Had my first bad day, couldn't keep warm and couldn't eat very much, I did the old tried and tested, this being a large brandy followed by 2 pints of water, everything now sorted, I reckon that I won't live forever.

Slept 20 hours yesterday, plus I was freezing cold, told my GP that I'm quitting the oral medication, he more or less agreed with me.

Oh dear - that doesn't sound so good.

Hope it's a temporary setback.

A very good friend breathed his last breath on 27th January 1999, the emergency doctor gave him a beta blocker, I've told my wife not to implicitly trust some 25 year old with my life.

Difficult to find an alternative to trust if you end up in the emergency department and he is the guy with the meds.

I take beta blockers every day and so far they haven't floored me!

Hope your situation improves soon - it sounded very promising.

Stick with the brandy - it's probably the two pints of water with it that is causing the problem!

Well I managed a bowl of soup yesterday, and a small slice of Christmas cake today, with an equally small slice of cheese today.

Good grief, you'll be wasting away! Hope stopping the medication helps.

I have a friend who has suffered from RA from a very young age, and she can't eat cheese as it makes the condition flare up. Have you ever tried eliminating it from your diet?

I don´t know the difference between steroids and beta blockers. Are they the same?

You take care of yourself and you will get well. You have a very positive attitude. xxx

As I understand it, beta blockers reduce an advance heart rate, whilst steroid injections reduce painful swelling if joints and muscles.

Yes, Beta Blockers are used to control BP but mainly to reduce the heart rate in cases of Angina.

From my own experiences I would say that steroid injections do exactly as you say.

In addition they provide a short term feeling of well being, often combined with an increase appetite.

The beneficial effects on the joints may continue for quite a while, but there can also be a negative effect on the bone structure if used excessively and repeatedly, which is one reason amongst others why I've been refused further steroid injections in recent years.
To avoid severe joint reactions, I've found it important to know my own limitations and not exceed them even when feeling capable of doing so.

I'm much burnt as scalded, I could't recall when I last slept through, now I can sleep with impunity.

Yes they are great short term solutions but I had a couple and was also told that it isn't a long term option.

Taking them internally can also give rise to side effects - the "ruddy" moon faced appearance for example and of course if you stop taking them suddenly there are dire consequences!

That said they do seem to work miracles on a variety of problems. One of our cats was diagnosed with kidney failure but the steroids plus diet seems to have turned it round - at least for the time being.

Bear in mind guys, our more famous contemporaries don't have any such problems do they?

Woke up soaking wet through covered head to toe, front, back and sides in a rash, I'm off for a blood test tomorrow, let's hope that it explains what is going on.