I'll tell my dad that. He might be a nurse, but he was a nurse anesthetist, and was usually more interested in making sure patients were asleep and not in pain/aware of things going on. He might not know everything about things that can happen in other parts of the body.

Did I push too hard or make the body do too much? I don't know...but I sure wish that I could figure out what the trigger is for the joint Sxs.
It was doing OK for the past few days but yesterday afternoon it started to ramp up. That has never happened before. It usually gets worse at night after the joints have been still for a few hours; yet I was up and doing light chores when I realized that my finger and wrist joints were really starting to ache. I took a Celebrex but it did nothing.

By midnight it had gotten worse and anything that had been inflamed in the last 2 weeks fired up as well; shoulder, left knee and shin (where I whacked it on the coffee table when I fell), jaw and neck muscles.
I've been up and down from bed ever since, trying different things like extra Baclofen, self massage, ice cold water soaks for the hands, Biofeedback, meditation etc. No change. If anything, the joint Sxs are getting worse, but I'm forcing them too move or am moving them with the assistance of the other hand.

I'm typing this without bending my wrists because it hurts too much to bend them, and am using only the first 3 digits on each hand because the thumbs and pinkies are too stiff to participate.

I'm supposed to be cooking a turkey today for the Christmas meals that will go out to shut ins later, but I think that I'm going to have to call my friend to put it in the oven because I just don't know how I'm going to lift it (28 pounds), with the hands and shoulder the way it is.
I did prepare the stuffing mix yesterday so only the bread crumbs need to be added, and the bird stuffed, so we're OK there. Same with the vegetables. They are all cleaned and prepared for cooking; so I know that we will get it done by this afternoon.

If this joint stuff keeps up though, I will be giving serious consideration to getting some real wine :eek:.
In the mean time, I've decided to not take any more meds, other than LDN for a bit, because the body feels toxic. Maybe the liver and kidneys have just hit their limit with these new drugs and trials, and need a rest.
I sure hope that is it.

Passing the cheese...
With love, Erika

I've been down with a head cold for the last few days, so as you all know, symptoms get fired up at times like that. I haven't been posting much because cognition was off and energy was pretty low, along with having to deal with increased inflammation, spasms and the HUG.

Glad to report that I'm finally starting to feel better today...just in time to ring in the New year :).

With love, Erika

Erika, probably getting off as many drugs as you could helped, reduced toxicity. I'm so glad things are better now. Don't go back to any drugs you can avoid.

I see more people ill now than ever before...just in the general population. There are all sorts of theories going around as to what has caused this. I am not saying any are correct or not correct. One is that we are receiving more radiation from Fukishima, which lowers immune response, allows more "visitors" to get the upper hand in our bodies. I am having more pain than usual in places where I don't usually have pain, but
I'm coping pretty well. My shoulder's hurting, and therefore I must get back to PT. If I lose the shoulder I will not be able to cope as well in keeping the house up. I did 45 minutes of PT last night...and took a walk in the dark with a flashlight...so far, no worsening of condition for this exertion....

I am having a really really bad day.

Bad week actually. MS is being a pain in the...ahem!

and I'm also starting to have issues with the frozen shoulder again...I think. My right shoulder and my neck on the right side has been hurting for a couple of weeks. Tonight my left shoulder/arm was hurting again for the first time in several weeks.

At least one good thing happened this week. My favorite tv show (a British tv show called "Sherlock". a 21st century version of the original stories) started their new season on wednesday. So at least I have something to distract me a little bit. I had to put a program (a legal one) on my computer so that I could watch it on British websites, because it won't be aired on American television until the 19th. (I couldn't wait. I'm impatient, and kind of jealous of the Brits. We've all been waiting two years for the show to come back. It was worth the wait.). Can't wait till it airs here, because then I'll be able to buy an iTunes download of the show...and the dvd's I preordered three months ago will finally arrive.

Sorry to learn that your shoulders are giving you the gears. Are you going to PT, or continuing to do the exercises? Its really important to keep doing them even if/when things feel OK, because they will help to prevent the inflammation and pain from settling in again. Shoulders can take 6-12 months to heal properly.

Hope that it all comes around for you Erin. You are right...these constant MS Sxs are a real pain in the ......!

Mine are continuing to cycle round and round too. I want to get back to work in a meaningful way but the body is not cooperating. I went in for 4 hours yesterday morning and was in bed by 5:00 because the body was aching, exhausted and I couldn't stay awake. I have been up every hour or two ever since, and this is how it has been going sleep-wise for the last couple of weeks.

I'm still off of most of the meds but am back to taking Baclofen for the spasms & HUG that comes on at night in a big way, as well as Ibuprofen for the hand joint inflammation. Other than that, I spend a lot of time doing exercises, stretching (yoga) and meditating; which all help.

My current distraction.: the spring edition of my garden seed & supply company's catalog arrived yesterday. It puts my mind in a much nicer place than dealing with the snow and ice outside, never mind these symptoms.
It also allows me to procrastinate more whole heartedly over delving into doing the books for my company's year end and preparing my personal income tax for the accountant. Thinking about the heirloom tomatoes, giant pumpkins and vegetables that will be growing outside in just a few months time is far more satisfying and uplifting :D.

With love, Erika

Erin and Erika:grouphug: hope you both feel better soon…

I get off of blood thinners after today and will be able to take more of my meds as of tomorrow; however I am going to give my body an extra 24 hours to rid itself of the warfarin beforehand.

The PT is causing so much pain and discomfort!! My knee hurts more than it has in 2 weeks, which is understandable since the new PT is really pushing the range of motion, as well as deep massage for the blood and lymph system in that leg to get the swelling reduced in the knee to allow for more movement.

She discovered that after years of compensating for the knee I have not been using the right hip-it doesn't move up and down during my gait. So she gave me 2 exercises to increase the movement. It has caused so much pain across the iliac crest and between the pelvis and sacrum; I get that zinger when I move it weird. I am going to tell her today during my session.

I am also tempted to let my neuro know about the flare up. He really can't do anything for it, but should he be informed?

I'm glad the knee is working well, but the pain I've been dealing with has me in a tizzy…and I can't have any whine until I'm off of blood thinners;)

Is it fair to whine for no particular reason? I just feel like whining.:rolleyes::o. I'm
getting older by the hour, DH is gone, DDog is gone, I can't walk very far,
can't drive anymore, don't go anywhere, my beloved spontaneity is gone
and so are most of my friends.:(

I'm not sad just really perturbed.:mad:. I am still so thankful to God, for all
that I have and all that I am able to do.

I hope all of you with "real" physical complaints, are all better soon..:grouphug:

Sally, I could of written your whine myself! All the same for me except for the doggie. :rolleyes: I know just how you feel.

I am so tired today.

My dad was trying to get me to go out for lunch with my mom before I was supposed to go to PT. I thought I'd be able to, but when I went to get dressed, I was trying to put the stupid AFO on my foot, and could barely manage it.

Got it on, but by that point, I was super tired and felt exhausted. Told my dad I didn't want to go after that. Made my mom really really mad.

I managed to go to PT, but was super tired there. I had them do all the shoulder related PT stuff first, then the MS PT after that.

I'm just really feeling frustrated. I've been feeling like crap since early summer. I tried to do PT then, but got kind of sick from whatever was going on with me at the time. When I started to come up for air from that one, then my dad had his health stuff going on, and my attempts to try to do PT kept getting stymied, and every time I tried to do anything to keep from getting any weaker feeling, I'd have to back off on doing anything for myself because one of my parents was having something going on.

I got done with the PT today, and my dad wanted me to go out with them for dinner. I just couldn't do it. I almost should not have gone to PT. One thing I did notice at PT, was that some things felt easier to do today, and some didn't.

My parents went to get dinner without me. Brought me something back, but I'm getting annoyed that I keep getting blamed by my mom for her not getting to go out. I can't help it. I *don't* feel good. My dad, who is sick with serious heart problems is pretty much pushing himself half the time to cater to her whims.

My mom can't do stuff either. We refuse to let her drive, because she's not safe behind a wheel. (I've been run over by her enough times when she's using a scooter at the grocery store, to know that we wouldn't be able to afford the insurance). My mom gets mad because we won't let her drive. We just can't. It's not safe for other drivers. I'm still peeved at whoever she talked to back when she had West Nile. She asked someone there if she'd be able to drive again, and that moron told her that "sure!". My mom for some reason doesn't remember that the last time she drove was in 2002 or 2003. She thinks she was driving up until the point she got sick.

I like to think that I'm being a bit more responsible with driving. Right now, I just don't think it's a good idea that I drive. I want to get hand controls, I just haven't been able to do it yet. Just haven't had time to get the car converted over yet.

I'm exhausted tonight. Other than obsessively watching my tv show still, I just don't want to do anything other than read or sleep.

also had a slightly worrying thing happen today. I was looking at something on my computer today, and for half a second, I thought I saw two block spots on my computer screen. I blinked and they went away. I really do not want to have a visit from the optic neuritis fairy right now. I'm tired of all the constant things happening...every few weeks. I don't get it. Why is everything happening so constant like that? I read about others with MS that have a flare or two a year, and then they're fine. Me...I get something new every time I turn around. Tired of that.