IT'S 4:17 A.M. AND I'M UP WITH THE NECK PAIN AGAIN. IT SEEMS THAT THE NECK PAIN ALSO TRIGGERS MIGRAIN TYPE HEADACHES. I'M USING THE HEATING PAD RIGHT NOW AND TAKING EXCEDRIN, BUT NEITHER ONE SEEMS TO BE HELPING.
ANYONE HAVE THE HEADACHES ALONG WITH THE NECK PAIN? I DON'T HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DOC UNTIL OCT. 4TH,BUT IF THIS KEEPS UP I'LL TRY TO GET IN THERE SOONER.
ANY FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED,
DON
Don, It seems like whenever I have the neck pain, I also get a headache. I have a headache right now without the neck pain so I should be grateful. Ugggh, my neck and the right side of my head started hurting yesterday. I gave in and took a demoral cuz it was hurting so bad...it still hurts when I woke up this morning.Donn I thought of you in the middle of the night last night. It hit me about 3:00 am and I struggled to sleep without my pain meds last night. I'll admit I've been over doing it with the sleeping/pain pills the last few weeks since I'm off my meds. I tried to get my with just my cough medicine with codine...but that didn't seem to help me much!! I've just had a hard time getting up and into work the past couple of weeks. I was sure it was from the pain meds.
Terrible pain in my back; and this neck pain.....and headache makes life so difficult!! I can barely turn my head.
I laid in bed for about 30 minutes upon waking with a heating pad; and I'm just now getting some breakfast in me at my desk to take some advil. Hopefully this will ease up by mid-morning or this is going to be a long, long day!!
Cutting back to 20mg of predisone today and really worried.
Feeling for ya all;
Lovie
Donn- I have had the "neck pain headache" all my life- I was born with it. They called it torticollis- I also was told I had migraines in the 70's- In the 80's I started going to a Chiropractor and that worked until I was DX with RA.
Couple of tricks that help me- i take a towel - a skinny one and roll it up and put it under my neck and lie on it for 30 minutes on my back- This sometimes will help loosen the muscles. Sometimes I will take the heating pad and roll it on top of the towel and lay my neck on it- But in order for the towel trick to work you have to lay on your back flat for a half an hour.
I also take ibuprofen when I get a neck headache- it seems to work better than pain meds. But what really helps when all else fails is to find someone- anyone who will rub the lumpy umpy that is hidden behind your shoulder blade- When this neck thing rears it's ugly head your shoulder blade muscles tense and there is one spot above the shoulder blade area where if someone rubs and pokes their finger real hard on the lumpy muscle it will releive the headache. It hurts like all get out- but the relief from the headache for a few minutes is well worth it.
I am sorry to hear anyone having this pain. It is miserable and neverending when it occurs. Try a massage therapist if it goes on for longer than one day or an accupressureist.
I think that stress plays into this bigtime. Your neck is hurting ( I have OA and RA in it) and then the muscles tense up and you tense up and the headache just goes on and on and on.......
Try the towel trick and let me know if it works.
THANKS ALL FOR THE REPLIES, AND BRENDA I WILL TRY THAT TOWEL TRICK
DON
Wow you guys get intense neck pain as well?! Also, I get pain around my shoulder blades. It helps so much when someone gives a back massage. It really does relieve the tension in the shoulders, neck and works it way up the back of head. The sides of my head also hurt at times...i think i might be clinching my jaw at night...
I think i'm going to try the towel trick tonight.
THanks!
2 days now I've had neck pain and headache...I'm gonna try getting in the hot tub for awhile.
I had to come downstairs and report back to my neck aching friends...I got a load of towels and a few of the kids clothes out of the dryer and layed them on my bed to fold while I was resting my back on the heating pad. Well; I rolled up a warm towel right from the dryer and wrapped it around my neck almost like a brace and leaned back....heating pad too. It felt so good!! I've got the towel reheating with the heating pad right now while I came down to report my success.
Brenda...thanks so much for the hot tip. I think I learn something new here everyday.
Sleep Sweet my friends.
Lovie
Glad to see it helped...I know how miserable the pain in the neck can be....worse than a pain elsewhere....Sears also sells a sock with little pieces of rice or something in it called the bed buddy(or at least they did a number of years back) I always think it was last month. - you put it in the microwave and heat it up- I roll that up in the towel and get great help with it also.....