Stiff Neck for Months

I have this symptom for years and years. It's beyond annoying... In the morning, it takes about 2 hours for my neck to be able to bend forward all the way. My muscles in my neck and shoulders are tensed like strings.

Have you ever tried seeing an osteopath for relief? It helps for me, but I need to go back regularly.

I didn't mean to discourage you Barngirl, I'm sorry...

It's just something that has been there for a long long time...
It feels like the osteopath takes a huge weight and tension off my shoulders, head and neck by using techniques to improve circulation and correct altered biomechanics.
I personally think it is much more efficient than massages. It crackles terribly when he's doing it, but do I feel relieved afterwards...

If abx are helping you with this symptom, I'm sure you'll get rid of it when you get better. I hope you are not too discouraged.

PS.

Marie do you also have the arthritis throughout your body ? Most days I am pretty stiff and I never had a trace of this before I had Lyme.

My daughter and I have the chronic stiffness, with her being the worst, unfortunately. She has been doing better after the chiro and cold laser treatments. He has her try to turn her head each way to see what muscles are impacting it, then he does a muscle release and an adjustment if needed and has her turn her head again and it's fine. It's holding longer than it has in the past, so her headaches haven't been as bad.

I had a lot of stiffness when I was so sick in my youth. Classical homeopathy cleared up everything and I think those treatments are what has kept me from getting so bad this time around. I was pretty miserable back then.

Very important: An orthopedic pillow. Don't sleep on a regular pillow. The orthopedic pillow (mine is shaped a little like a toilet seat, and comes from Switzerland) is certain to provide some relief.

Margaret

Hi GP, I use the heating pad a lot for my neck. I dont know if it would help your daughter. I have been told that Planquenil will help the arthritis. From what I understand if you have the arthritis youve had the disease for some time. Ive seen a couple of his patients come in there and they can barely walk. They are not old and are pretty disabled using a cane etc.

Post Edited (BarnGurl) : 12/29/2013 4:00:26 PM (GMT-7)

OMG Marie you are so young to be dealing with this. And you have been dealing with it for a long time. Are you an outdoors person by any chance ?

Hi Marie

I have a small home farm. We had horses and ponies for at least ten years. My last venture was breeding miniature horses. We had a filly born here Spring 2012. She actually contracted a tick borne illness and almost died. We transported her to a large animal hospital. They gave her IV abx and she survived. Then I started to develop symptoms which I ignored. They were subtle and nothing Id run to a dr about. Months later I could barely function. I had neuro Lyme. My son is 8 years old and he developed severe headaches and lost his stamina. He has since started abx treatment with immediate improvement. I am seriously considering moving. There is no way I could go through this again.

Post Edited (BarnGurl) : 12/29/2013 4:05:24 PM (GMT-7)

I like my natural latex pillow. They retain their shape for a long time. A friend of mine has had hers for at least 25 years and it's still the same as it was when she bought it. We also have a latex mattress that ended my morning back pain the first night I slept on it. It has 3 layers, each a different density so you can arrange them for whatever firmness you want. The best thing about it and the pillow is there is no chemical odor at all, so I didn't have to air them out for a long time before I used them. It doesn't hold an indentation like memory foam does either, so you don't have to climb out of a hole when you turn over.

We have used the microwaveable pads for years, the "Bed Buddy" brand. We use our Biomat a lot for our backs and it does a good job of relaxing the muscles, but we can't have our heads on it, so our neck doesn't get the heat as much. They have a smaller pad that I think can be draped on your shoulders. They also have one that can be used on a chair. The one we have lays flat, so it's used on the floor or a recliner if it can lay fairly flat. I rigged ours up so we could have it on the recliner. The heat penetrates much deeper than the microwaveable pads and I stay warm for a long time after using it. It has loosened up congestion in my lungs many times, so that shows how much it penetrates.

I spend a lot of time outside, always have. I feel better when I'm outside and after our dreary, wet winters, I can hardly wait to get out. We have wooded acreage, so I'm a little leery of going into the wooded areas since we have birds, mice, moles, voles, rabbits, deer, and coons, so any of them could be carrying ticks. We get a fair amount of mosquitoes too, but we also have bats and swallows that consume a lot of them.

In_A_Cocoon_Now thanks so much for your nice words and prayers. I truly appreciate it. It seems like we have been through so much but the support of my family has helped me. We are not big social people anyway so we stay home and take care of each other etc. I feel so much better than I did a few months ago. My doctor has helped me tremendously with this also. He was a Godsend because he believed me and knew what I said was the truth. Several other doctors ignored me or refused me treatment. Many of the LLMDs are the real heroes in this story. They need our prayers as well.

Post Edited (BarnGurl) : 12/29/2013 4:04:33 PM (GMT-7)

OMG we are having a cold snap with winter weather here. I am as stiff as a bored. My neck is sore and will not quit. Usually if I take antibiotics it improves but that is not happening.

Marie thanks so much for answering. I am having a lot of trouble with arthritis lately also. You are so right that I need to use epsom salts. They help tremendously. The winter seems to be hitting hard and seriously contemplating moving to a warmer climate. My bones are feeling brittle. I have been mostly staying indoors due to subzero temps. Where are you located MarieLS ?