OK...the mood is lifting... but man, for a while there, I was creeping myself out .
Thanks for a place to vent.

With love, Erika

I'm glad that your mood is lifting. <3

KerOpi, 5-5 at 120 pounds is a beautiful weight. But not enough fat for the injection, it seems.
I am reporting that I am MUCH better after two and a half days on Swank. This ALWAYS happens. But I forget and have to relearn.
I know that others may not get this benefit from the diet. But I mention it just in case there is someone who is like me on the board.
My eyes are better, my exhaustion is less. I slept through without a leg jerk or spasm. I am still anxious and tense and I think it is because the pcp changed my synthroid to 88 mg instead of 100, and the pill has "blue lake dye" in it. I will ask him to go back to 100 mg and skip a dose once every ten days. I am not sure that's it, but it's likely.

KerOpi - Have you tried manually injecting? I found that on the areas where I didn't have enough fat, going in at a 45 degree angle worked. I also found that I had more site reactions when I used the autoinjector and they would last a good week. It may be worth your while to give it a try.

When I was taking Copaxone, I got rid of the "auto-inflictor" after about 8 or 9 months and had my dad, a nurse, teach me how to manually inject myself. It was a lot less painful that way. Still hurt, but I didn't feel like I was harpooning myself every night.

I have three days left of the prednisone taper to go. That's one pill each a day for the next three days.

I felt better on like the second or third day of the taper, it's just as soon as it started to taper off, BOOM! Feeling worse again. It really sucks. I still don't have any energy. I want to take a shower, but I'm half tempted not to because I feel like I'm going to fall down.

still taking the b12, since it didn't seem to have hurt anything, and I didn't feel as physically sick after I started taking the b12.

I'm not that big a fan of taking the prednisone on an extended basis, because of all the funky things the prednisone can do to a person. I'm just feeling bad enough that I'm starting to wonder if a larger taper that lasts a bit longer might break whatever this flare is and allow me to build up some strength. I feel like my legs have been weak for months, and getting weaker.

I can feel where most of the problem is coming from. It's the middle of my low back. Probably around T12 (I know I have a lesion there)

just really really tired of feeling sick all the freaking time. And I can't exactly whine about it to the normal people around me, because that annoys them for some reason.

Erin do you have a shower chair and hand help shower head.

@Erika: I'm glad that your mood is lifting. Hopefully, that feeling will stay as long as possible.

Thanks so much Sally and Dani,

I did actually get out in the garden yesterday but these stupid fingers prevented me from doing some of the stuff that I wanted to do because those tasks required finger dexterity. I'm stubborn though, so I did some raking and even took a few trips with the wheelbarrow to move the lawn thatch and also some mulch onto the vegetable garden beds .

That will most likely be what I'll do this morning as well but I'll be shutting it down in the afternoon as I have scheduled myself to work from Monday to Thursday. I do have Tuesday morning off from work when I will go see the specialist, so there is a break in those four days.

Sally, I hope that you are doing well. Have you hired some hunks to do your yard work yet?

With love, Erika

I saw a new specialist today and it was a total waste of time...for both of us. He knew nothing about chronic Parvo and for the first few minutes I sat there while he looked it up on his computer. I even told him what site to visit (Mayo).

He then suggested that I try prednisone to control the inflammation, and kept on suggesting it after I told him that I've had negative reactions to it in the past, and that steroids are not recommended for infection reactions. He then proceeded to do a physical exam, taking close notice of my hand joints and ankles.

He also tried to test the range of motion of my knees and insisted that I relax my legs so that he could bend them without the resistance of the muscles. I said "Uh...did you read my history? I have MS and the muscular resistance is spasticity from that, so it is not under voluntary control."
Hearing this, he tried to shove my right knee into flexion and just about got kicked in the head (darn hyper reflexes).

This guy was internist (from another country), and all he could offer was to refer me on to a rheumatologist if I wanted that. They must give out medical licences there in Cracker Jack boxes .

I called my PCP and told him how the consult went, so he had his nurse schedule me to see him on Friday. I'm pretty much done with this doctoring stuff now, but I'll go to see what he has to say.

With love, Erika