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In a couple of other threads yesterday I mentioned that I have been under attack in a variety of joints for a little over a week. The pain in my knee got pretty bad yesterday and I was having a heck of a time walking or even bending my leg. I had to go to the clinic anyway to get a refill on my allopurinol. While there, I mentioned to the doctor that I was pretty miserable with pain and was having a very tough time getting around. I asked him if I could get some prednisone and Percocet to help me out a bit and he agreed to let me try this route again in order to quell the swelling and to help with the pain.
I must say, this worked out pretty well for me again. Yesterday I had a real tough time getting both of my feet in to my snow boots thanks to swollen and painful big toe joints. Getting up the stairs at work was a also a huge hassel and very painful. This morning, I awoke and actually felt good. I couldn't believe the dramatic improvement in my pain levels and the reduction of the swelling in my knee, big toes and fingers. I felt good enough that I took the dog and my camera and went for a two hour walk in the newly fallen 30cm of snow we received over the past few days. Both the dog and I had a great time and it felt so good to be out getting some exercise again.
I know this may not work for some people and some may frown on the Percocet approach. However, for me, this usually works and really helps out managing the pain which really improves my mood and allows me to get out and about. I only do this three or four times a year and only when things get very bad and I'm so worn down from dealing with the pain and attempting to get through the day in one piece. I was miserable yesterday. Today, I had fun, got some exercise and I think I even smiled a time or two 🙂
A great turnaround Nate- but I can't believe you get away with that activity, a day after being nearly immobilised.
You must be risking joint damage unless you have very minor deposits- especially out in the cold?
I have the gear for the cold. I moved to Germany from interior Alaska. -5C feels downright tropical to me!
As I've mentioned before, my big toe joints are messed up and I may have to undergo surgery to get them cleaned out. My knees, on the other hand, although undergoing a lot of bad attacks lately, are still relatively free of damage from gout. I may undergo Orthonkin treatments in both knees soon to help with cartilage regeneration, though. Most of that damage is due to playing football and rugby and basketball and being a long and triple jumper in track and field. Oh, and skiing and biking and hiking and………
I agree, though. The turnaround has never been this quick for me. I couldn't believe it when I woke this morning, still having some pain, but feeling so much better than just eight hours earlier. I have to attribute some of this to the allopurinol treatment and the less severe attacks I've been undergoing. Yes, they are still bad – very bad in some cases, but nowhere near what they have been in the past. I'm not crawling to the kitchen or the bathroom, pulling myself along with my elbows because I can't even stand up or put any weight on my feet. Limping and dragging a leg behind me is a marked improvement compared to some of my more memorable attacks from not so long ago!
Know all to well what you mean about crawling to the bathroom, NateA. Prednisone is a miracal drug as far as I’m concerned but it is one to be taken carefully, very carefully.
Yep,
Prednisone and Percocet will cure pretty much anything, or at least FEEL like they are cured. You are lucky you are in Germany, Nate, because in the states a couple prescriptions for percocet will have your doctor giving you the fish eye and Federal drug enforcement agencies probably monitoring you phone calls…unless you're Rush Limbaugh.
Prednisone is also a wonderful drug, proably the best antiinflammatory known, with a knife behind it's back. When cortisone was first used a half century ago to treat people with rheumatoid arthritis it was proclaimed A CURE…and then months and years later the patients began paying the bill. Treat the stuff very gingerly.
(Orthokine is used in Germany, but the U.S. FDA has not approved it. It sounds VERY experimental and I would be cautious. But if you want it done, do it while you're in Germany.)
Yep, I know crawling to the bathroom well…it's good it was only my toe because had my knees been involved also I'd have to have lain in an excrement covered bed.
I want to stress that I don't think this method is a cure! It's a necessary means to an end for me two to three times a year. I don't get a lot of sick leave or vacation and have to show up to work no matter what at certain times. This was one of those occasions. I HAD to be back on my feet and had to once again go down this avenue.
I don't like prednisone at all but it does work for me at times. One thing I find funny is the predispostion of German doctors to give out cortisone shots like it's candy when I'm suffering through attacks. I actually have had to turn down shots before because I knew they were going overboard. Getting the shots also masked the uric acid crystals I was having examined and prolonged me receiving a confirming diagnosis of my gout.
Anyway – this is not a cure! It got me back on my feet and I actually still feel better right now than I have in MONTHS. I'm still taking my 600mg/day of allo, getting my blood checked monthly, eating very healthy, etc….
zip – I'm doing more research in to Orthonkin. My US insurance won't cover it so I have some thinking to do over this.
sorry – my thoughts are all over the place today. Very busy but at least have more energy and more mobility than I have in a long time!
Nate- I've never taken AlloP but from reading others exp. here- I reckon on 600mg daily you must be looking to clear the worst of your current pains in a couple of months or so.
In this case are you thinking 'not so' ?, as you are still looking far ahead for major pain killers.
It sounds like you're already forging ahead!
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