Today's run 5 miles in 50 minutes. The wind was horrible, after 3 miles I just turned and ran home. Then I went to the gym and spent 35 minutes on the elliptical.

one hour moving snow that has been thawed, frozen and then plowed back on the sidewalk yiikkkeees
it is a bit a sharp pain on the joints

i guess the will throw my weight into it, yuk, yuk

Wish me luck! I'm taking prednisone for the first time in 40+ years. Trying to get hold of a nasty lower back can't-barely-shuffle flare. I talked my doc into the prescription last time I saw her. On the up side, I got in 500 yds before the flare monster kicked me out of the pool on Friday.

Go TEAM!

really wanted to get out there and walk yesterday and today, but this flare said no, so you and i erica are pred buddies this week!

i finally pulled out my script of 4 mg pills this morning and started a 6 day taper.

my chiro and i could handle the subluxating ribs, i was sleeping off the fatigue with 9-10 hours of sleep each night, was dealing with the inflamed tongue bumps and irritated eyes, and the probiotics were half working, but then when i woke with a very stiff SI / lower back, i said enough was enough, and so i'm trying pred while in a moderate flare.

it was hard to judge it the first time i took it when i was in an awful flare; i mean it made the things that weren't part of the flare feel awesome, like my feet, but the things that were awful, it was hard to say how much the pred was helping.

but in a moderate flare, its easier to tell. the SI is still a bit sore and stiff, ice packs in the recliner all day though does help. but other parts of me, like hey, i can turn my neck without the usual pain! and the eyes and mouth are already better. and i feel like i have so much more energy. wonder if it will help the constipation as well?

but pred does give a kind of jittery headachy feeling; that was hard to access the last time when i was still in so much pain it was hard to tell what was causing what: the pain or the pred. i

'm to go to the rheumy next monday, a few days after the pred taper, that will be good timing, as this has made me think we gotta move on to more than LDN and supplements.

i know you don't have that choice erica, so hoping the pred helps you as much as it seems to help me.

when it comes to pred, it seems like its a fine line knowing when to start it, before the flare becomes a run away train; hoping this time i didn't wait too long. the next few days will tell.

and i'm just doing a 6 day taper mostly cause i don't know how else to do it; my rheumy tried to explain how i could take it longer, but i'm not sure i want to go down that road anyway, not unless there is no other choice.

i had this idea that if i could just avoid all allergens, i could avoid flares (since my worst flares are always mid to late summer), but since late february / early march just doesn't seem like allergy season (though this is becoming pretty routine to flare right around our spring break), don't think that is the solution; pretty sure i want more meds. i tried it without as long as i could. at least i now have a rheumy who will allow me to consider them.

Where else would one hear the term "pred buddies"? Sometimes this deal cracks me up. Get well lovie.

Good luck. Prednisone has always scared me, but they have twice put me solumedrol for my MS. I am not sure what the difference is. I keep thinking I should start swimming also.

Swimming is the bomb! I don't know why I didn't try prednisone before now. I really can't tell if it's working much. But my fingers feel great and I've been typing like a wild person for days...

More snow,
more shoveling, more snow coming.

my hands look like clubs, swollen fingers, but my lower back is a bit better, I have walked 20 minutes and then I plan on going to the pool - walk against current..

lovie = is that a cute bird?? swimming a bomb???? then where is the fuse??

thanks!

you too!

gotta have a sense of humour! one of our best secret weapons i think!

hoping the pred is helping you as much as its helping me. i'd say that pred is the bomb! (when used short term of course)

i even made it to the dentist this morning to have my crown put in over my implant that they started with back in june. i never could have done that a day or two after my SI flaring like this without the pred. yes, its still sore, typical after that much muscle spasming, but really, compared to without pred......

and everything else feels a lot better too.

and the energy, its unbelievable how much energy i have! the downside of course is that i don't seem to get sleepy while on pred, so i stay up too late. need more discipline on that.

wish my SI was good enough to walk today. its really windy, but the sun is shining and its a balmy 50 degrees, in upstate NY, in february! i'll find an excuse to get back outside if just to stand out there for a few minutes to soak up the rays.

40 kilometres in 1 hour 5 minutes on the bike.

I shall continue with my archaic spelling technique.