–35% reduction in the rate of MS relapses, and to slow the progression of disability in MS patients.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose	# of patients	# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
MS (Multiple Sclerosis)	2347	757
Other	54	11
General health	23	9
Don't know	14	4
Fatigue	14	2
Improve mobility	12	5

See all 41 reasons taken ▼

See all 1495 patients currently taking Interferon beta-1a IM Injection

Mouse over the table for more information

Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe	206
Moderate	274
Mild	243
None	61

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Interferon beta-1a IM Injection

See all 182 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲
Flu like symptoms	309	309
Generalized muscle aches	225	225
Chills/fever	207	207
Body Aches	180	180
Headaches	118	118
Joint pain	89	89
Lethargy	78	78
Tiredness	70	70
Fever	68	68
Migraine headaches	51	51
Shivering	41	41
Stabbing headaches	36	36
Nausea	33	33
Dizziness	24	24
Fatigue	21	21
Injection site scar	17	17
Muscle aches	16	16
Muscle pain	15	15
Depressed mood	14	14
Chills	11	11
Muscle and joint pain	8	8
Pain	8	8
Injection site reaction	4	4
Short period flu like symptoms	4	4
Injection site bruising	4	4
Night sweats	4	4
Injection site pain	4	4
Extreme flu like malaise	4	4
Hair loss (alopecia)	4	4
Bruising	3	3
Muscle spasms	3	3
Hives (urticaria)	3	3
Achiness	3	3
Weakness in legs	2	2
Pain in lower back	2	2
Difficulty sleeping through night	2	2
Anxious mood	2	2
Suicidal thoughts or urges	2	2
Vomiting	2	2
Dizziness with nausea	2	2
Constipation	2	2
Depression with suicidal thoughts	2	2
Fear of needles (belonephobia)	2	2
Need to stretch	2	2
Depression with anxiety	2	2
Fainting	2	2
Whole body shaking	2	2
An overall crappy feeling all the time	2	2
Joint stiffness	2	2
Brain fog	2	2
Numbness and Tingling with Pins and Needles	2	2
Itching (pruritus)	2	2
Hangover effect	2	2
Back pain	2	2
Brain cloud	2	2
Muscle weakness	2	2
Pain throughout body	2	2
Aching burning throbbing body pain	2	2
Constant general muscle aches	2	2
Rash or skin problems	2	2
Occasional flu like symptoms	2	2
aches and paines, low grade fever,	2	2
Thrombocytopenia (low platelet count)	2	2
Tiredness increased	2	2
Increased fatigue	2	2
Stiffness	2	2
Flu like symptoms on night of shot	2	2
Muscle fatigue	2	2
muscle and flesh at injection site seems to have a changed quality and much more difficult to find a "good" spot	1	1
Injection site knots	1	1
temp above 90*	1	1
Tightness in leg	1	1
Worsening depression	1	1
Loss of balance	1	1
Joints ache	1	1
Injection site irritation	1	1
Hypercalcemia (elevated calcium)	1	1
Vertigo	1	1
Sleep disturbances	1	1
Low grade fever	1	1
Rash on face	1	1
Possible back aches	1	1
Partial paralysis	1	1
Joint tenderness	1	1
Postictal chills/fever	1	1
Psychotic affect	1	1
Multiple Sclerosis symptoms increased	1	1
Low Temperature	1	1
ill for two days after shot	1	1
reverted to original symptoms with effexor prefilled syringe	1	1
Hot and cold flashes	1	1
Craving spicy food	1	1
Cold chills	1	1
minor loss of enthusiam as dose is absorbed...	1	1
Headaches with eye discomfort	1	1
Stabbing and shooting pain	1	1
Headache after injection	1	1
Tired legs	1	1
Injection site arm muscle soreness pain that lasts a few hours	1	1
Fever from flu	1	1
Throat closing	1	1
Very low white blood cell count	1	1
freezing cold	1	1
Difficulty driving	1	1
Loss of coordination	1	1
Puffy lumps on thighs	1	1
Sleeplessness for first month	1	1
Abdominal fat increased	1	1
Injection site burning pain	1	1
Major Depressive Disorder	1	1
Heart Attack	1	1
Cellulitis	1	1
Mild Depression	1	1
Insomnia	1	1
Hospitalization	1	1
Stiffness/Spasticity	1	1
Emotional lability	1	1
Generalized weakness (asthenia)	1	1
Joints ache (whole body)	1	1
Ringing in ears (tinnitus)	1	1
Loss of manual dexterity	1	1
Racing heart feeling	1	1
Spasms	1	1
Walking problems	1	1
Balance problems	1	1
Tremor in hands	1	1
Weight gain	1	1
Hearing problems	1	1
Sweating	1	1
Awakening due to pain	1	1
Muscle twitching (fasciculations)	1	1
Dry mouth (xerostomia)	1	1
Sore throat (Pharyngitis)	1	1
Ocular migraine aura	1	1
Stomach pain	1	1
Problems concentrating	1	1
Cold sores (fever blisters)	1	1
Arthritis pain	1	1
Panic about future	1	1
Brain lesions	1	1
Lipodystrophy (lipoatrophy or loss of fatty tissue)	1	1
Elevated liver enzymes	1	1
Nightmares	1	1
Hyperthyroidism (Overactive thyroid)	1	1
Heart palpitations	1	1
Neck pain	1	1
Headaches in right eye and neck	1	1
Dry skin	1	1
Lightheadedness	1	1
Muscle soreness	1	1
Facial swelling	1	1
Frustration	1	1
Menstruation differences	1	1
Loss of energy	1	1
Dehydration	1	1
Muscle stiffness	1	1
Exhaustion	1	1
interferon side-effects	1	1
Sleepiness	1	1
Injection site redness	1	1
Nervousness	1	1
Sinus headaches	1	1
Overall weakness	1	1
Nausea and vomiting	1	1
Nausea sometimes	1	1
Stomach upset	1	1
Muscle weakness in legs	1	1
Difficulty thinking	1	1
Pain in legs	1	1
Sinusitis	1	1
Allergic reaction	1	1
Increased energy	1	1
Neutropenia (low neutrophils)	1	1
Stiffness in morning	1	1
Tired and weak next day	1	1
Swelling in hands	1	1
Low body temperature	1	1
Body tremor	1	1
Thyroid disorder	1	1
Numbness in thighs	1	1
Headaches in morning	1	1
Sensitivity of teeth	1	1

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking Interferon beta-1a IM Injection. See all 80 dosages ►

weekly	1 mg weekly	1 mcg weekly	30 mcg/0.5 mL every other week	22 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	30 mg weekly	30 mcg weekly	30 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	30 mcg/0.5 mL daily	30 mcg daily
148	12	20	16	11	22	404	603	75	27

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Interferon beta-1a IM Injection (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason	# Patients	Percentage of patients
Side effects too severe	622
Did not seem to work	482
Doctor's advice	428
Other	234
Expense	68
Personal research	48
Change in health plan coverage	28
Course of treatment ended	27
Not indicated	24

See all 1364 patients who’ve stopped taking Interferon beta-1a IM Injection

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼ Reported Duration Hide details ▲

Currently Taking Interferon beta-1a IM Injection

A bar graph

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
0	4	18	31	51	319

Stopped Taking Interferon beta-1a IM Injection

A bar graph

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
45	85	126	242	226	611

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Interferon beta-1a IM Injection

Always	650	83%
Usually	103	13%
Sometimes	10	1%
Never	21	3%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Interferon beta-1a IM Injection

Very	130	17%
Somewhat	240	31%
A little	246	31%
Not at all	168	21%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Interferon beta-1a IM Injection

$200+	64	11%
$100-199	44	8%
$50-99	68	12%
$25-49	127	22%
< $25	270	47%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Patient Evaluations

See all 784 patient evaluations

smoulton

Sex: F

Sensation: Moderate

Overall: Moderate

Cognition: moderate

Vision: moderate

Speech: mild

Swallowing: mild

Upper limb: moderate

Walking: moderate
smoulton

30 mcg daily

since Aug 18, 2009
Efficacy Major for MS (Multiple Sclerosis)
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips I would like to stay on Avonex, but with the liver acting up, I will stop it for now. I want to go back on it or go to an oral that doesn't effect the liver. See full evaluation

grandma2009

Sex: F

Relapse: Moderate

Sensation: Moderate

Overall: Moderate

Cognition: moderate

Vision: moderate

Speech: none

Swallowing: moderate

Upper limb: moderate

Walking: moderate
grandma2009

30 mcg/0.5 mL weekly

since Jan 05, 2010
Efficacy None for MS (Multiple Sclerosis)
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips I had flu sx the whole 1 and half yrs I was on this med, and when I went back for my MRI , I had 2 new lesions on my C-spine. My Dr was not happy with this ... See full evaluation

thunderdoodle

Sex: M

Sensation: None

Overall: None

Cognition: none

Vision: none

Speech: none

Swallowing: none

Upper limb: none

Walking: none
thunderdoodle

weekly

since Feb 05, 2010
Efficacy ?Can't tell for MS (Multiple Sclerosis)
Side Effects Severe
Advice/Tips After 15months I could not deal with the side effects which for me were not worth it. I stopped taking the drug and I feel sooo...:) much better. I am not sa... See full evaluation

See all 784 patient evaluations

Report created on February 11, 2012.

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