Tonight I just had to give in to whatever could stop the pain. I try very hard not to take too much of anything, knowing my body will just want the same, if not more. I am even careful with Tylenol Arthritis, taking it only every 3rd day or so as a treat. Meanwhile, I just push through the pain.
I have been on this journey for 4 years now. I was able to stay at 4.5 mg of pred for the last year - even tapered to 0 for a little while in the fall - but for the past several weeks I have been miserable. I resist upping my pred because I don't trust that I can go back down without problems. Finally I went to 7 mg for the last 4 days. I have osteoporosis.
I work 24 hours a week. I can't pay my bills without it. I live alone(with my two beloved pets -cat and dog). Fortunately, when I am working, I am able to keep my mind off of the pain, so it is a blessing. But the last 2 weeks have been so painful. At 2:00 this afternoon I took Tylenol Arthritis, but this time it did not do the trick. So I took 1 more mg of pred tonight. That makes 8 mg today.
In addition, I drank extra glass of wine tonight. I am very disciplined about my wine - 1 and 1/2 glass a night. I make a bottle last 3 days. The least painful part of my day is from @ 6pm - 10 pm when I relax with my wine.
I am posting all of this simply because I know you all get it. I function pretty normally ( grandkids, friends etc.), but no one around me really knows the pain I am in fairly constantly, even though I have described this condition to them. I just don't want it to define me.
Thank you for providing a forum for release. I am hopeful that I sleep tonight for more than 2 hour intervals. I will decide how to handle tomorrow, tomorrow.