Since my flare earlier this year where I carried out the standard flare protocol and managed to get back down to 6mg which I’ve been on since then. I’ve recently had flu which took just over 2 weeks for me to completely recover from. I’m also going through a bit of a stressful period and for just over a week now my shoulders have started aching again and I’m not sure what to do. Do I continue on 6mg and hopefully things will calm down or do I go up to 7mg or do I need to go higher?
Thanks, Sue.
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Suzan62
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No way of knowing how much you will need - if it were me, I would try a couple of days with 10mg and return to 7mg and see how you get on. I don't feel it is a full blown flare - possibly holding your shoulders tight and up round your ears? If that doesn't work - I think you will know at 10mg - then try the full flare protocol.
No I don’t think it’s a full blown flare like last time, shoulder blades mainly. So you would try 10mg for 2 days and then down to 7mg and see how that feels? If that works then stay on 7 for a week or 2?
Hi there, I didn’t try the 10mg. I waited to see what would happen first if I carried on taking the 6mg. As it happens things did calm down a lot and I was pretty certain for a time that all was ok. Then I had another stressful event plus the lead up to Christmas and lo and behold my shoulders and arms are stiff and aching again! I’m considering now doing the 10mg but not sure how long I need to do it for, you mentioned 2 days before and then down to 7mg. Is that 2 days and reduce to 7 if the pain goes away? What do I do if it improves but hasn’t cleared in 2 days, still drop to 7 or wait another day or 2? Thank you.
You know, given what you have just said, it really does sound as if you are all tight in the shoulder and neck area with tension and that may be the primary cause of the pain. But the 6mg isn't QUITE enough so you really are on a knife edge and it doesn't take much to topple you off.
Yes, a couple of days at 10mg and if it has cleared, back to 7mg. If not, a few more days like the flare protocol and back to 7mg. Then give it a chance to see if you have fewer problems with 7 instead of 6mg.
Hi there, I increased from 6mg to 10mg on Saturday but my shoulders/top of my arms are still feeling stiff. Is it worth persevering with the 10mg up to the 14 days to see if things improve or do you think I need to go higher? I’m just wondering if the stiffness should have gone by now if the dosage was sufficient. Thank you.
Really, if you flared at 6mg you needed 11mg - and you would be amazed how much difference 1mg can make sometimes!! Might be worth trying more for a couple of days - no harm done if it doesn't. upi can still drop back.
I’ve tried 11mg for 4 days, it has improved but hasn’t gone completely. Is it worth going to 12mg for a few days before I reach the 14 days and start decreasing?
I went up to 12mg but I’ve still got niggling pains across top of shoulders, shoulder blades and tops of arms, moves about. I’m due to start dropping down tomorrow as it’s been 14 days. Does 5 days at 10mg, 5 at 8mg and then stay at 7 for a while see how that goes sound right? Wondering if I should go back down and then if it doesn’t stabilise try another increase but higher next time.
I haven’t taken anything else so not sure. It’s not the kind of pain that prevents me from raising my arms or anything it’s just there niggling away.. It wasn’t really bad when I increased it’s just that it wasn’t going away so I thought if I don’t try and control it I’m just going to be stuck at 6. I increased from 6 to 10 then 11 and then 12 in the 14 days. So I could just drop straight down to 7 without any problems? I’m not sure what to do for the best really.
It did settle at 6 but then I had flu and an increase in stress and they started aching again. I continued at 6 for 3 months but it didn’t improve so that’s when I did this recent increase. It’s a mystery but I am prone to overthinking and allowing things to stress me out which doesn’t help.
Think about your shoulders. Shrug them up to your ears. Relax them down as far as they will go. Where is the normal position relative to the two extremes?
I used to be able to carry my bag on my left shoulder and I hated wearing a bag with the strap across my body. Since I have had a lot of back muscle problems that seem to have been solved with a series of steroid injections - I can no longer shove a bag on that shoulder, it just slips off!! When I look in a mirror, those relaxed back muscles mean my shoulders are sloping down, not scrunched up to my ears - and my shoulders no longer complain on a permanent basis!!! And that is what we do in stress - tighten our shoulders ...
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