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Posted 4/5/2012 1:16 PM (GMT 0)
I am getting a really stiff neck today. This is not a typical symptom for me and it came on pretty suddenly and severely. It wasn't from straining or injuring it. Is there anything I should do for it or just wait it out?
Posted 4/5/2012 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Summer,

My stiff neck developed late in my treatment process. And then an even more intense pain and swelling started from my ear to my right shoulder.

It comes and goes and, while it has diminished a lot, it is the last of my symptoms to linger on. Even now that I am almost well, the pain and stiffness comes back when I am at the end of a long and busy day.

Detoxing helps, massage, hot tub, and a good night's sleep is very good. Hope you don't have to deal with this too long.
Posted 4/6/2012 1:15 AM (GMT 0)
Have you tried taking magnesium? Stiff neck is a really common lyme symptom. I would also do some stretching. My dr. used to tell me to bring my shoulders up to my ears and then roll them back and also to bring ears to shoulders as a way of stretching. Make sure you are detoxing as sometimes the later symptoms are the toxins building up.
Posted 4/6/2012 2:11 AM (GMT 0)
I've been getting IV magnesium and I was trying to stretch, but it's pretty painful to move it at all still. The lymph nodes and the bones/muscles in the back are killing me.

I'm not on any really strong treatment right now. I am detoxing though just in case any toxins are building up.
Posted 4/6/2012 2:34 AM (GMT 0)
I have had terrible neck & upper back issues. One particular symptom I had back there was diagnosed as some sort of seizure...but I just felt like my muscles were strangling my spine/brain stem. Severe deep tightness.

A month ago I had cranial sacral work done & I felt something shift. I haven't had the strangulation feeling since.

Have you tried any massage? Acupuncture? My neck pain has been significantly decreased since I started getting acupuncture & Sotai weekly.
Posted 4/6/2012 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Kalidhi, I had that strangling spine in brain stem area a long time. Good way to put it. Deep deep, tight and like cement. It took months to work out with a pressure point around neck like horseshoe massager with long thick thumbs I'd dig in that area. Occipital, and running along skull base as well as brain stem.

It's still a chronic symptom but it's more crackly poppy and I massage still. Nto so deep now, and brain stem are looser. It's not as extreme.
Posted 4/6/2012 5:50 AM (GMT 0)
I don't know if what I have is a stiff neck, but I definitely have tightness, soreness, and burning in the back of my neck. Last week it hurt so bad that it was making me nauseous. I hope you feel better soon!
Posted 4/6/2012 6:45 AM (GMT 0)
KaliDhi,
What does your neck strangulation feel like? I am trying to figure out if mine is my lymphatic system just swelling up because it can't drain fast enough. I get the popping, cracking ears at the same time. It also feels like my thyroid is swollen and choking me. A whole lot of pressure with all of it. I also wondered if it was my muscles being really tight all the way up the left side of my neck. That muscle sticks out. I do massage it, which helps temporarily. It even carries down into my chest, sternum and straight down into my abs.
Posted 4/6/2012 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Girl!

I have a stiff neck a lot! It's awful.........Maybe take a nice hot bath or epsom bath. I hoe you feel better soon. I'm here if you want to talk!

Gentle hugs.
Posted 4/7/2012 2:26 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone! It went away luckily on it's own and was soon replaced by a massive headache lol. Oh well, it's always something.
Posted 4/7/2012 6:53 PM (GMT 0)
I'm glad to hear it! Yay!
Posted 4/13/2012 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
Well it feels just like that...strangulation. It is accompanied by a headache where my brain feels like its swelling. I also have the sternum pain.

I don't quite understand it because I was in an accident where my sternum was crushed & the cartilage was ripped from the sternum. Took a year to heal. This was back in 2005. Nowadays there is extreme pain & tightness where the ribs connect to the sternum. Yet my doc thinks now that the current sternum pain Im having is upper back related.

I do think that the strangulation feeling has a lot to do with structural & muscular problems. Everything is interconnected imo.
Posted 4/15/2012 9:37 AM (GMT 0)
Lyme meningitis is generally less severe and not fatal but it is inflammation of the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and painful.
Lyme triggers many different inflammations; this one has caused me problems on and off meds. With me it's chronic. My only absolute only relief is to apply ice bags to the back of the neck between and above the ears to relieve headaches, stiffness, etc. Occasionally, I must move the ice cold compresses all around the the head every where there is an ache, which can cover the entire head. I must stay away from the ears with the cold or I get ear aches but the ice does give the only relief albeit temporary. The stiffness in me has a tendency to feel like its pulling my head back so I'm constantly tucking my chin to me chest slowly to lengthen the muscles in the back of the neck.
Heat does not help me and makes it worse. Relaxing is great so a bath is probably not a bad idea but applying cold directly to the painful area works best for me. Before bedtime it allows me to get to sleep without drugs.
I hope this is helpful.
Good luck. Take care.
Posted 4/15/2012 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi calabash,

Welcome to the forum!

Are you still getting treatment as you have this symptom?
Posted 4/15/2012 4:24 PM (GMT 0)
Well, that explains a lot...Thanks calabash!
Posted 8/11/2014 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
I have discovered that rubbing a home made mixture of Thieves Oil on my neck and shoulders will relieve the pain. Unfortunately, I usually don't get warning before it flares and I am suddenly in pain, can't move my neck and have a severe headache. I will rub the oil on my neck and it may take several hours, but the pain and stiffness in my neck and shoulders completely disappears! And it lasts for 3-4 days. Maybe one off these days I will smarten up and just apply it every 3 days.
Posted 8/11/2014 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
I have a stiff neck daily. I find massage, stretching and soaking in a hot bath helps alleviate the stiffness, but it never goes away. I also do accupuncture which has helped temporarily.

I hope you find something that will at least alleviate this symptom.
Posted 8/11/2014 10:52 PM (GMT 0)
I'm glad you posted about this Summer.

I have recently had a stiff and painful neck, forehead pain, and pain above my ears.

My ENT and ND said it was muscle spasms, but who knows. My ND said to place ice on the painful areas of my head while simultaneously heating my feet in a foot bath, or to apply heat to the head and ice to the feet.

My head and neck pain is better for the moment; we'll see.

Margaret
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