Ok woke up wth stabbing pain this morning in my spine. Ended up calling my mom to drive 50 miles up here to take me to the doc because it hurts too bad to breathe I cannot imagine driving. I call my idiot of a doctor, and he can't see me until tomorrow, but if it's that bad, I should go to the ER.

So i spend all morning in the ER along with paying a $100 co-pay. They don't want to treat me due to the amount of meds I am on and bc they have no experience with MS so they call my idiot Dr who tells them to put me on steroids aain.... you know becasue they worked so well the last 2 times (the ON is still there doc!) but this time they write me a prescript for percocet....for a whopping 5 mg. So i am thinking if I take 5 of them it might actually help with the pain but does nothing to stop the cause of the pain.

Why is it always steroids? Do they not have another option? I've done the IVSM, this is now my third round with the dose pack since october and still nothing has changed and it keeps getting worse. Is it just my doctor who is steroid crazy or do they have no other solution?

Are you on a DMD yet, Leggz? The goal of using one of them is to hopefully reduce the number of relapses (and perhaps disease progression), and that is mainstream approach to proactive management of this disease.

Steroids are an "after the fact" approach, for when relapses happen in spite of disease modifying drugs (or before their usefulness has ramped up in your system). Many people use them to get through a relapse quicker, but they apparently do not change the outcome of the relapse or disease progression in the longer run. They also come with some side-effects and risks . . . but "life must go on", so they are sometimes necessary.

Steroids are pretty much the only option for reducing inflammation activity that is already underway. If you don't want to do steroids (or even if you do), there are also symptom management drugs (like the pain killers you are taking) to make things more bearable. They don't influence disease "activity" in any way though.

Cherie

You may want to research mega-dosing with Vitamin C. It is a natural anti-inflammatory. Just a thought for you.

This won't be of immediate benefit to you , but this site is good for nutrition and recommended supplement info. http://www.direct-ms.org/index.html

And on supplements/vitamins: http://www.direct-ms.org/supplements.html

Hrm. I was taking Vitamin C for quite a while, but stopped because I believed that it was irritating my mouth (I know oranges give me canker sores). Maybe I should revisit it and see if I can tolerate it (the supplements).

Legggzzz how you doing today!? Did you start the steroids? when you do is it oral, or the iv ones...

hugss and sorry you are having troubles...I have been on oral steroids twice already since Jan 5th...ugggg

I do not have a dx, so this tends to be the answer to if I get bad enough that hard to head to work, we do steroid fix! But I too do not want this to be the answer. I guess I will look into Vit C too..hugsss,sarah

Well, i have 2 more days of the oral steroids the only improvement has been in my soine where it hurt, but aside from that everything else is still there. The copaxone I have seen nothing new other than the ON getting worse. And i am looking for a new neuro. i too will be checking into Vit C. Another friend of mine suggested aloe juice. It is supposed to help with the swelling, she works for a holistic doctor who swears it works. I figure it is worth a try. I mean it can't be any worse than the daily injections.

legzz, someone gave me a holistic dr name, it is farther away from here, but I just may make apt someday! As I do believe in different type of medical help.

hugss and good luck,sarah