I dunno why, exactly, but I don't have much in the way of super flare ups as most of you describe. If I feel some really hateful pain coming on, I hammer it fast with fairly heavy doses of pain meds. I was told by a good doc some years ago that if you are taking percocet and you wait for the pain to get bad enough to need them, there is a lower ability of the med to stop the pain.(I compared it to migraines. If you wait til it's a 7 on the scale, you can't get it below that level, it just won't progress) If you feel it coming and hit it hard right off the bat, the meds keep the total high end pain at a lower level. This has been my experience, anyway. Anyone who has had PT for a back sprain might have heard of guarding, that is, holding the affected area still, which actually makes the pain worse? (the muscles get tighter and then spasm) Well, I guard my leg when it hurts badly, so when it's looking like a rough one, I pop a little more than usual and walk the mall until the meds kick, the pain settles and I actually feel the burn from the walking. I guess it's warmed up then, and I consciously relax my leg to let it move as naturally as possible. Yeah, it hurts really badly right afterward, but once rested for a half an hour or so, I guess the lactic acid caught in my knee leaches out(?) and I feel much better. (I assume lactic acid because I have very painful spasms just like tiny charley horses in my knee) I do this regimen every other day, usually trying to time it to when the cutest girls are at the mall. (For medical reasons. It takes my mind off the pain. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it) Well, I am off. Today there is a cancer walk at the local college and I'll fore go the mall. My grandmother who helped raise me and was like a mother to me died of cancer, as did my grandfather, and I find it a win-win-win. Good cause, raising money for the Cancer Society, good exercise for my leg, and my my my...have you seen some of the girls at the colleges??? Wow. I am also hoping that a disabled individual walking for cancer with a cane might get some media attention, perhaps I can help educate the public about our condition as well. Hmm. Should have said a win-win-win-win.

I know I may be a bit of an odd duck, but the advice I gave in regards the meds (opiates anyways) and about the exercise is sound. I've found that the more I move naturally the less it hurts later. Give it a try, lemme know how it works for you. Later all. Smoke