Avonex

So I have finished my first four weeks on Avonex.  I did half doses so ease my body into the med.  Here's how I have reacted:

*I'm moody.  It comes and goes.  One minute I'm feeling optimistic and the next minute I feel like this ms is going to kick my butt.  I really don't like this.
*I have a rash on both my thighs.  Yup, about 2 inches all the way around the injection sites.  The doc is not too worried about it, and it seems to be getting better so we'll see.
*My legs ache.  This comes and goes throughout the week.  Not sure if it's the ms or the med.
*I think I'm more tired than before, especially a couple of days after the shot.

Well, that's about it.  Not too bad, I know.  I would really feel better about this med if the ms would just calm down.  I'm still getting new flare-ups.  A couple weeks before beginning the Avonex my feet got the numb/tingling thing.  I still have it, but it seems to have eased up on my insteps and is worse on the first 3 toes of each foot.  Lately my legs feel tired, also.  This scares me the most....

So I will try to stay optimistic, although it's difficult.  In a perfect world (well, we wouldn't have ms in a perfect world) but it would be good if I could just get symptom free and see how this Avonex will work for me.  In the past when I have gotten flare-ups, they were very minor and always cleared up.  I'm not sure what's different now.  I can't help but wonder if I am doing something different.  I'm eating better, so it's not that.  Could it be the stress of it all?  Any flare-up adds stress to our lives, so is it a viscous cycle...stress making the ms worse and the worse ms making us stressed?  Although I've dabbled in meditation, maybe it's time to really be serious about it.  Anything is worth a try....