Thaniks, all; I saw the orthopod this morning, and went ahead and got the shot. His only concern was that I am diabetic, and told me to keep a close eye on my blood sugar.

Well, when I took my blood sugar it had shot up to 236 (high), so Iwon;t be getting another shot, ever.

The local ansthetic is working, but the cortisone hasn't kicked in yet.

I did have some arnica gel, and yes it does help. I was desperate, as I was pretty well incapacitated; couldn't dress properly, fasten my seat belt, adequately shower, or anything else. I'm on flexoril(muscle relaxer) and darvocet(pain) which enable me to function, tho' it IS hard to type.

Thanks very much to everyone for responding with a range of excellent suggestions.