: Hi Amy,

: Pred activates BE so as you taper,
: you will feel BE effects.
: Check the chapter in the book for the
: impact of low BE so when you feel
: all that stuff,
: you will know it is biochemical.

Thanks, Kathleen. I was wondering about that. I'll be on the lookout for low BE as I taper down.

:Can we talk about ideas to help heal
: your back. Some of us have lots of
: experience with backs.

: kathleen

I'd love to talk about some ideas to help heal my back. Here's a brief overview: In early May, I strained a back muscle (lower right back). It was bad -- spasms that took a muscle relaxant to relieve, and I had to cancel a long-planned vacation because of the pain. After about 3 weeks, though, it was almost healed. I'd been seeing my chiropractor (getting acupuncture, adjustments, and icing it) and only had to take the muscle relaxant for the first 3 or 4 days. Then I did too much too soon and strained it again, but from that point on, a sciatica-like discomfort on the left side was the main problem. I continued seeing my chiropractor, and I think he has helped, but it was just taking so long and the discomfort was really wearing me down, so that's when I went to see the nurse practitioner, who suggested the Prednisone taper. I knew there was some inflammation, because before the Prednisone, I was taking ibuprofen and that helped some. I'm now on day 7 of 12 of the Prednisone and have noticed improvement, but it kind of goes back and forth. Yesterday was the best day I've had in months, but today it feels kind of tight and "nervy" again. I'm being careful not to strain it, but I've been told it's good to stay somewhat active and not just idle, so I'm doing that too. And icing it two or three times a day. And doing stretches several times a day. I should add that I took the muscle relaxant the night before the best day in months (nurse said it was okay to) because I thought that might help relax the left glute muscle, which my chiropractor said was really tight (and which I thought might be causing some of the sciatic pain).

Okay, I hope that's enough info to help you know what might be good to do. Thanks so much.

Amy