PatientsLikeMe : Rebif (interferon beta-1a subq injection) Treatment Report

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Rebif (interferon beta-1a subq injection) Treatment Report

Generic Name: Interferon beta-1a SubQ injection

See patients taking Rebif

What is Rebif?

Rebif, a brand name for interferon beta-1a, is an immunomodulator used to prevent episodes of symptoms and slow the development of disability in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. It is given subcutaneously (under the skin) three times a week, ideally the same 3 days each week.

Reasons taken & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Reasons taken	# of patients	# of patients evaluated by
Slow my MS progress	841	158
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)	77	31
Other	28	4
Stiffness/Spasticity	8	2
General health	8	4
Don't know	5	0
disease-related symptoms	5	0
Fatigue	4	1
Slow my Devic's progress	4	2
Mobility	3	0
Support another treatment	2	0
It's has stopped working, just like Betarseron	1	0
Pain	1	0
Emotional lability	1	0
Anxiety	1	0
Treat my MSA	1	0
walking problems	1	0
Depression	1	0
Weakness/slowness (asthenia)	1	0
Vision	1	0
Sensation	1	0
no longer take it	1	0
MS	1	0
Treat Parkinson's	1	0
Have been given a 1 year supply free	1	0
Excessive daytime sleepiness (somnolence)	1	0
vision	1	0

See all 27 reasons taken ▼

See all 794 patients currently taking Rebif

Mouse over the table for more information

Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe	30	15%
Moderate	77	39%
Mild	71	36%
None	20	10%

Most commonly reported side effects

Injection site redness	119	60%
Muscle ache, whole body	112	57%
Headaches	86	43%
Chills/fever	83	42%
Injection site pain	52	26%
Injection site burning	37	19%
muscle aches, localized	33	17%
Itchy shot site	31	16%
Migraine	24	12%
Fatigue	14	7%
Depression	2	1%
High blood pressure (Hypertension)	2	1%
Restless Body Syndrome	1	1%
severe bruising	1	1%
Liver Levels Elevated	1	1%
Stiff neck	1	1%
Injection site knots	1	1%
severe bruising LOW PLATELET LEVELS	1	1%
large unexplained bruises all over legs	1	1%
Fatigue and sleepiness	1	1%
Burning legs	1	1%
hair loss	1	1%
Optic neuritis (inflammation, optic nerve)	1	1%
Injection site numbness	1	1%
Liver damage	1	1%
dry mouth	1	1%
Flu-like symptoms	1	1%
Breathing difficulty	1	1%
Nausea	1	1%
tremors, body	1	1%
Hip pain	1	1%
Dizziness	1	1%
Lower back pain	1	1%
Stomach cramps	1	1%
Excessive Thirst	1	1%
elevated liver enzymes	1	1%
Injection site bruising	1	1%
Injection site swelling	1	1%
Insomnia	1	1%
joint aches	1	1%
Diarrhea chronic	1	1%
Liver impairment (chronic)	1	1%

Mild
Moderate
Severe

See all 42 reported side effects ▼

Dosages

Top 10 dosages based on patients currently taking Rebif. See all 81 dosages ►

22 mcg/0.5 mL as needed	22mcg/0.5mL as needed	3 times a week	44 mcg/0.5 mL all the time (24/7)	44 mcg/0.5 mL as needed	44mcg/0.5mL as needed	44mcg as needed	44 mg all the time (24/7)	44mg as needed	- as needed	as needed	daily	monthly	weekly	0.14 mcg	0.44 mg weekly	0.5 mcg weekly	0.44 mcg	0.5 mcg	0.44 mg	0.8 mcg	1 mcg	3 mcg weekly	3 mg weekly	4.4 mcg weekly	30 mcg/0.5 mL monthly	8.8 mcg weekly	3 mcg	4.4 mcg	15 mcg weekly	22 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	22 mcg weekly	22 mg weekly	26.4 mcg weekly	10 mcg	33 mg weekly	12 mcg	40 mcg weekly	44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	44 mcg weekly	44 mg weekly	8.8 mcg daily	8.8 mg daily	22 mcg	22 mcg/0.5 mL	22 mcg/0.5 mL 3 times a week	3 x 22 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	66 mcg weekly	66 mg weekly	22 mcg	2 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	88 mcg weekly	33 mcg	99 mcg weekly	112 mcg weekly	40 mcg	120 mg weekly	12 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL monthly	126 mcg weekly	44 mcg	44 mcg/0.5 mL 3 times a week	132 mcg weekly	132 mg weekly	3 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	152 mg weekly	22 mcg/0.5 mL daily	44	44 mcg	44 mg	4 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	6 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	100 mcg	44 mcg/0.5 mL daily	44 mcg/0.5 mL one time	44 mcg daily	132 mcg	138 mcg	132 mcg daily	3 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL daily	321 mcg	44 mcg
1	2	31	1	3	8	2	1	1	1	4	12	1	23	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	2	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	6	2	3	1	1	1	1	1	54	27	15	1	1	8	1	15	28	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	87	55	29	16	150	1	12	4	17	21	1	1	1	75	1	10	1	1	1	2	1	1

Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Rebif (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason	# Patients	Percentage of patients
Side effects too severe	167	48%
Did not seem to work	115	33%
Doctor's advice	80	23%
Other	58	17%
Personal research	16	5%
Expense	14	4%
Not indicated	9	3%
Course of treatment ended	8	2%

See all 335 patients who’ve stopped taking Rebif

Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼

Currently Taking Rebif

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
1	21	47	81	82	161

Stopped Taking Rebif

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
13	44	52	77	51	95

Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Always	163	82%
Usually	29	15%
Sometimes	3	2%
Never	3	2%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Very	19	10%
Somewhat	58	29%
A little	73	37%
Not at all	48	24%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

$200+	15	8%
$100-199	9	5%
$50-99	35	18%
$25-49	39	20%
< $25	45	23%

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

Patient Evaluations

See all 198 patient evaluations

A Prayer a day

Sex: F

Sensation: Moderate

Overall: Moderate

Cognition: severe

Vision: moderate

Speech: moderate

Swallowing: mild

Upper limb: moderate

Walking: moderate

See profile
A Prayer a day

3 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly

since Jun 22, 2009
Efficacy Moderate for Slow my MS progress
Side Effects None
Advice/Tips Do what I do. Take Motrin and your Rebif shot just before bedtime and you will sleep right through it. I guess I do take sleep meds. See full evaluation

anne ball

Sex: F

Sensation: Moderate

Overall: Moderate

Cognition: moderate

Vision: moderate

Speech: moderate

Swallowing: moderate

Upper limb: moderate

Walking: moderate

See profile
anne ball

22 mcg/0.5 mL daily

since May 23, 2009
Efficacy Can't tell for Slow my MS progress
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips massage cold pack around injection site prior & after injection See full evaluation

dbrister

Sex: F

Sensation: Moderate

Overall: Moderate

Cognition: moderate

Vision: moderate

Speech: moderate

Swallowing: moderate

Upper limb: moderate

Walking: moderate

See profile
dbrister

1 mcg 3 times a week

since Feb 10, 2006
Efficacy Can't tell for Slow my MS progress
Side Effects Severe
Advice/Tips Premedicate with tylenol, motrin, etc. before injecting. Try using cortisone cream, (tooth) numbing gel, or some other top of topical preparation before inj... See full evaluation

See all 198 patient evaluations

Forum

See 157 topics tagged with Rebif

There are 5851 posts in our forum about Rebif. Join now and see what people are saying.

Report created on November 21, 2009.

22 mcg/0.5 mL as needed	22mcg/0.5mL as needed	3 times a week	44 mcg/0.5 mL all the time (24/7)	44 mcg/0.5 mL as needed	44mcg/0.5mL as needed	44mcg as needed	44 mg all the time (24/7)	44mg as needed	- as needed	as needed	daily	monthly	weekly	0.14 mcg	0.44 mg weekly	0.5 mcg weekly	0.44 mcg	0.5 mcg	0.44 mg	0.8 mcg	1 mcg	3 mcg weekly	3 mg weekly	4.4 mcg weekly	30 mcg/0.5 mL monthly	8.8 mcg weekly	3 mcg	4.4 mcg	15 mcg weekly	22 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	22 mcg weekly	22 mg weekly	26.4 mcg weekly	10 mcg	33 mg weekly	12 mcg	40 mcg weekly	44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	44 mcg weekly	44 mg weekly	8.8 mcg daily	8.8 mg daily	22 mcg	22 mcg/0.5 mL	22 mcg/0.5 mL 3 times a week	3 x 22 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	66 mcg weekly	66 mg weekly	22 mcg	2 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	88 mcg weekly	33 mcg	99 mcg weekly	112 mcg weekly	40 mcg	120 mg weekly	12 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL monthly	126 mcg weekly	44 mcg	44 mcg/0.5 mL 3 times a week	132 mcg weekly	132 mg weekly	3 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	152 mg weekly	22 mcg/0.5 mL daily	44	44 mcg	44 mg	4 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	6 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	100 mcg	44 mcg/0.5 mL daily	44 mcg/0.5 mL one time	44 mcg daily	132 mcg	138 mcg	132 mcg daily	3 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL daily	321 mcg	44 mcg
1	2	31	1	3	8	2	1	1	1	4	12	1	23	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	2	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	6	2	3	1	1	1	1	1	54	27	15	1	1	8	1	15	28	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	87	55	29	16	150	1	12	4	17	21	1	1	1	75	1	10	1	1	1	2	1	1

22 mcg/0.5 mL as needed	22mcg/0.5mL as needed	3 times a week	44 mcg/0.5 mL all the time (24/7)	44 mcg/0.5 mL as needed	44mcg/0.5mL as needed	44mcg as needed	44 mg all the time (24/7)	44mg as needed	- as needed	as needed	daily	monthly	weekly	0.14 mcg	0.44 mg weekly	0.5 mcg weekly	0.44 mcg	0.5 mcg	0.44 mg	0.8 mcg	1 mcg	3 mcg weekly	3 mg weekly	4.4 mcg weekly	30 mcg/0.5 mL monthly	8.8 mcg weekly	3 mcg	4.4 mcg	15 mcg weekly	22 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	22 mcg weekly	22 mg weekly	26.4 mcg weekly	10 mcg	33 mg weekly	12 mcg	40 mcg weekly	44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	44 mcg weekly	44 mg weekly	8.8 mcg daily	8.8 mg daily	22 mcg	22 mcg/0.5 mL	22 mcg/0.5 mL 3 times a week	3 x 22 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	66 mcg weekly	66 mg weekly	22 mcg	2 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	88 mcg weekly	33 mcg	99 mcg weekly	112 mcg weekly	40 mcg	120 mg weekly	12 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL monthly	126 mcg weekly	44 mcg	44 mcg/0.5 mL 3 times a week	132 mcg weekly	132 mg weekly	3 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	152 mg weekly	22 mcg/0.5 mL daily	44	44 mcg	44 mg	4 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	6 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL weekly	100 mcg	44 mcg/0.5 mL daily	44 mcg/0.5 mL one time	44 mcg daily	132 mcg	138 mcg	132 mcg daily	3 x 44 mcg/0.5 mL daily	321 mcg	44 mcg
1	2	31	1	3	8	2	1	1	1	4	12	1	23	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	2	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	6	2	3	1	1	1	1	1	54	27	15	1	1	8	1	15	28	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	87	55	29	16	150	1	12	4	17	21	1	1	1	75	1	10	1	1	1	2	1	1

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