Neck pain

I have severe neck and shoulder pain from my OA in my neck. I also have a curve to the right at C3 thru C7 I believe. My shoulder muscles get horrible knots in them. I can't completely straighten my neck anymore so my head tilts to the left. Causes headaches, pain at the base of my skull, and it causes nerve problems in my shoulder and right arm.

I'm sorry you're suffering with this. It can grate on your nerves (literally) until you are just exhausted.

Actually, increased sinus pain was one of my first symptoms. I thought I was getting an infection. The drum in my right ear burst many years ago, and I have very limited hearing in it. Also, I get a lot of fluid in it. Since my head is always leaning to the left, the fluid is putting more pressure on the ear drum, and probably my eustachian tube too. Yes, laying down makes my neck pain worse if I'm not in my sleep number bed. I have it set just right, and have a down pillow that I can shape into about any necessary support for my neck. Now, I still can't stay in any one position for long or get cramps/stiffness, so I am constantly moving in the night. Interrupted sleep - ugh!

riddled with arthritis in neck. i use a spray containing amica montana flower ticture, rosemary oil, emu oil & eucalyptus. it's refreshing and smells good. yes some home grown australian good stuff.

thought i would say hi. keep well everyone.

tight shoulders and sore upper arms. worse sitting. and forwards, obviously when head is forward tilting. worse at night, especially as it cools down. nice chatting. thought i would check out the forum.

Hi loving, I have hearing loss for years, started with tininitis (sp) and am wearing hearing aids now. My pain is basically at the base if my skull and either goes around my heard into my forehead or just in the neck. The muscles are tight and hurt to push on them.. This is week 3 of these. My pain is worse in the a m and improves as the day goes by. but I no sooner lay down and the pain starts..

Thanks for the reply

I am usually in the Fibro forum as well, but my arthritis has been bugging me for a while and I thought I'd stop in here to see if anyone else was having the same issues. It's been a brutal winter here. We found out that last weekend we beat the north pole for cold. LOL.

I've had arthritis since I was pretty young, although I don't remember what age. I am a klutz who has broken almost every finger she has at some point and since all the other women in my family had arthritis, I never really spent much time worrying about it.

However, the last few weeks have had my fingers so painful that I couldn't stand it. I found a little heating pad at the local grocery store that is made like a little round muffler - it is to put your hands in to warm them up. It helps, but can't seem to get warm enough. I have been fighting neck and shoulder problems that seem out of control. My husband and I usually lie next to each other and watch a TV show before bed, but I can't find a position comfortable enough. It helps some to put a heating pad on my neck and shoulders, but my sinuses are killing me as well. I'm fighting constant temporal lobe headaches. That isn't supposed to be the location for sinus headaches and it isn't a migraine. I tried to look up the headaches to see if it was something related to my CRPS or my fibromyalgia and all I could find is that they call it temporal lobe pain. It doesn't seem related to sinus or to either condition. I have been running low-grade fevers on and off, but this is common with almost everything I have.

Since my arthritis is always been confined to areas I have damaged in someway, my neck, head and shoulders weren't something I linked looked into before.

I am starting to think I should turn myself in against my warranty and start fresh :(

Arnica cream helps my figures a bit, but it doesn't seem to help my neck and shoulders. It's amazing to find something that keeps me awake through Ambien and lyrica.

Two years ago they were telling us the winters were getting too warm. Mother Nature showed them. I love having multiple seasons, but this winter has me thinking longingly of Arizona .... and I hate hot weather.

Palmy - can you share what exercises you were given for your neck? I would like to work on them. Its hard to even bend to give hugs right now and what I am doing isnt working.

Thanks!

I am very similar to you, nccatlady--mid 50's and severe neck issues. It IS difficult to deal with something invisible. I went through a bad crohns bout a few years ago and was on HW a lot. Decided to come back for pain.

PALMY wherever you are, I hope you've found some help for your pain.

I thought I'd share what I just found out from my doctors. My rheumy is sending me to a neuro surgeon about my neck. It is pinching nerves, and causing me extreme pain, numbness, tingling. All of the usual suspects. I will talk with the rheumy on May 5th about all of this.

In the meantime, yesterday my primary called to say that the rheumy had called her, and couldn't believe I was walking, talking etc. Evidently my iron is so low that it is barely registering. my potassium is also very low. I am being put on prescription supplements for 2 weeks. If no improvement, I'll see a hematologist for infusions. Yippee!

My fatigue may very well be due to the low iron, and between that & the low potassium, it can definitely contribute to headaches. I'm sure you all know that the red blood cells carry oxygen through the body, and since I have none to speak of, my muscles are so weak, and I feel like I can't get enough air. I've blamed it on asthma and allergies, which have always contributed to my breathing issues, but it sounds like it is also connected to my anemia.

I will update about my neck after I see the Neuro Surgeon.