headaches and more | Arthritis Information

 

I have been having horrible headaches that begin where my spine and my skull meet.  Mornings are really bad and its hard to turn my head from side to side. And when I do turn my head you can hear the bones grind together.  I've read that this is not uncommon in people with RA - does anyone else have these issues?time to get a neck x'ray.  that is a common area for RA to attack.  Basically what happens is that C1 pivots on C2 to give your ehad movement.  The joint damage causes the ligaments to become lax and 1 of 2 things happen..either c1 "slips" (subluxes) or it settles.  Neither one is a good thing.  So you need to find out what is going on

Justoday, I have that happen as well. I find the less I sleep the less it happens. I also make sure I have a good pillow.  As strange as it sounds I never thought of it as an RA problem and never had it checked out. You might want to do what buckeye said. my neurosurgeon says that C1-2 instability can be part of RA.  I had to have my neck x-rayed for that stability before he will decide  on my C4-5 fusion.  Fortunately mine is stable for the time being.  So for now I can go ahead with the fusion, but he says that that 'atlas/axis' instability can rear its head as part of the RA.Yup, got it there too. I have bones on my bones in my neck. Wakes me up several times a night, have to adjust how my head is laying to make my neck stop hurting.I do I do!!! When I do have pain in that area where the skull and spine meet I also usually have really severe (almost migraine) headaches. I can't turn my neck at all and the pain can be so bad that I get nauseous. I have asked my RD on numerous occassions whether this is RA related (since I didn't have it before the RA) and she said absolutely not that you can't have RA in that area. Makes me feel like a hypochondriac. I'm glad you posted this - I don't feel so alone now. Thanks for the responses.  I have read several articles and it does seem to be somewhat common with RA folks.  Windancer: I'm surprised that your RD said it was not part of RA - according to some of the relevant articles, the C1/Atlas joint, where your skull attaches to your spine, is a synovial joint and therefore a possible target.  Best wishes.

Thanks Justoday. I've been having doubts about my RD for awhile now. I've just been lazy since her office is literally next door to me while any other RD will be over 30 miles away. I guess it's time to get a second opinion since I can't get her to help me with this neck pain and it seems to be getting worse.

I hope you find some relief from your headaches and neck pain.

I have cervical spine issues which the doctors are calling degenerative disc disease, not RA related.  I guess it's because it's at C-4, C5 and not C-1.  Stiffness, soreness and very little range-of-motion are the problems, but, strangely, the RA drugs I take seem to have helped somewhat with those problems.  That's confusing. 
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