a pill!

i was diagnosed with ms 17 years ago. during that time the 1st 'disease modifying' drugs became available. they were helpful, but every drug required some form of injection - subcutaneous or intramuscular. the newer medicine that i've been using, tysabri, is by intravenous injection. while their worth was great, i am so excited to report something better.

the 1st ever disease modifying oral treatment has been approved by the fda! initially called fingolimod, now GILENYA, is simply a pill to swallow. i think this new one will bring the number of pills i take each day to be about 24, this includes vitamins and supplements. gone will be the needles and i should make even greater progress toward limiting my disease progression.

from my understanding, gilenya will keep the immune cells that are attacking my myelin from ever leaving the lymph nodes. if the myelin is left alone, no new symptoms should appear. myelin can even be regenerated very slowly. that means there's a possibility of me regaining some functions that are gone now. there are risks, but stopping this disease is worth it.

i'll keep you posted.