[Erin524]

Day 3 of solumedrol ended today.

I'm enjoying the feeling of FEELING! My left index finger is still a little tingly, but there are parts of me that I'm feeling that I hadnt realized were "sleeping".

That proprioception weirdness that was going on with my feet (I'd fall forward a teeny bit when leaning forward while going to the bathroom) that went away on monday!

All my sore areas, my back, my feet, my KNEES! are feeling really good. No pain.

My eyes, however, are another matter. I'm still in DIPLOPIA HELL! stupid evil MS trolls... *grumble*

At least the vertigo is better. That's one thing. I'm also not so scared to drive, but if I go to a store that's busy, or is FULL of stuff...went to Bloodbath and Beyond tonight...(my boyfriend's nickname for Bed, Bath and Beyond) with my parents, and all the stuff and the people in there made me so disoriented that I had to make my dad do the driving to get home tonight.

I bought a knee pillow while at BBB, I'd had one about 7 or 8yrs ago when we moved and my dad threw it out and I never could find another one, so I got a new one. I'm so excited about this pillow. Maybe when the steroids wear off the knee pillow will help keep my back from getting sore again.

I just want Diplopia Hell to go away. That part really f-ing sucks. The nurse told me that solumedrol stays in your system for about 3 months, so I hope the good feelings last for a long time, and the diplopia goes the heck away soon...like within the next five minutes!

The solumedrol has been great. It's not making me wonko like oral pred does. I'm not climbing the walls. My dad says I'm talking a lot more, but I'm not bouncing around. I do feel a wee bit high tho, and I've got a bit of the munchies, but nothing like I had when I had oral pred. When I had oral pred, I was sucking down candy and anything in sight as much as I could.

The solumedrol seems to have a calming affect on me. I feel relaxed. I'm actually not as...b!tchy with my mom as I was being before I started the steroids. (I must have been feeling really bad then)

I'm really really sleepy too, I'm about to collapse to the floor now, so I'm going to bed. I just wanted to mention how good it feels to be feeling. Nice to know I still can, and it's weird that I wasnt noticing what I wasnt feeling.

[pud's friend]

That sounds great. You must be pleased.

[Erin524]

I'm still in Diplopia Hell this morning.

I called the eye doctor and asked the tech about how long it takes after steroids. The ophthalmologist wasnt there, and the optician didnt know, so I have to ask the neuro.

She did check my chart to see where the damage was from according to my eye doctor since I wasnt quite sure what he'd said. It was definately the 6th cranial nerve that was screwing around.

Maybe it just takes awhile for the solumedrol to work it's way to that nerve. And maybe it's a more complicated nerve than the ones that affect sensation on my skin? So maybe that's why it takes a little longer?

I made an appointment to see the eye doctor before I go to my neuro at the end of the month, so that I can find out if there's any improvement or anything else to do if the Diplopia Hell doesnt end by then.

Asked about Fresnel Prisms (the prisms they put on your glasses) and she said she'd look and see if they have them, just in case when I go to the appointment on the 27th they might give me one. (eye doctor is out of town till then)

She said the prisms are attached to your glasses lens, and it's probably not something I could take off the lens at will. I hope if I have to use one, that it'll work. The double vision seems to change daily, so I'm not sure it'll be worth it to get a prism.

In other steroid improvements, I had some burning in my left foot last night around the toes, woke up this morning, the burn was gone, and my toes are happy campers. I can feel my little toe! And that arthritis pain in my big toe. GONE!! (toe always feels like it's broken...always hurts)

No pain in that toe, another reason the steroids were totally worth it. Even if my eye's are still fubar, I'm liking the improvements in other MS deparments.

I'm tired and my back is a bit sore (I slept weird last night because I had some heartburn from the steroids) but I feel pretty darn good.

I just cant wait for Diplopia Hell to come to an end.

[SallyC]

Good going, Erin..

[azoyizes]

Way to go, Erin! Sounds like the steroids are slowly doing their job.

[Erin524]

Originally Posted by azoyizes

Way to go, Erin! Sounds like the steroids are slowly doing their job.

I just want it to work on the eyes. FASTER!!!! Like RIGHT NOW!!! Diplopia Hell really sucks.

At least now I've had my first experience with IVSM, and it was a lot nicer than my experience with oral pred. I'd do IVSM again before I'd do oral pred again. I just hope the IVSM doesnt trigger any funky infections like the prednisone did when I had it a couple of years ago.

I've been wearing the patch so much, that my right eye (the "good one") is feeling weird, so I'm trying to experiment with how much I can do around the house without having to wear the patch and not be walking into things.

I'll be so happy to be released from Diplopia Hell. I cant wait till then. It's like being in prison.

I'm claustrophobic, and I hate having things in front of my face. Having to wear an eye patch is triggering the claustrophobia a little bit. It's really quite irritating.