I have had a stiff neck from ---- for days. It is really bothering me and keeping me from doing anything. I'm currently moved on to Omnicef and away from Zithro and plaquenil due to ear ringing. Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks
Amy
-------------------- Amy Holloway Posts: 255 | From Michigan | Registered: Oct 2005
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
Ice has helped me.....if you have one of those soft ice packs you could just lay around your neck....
I had a bad neck not too long ago , and ice really saved me.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
I always found heat was better for stiff necks. Anti-inflammatories, like Advil, seem to help some. Magnesium could also help, but not as a quick fix.
Years ago, I went to a chiropractor to help a stiff neck that wouldn't go away.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Hi -had that for months and now it's back..but not unbearable yet. I did combination of ice, creams, and slapped on lidocaine patches all day,night long..It helped a little. I got those from prescription from my doctor. Natalie
Posts: 87 | From Clarksburg, NJ, Monmouth | Registered: Aug 2005
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
A sack of corn helps.
Take a bag of frozen veggies if you don't have a gel ice pack.. and place it on your neck for a bit. Then toss it back in freezer to use again.
I also use tei-fu oil for pain. If you can't get it.. lavendar oil will help reduce pain.
Be leary of heat. It may provide some initial relief.. but.. after a while it CAN.. doesn't mean for sure.. but it can cause swelling and could irritate the area more.
General rule.. ice in the first 24-48 hours.. heat after that for bad muscles.
A chiropractor has helped me for many years. Wish I had 2 or 3 in my medicine cabinet on stand by.
PS... You ARE drinking LOTS of water with fresh lemon juice in it.. aren't you?
lymednva
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9098
posted
I found that heat worked better for me than cold. I have used lots of things, but here's an easy one.
Take a men's tube sock. Fill it partially full with uncooked rice. Tie a knot in the end. Heat it in the microwave for a minute or two, until it's warm.
Then lay it around your neck and it will provide warm moist heat for quite a while. It really helped me when my neck was at its worst.
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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tdtid
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10276
posted
Wow....this will be a post I imagine I'll be needing to refer to in the future at some point, so I'm so glad the question was asked and so many great things to try.
Just before my diagnosis, I was told I had degenerative disc disease in my neck (C-56) and that's when they did the epidural steroid injections.
With three negative Elisa tests, I wasn't one of the wise ones that saw beyond that. With this said.....I would say that anything listed above is great.
Just do NOT let them do steroids. The above advice is much better. I use to try both heat and cold and see which one seemed to be working best at the moment it was causing trouble.
Good luck and let us know how you make out with this.
Cathy
-------------------- "To Dream The Impossible Dream" Man of La Mancha Posts: 2638 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2006
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
I use a theracane with great results. Here is a discussion that may be helpful.
posted
you can also buy a thing called a 'bed buddy' that you can either put in the freezer or in the microwave depending whether you need hot or cold.
I also use aspercreme (odorless).
Posts: 758 | From now TX | Registered: Mar 2001
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timaca
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6911
posted
I had an incredibly stiff neck for 2 weeks from lyme. I could not turn my head in any direction whatsoever. Heat helped ease the pain, but nothing but time made it go away.
Timaca
Posts: 2872 | From above 7,000 ft in a pine forest | Registered: Feb 2005
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Mangosteen juice may help as it has anti-inflammatory properties.
Posts: 925 | From California | Registered: Sep 2004
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
i use frozen ice packs; when one gets warm; i replace them all day/night long.
use heat on my lower back.
i think the microwave idea of moist rice in sock is good!
i have permanent neck injuries from a toddler falling from a grain trailer to cement floor; lost my memory out ofthat for 2 yrs. of head massage treatments.
went to chiropractor which is just so temporary i gave up as well as a massage therapist i was going to monthly with the last one helping me for only 10-15 minutes after paying $50.
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posted
An osteopath got rid of my stiff neck within minutes. Didn't come back for a long time.
Gabrielle
Posts: 767 | From Germany | Registered: Feb 2004
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
Moist heat. I have a clay filled pad I bought at eckerds with a cloth around it. I nuke it in the micro & then wet it. Like the rice described above it does mold to my neck nicely. The rice sock is a heck of a good idea!
I was cautioned against using ice by a LLMD because BB loves a cold environment & it thrives under ice packs. This is just on docs opinion but I have stuck to it over the years. Back in 95 when my necks spams where unbearable I went to see a LLMD She said ice was the worst thing I could be doing for my lyme disease. Haven't iced since.
What finally helped the most was traction I recieved durning PT. But from time to time I still get neck & back pain but not constant now.
hope you can feel better soon.
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
This is a terrible symptom. It's deeper than muscles. It comes from having the neck nerves--maybe even the spinal cord--inflammed.
I use heat. Cold tends to work at first and then it gets worse as the blood flows back.
And whatever else you have for pain. Different things work for different people. I've found that hydrocodone (yes, an opiod, unfortunately) works the best.
Two years of massage therapy did not help. And cost a fortune.
This is different than the stiff neck I used to get from working at a desk. The chiropractor could never get my neck to move--now it snaps and pops at the oddest moments! It's so loud everyone in the room can hear it!
Posts: 353 | From Florida boonies | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
It could be a herx, but if it gets too too bad you might talk to your doctor. (I hope you have a nice one!)
Posts: 353 | From Florida boonies | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
When I had complained to my LLMD about my neck pain he prescribed Naprosyn, and that was to be taken with Prevacid,apparently Naprosyn is very hard on your stomach. I had no trouble with it and I only used it for 30 days. I finished that up Oct.28th and I still don't have any problems. So that along with heat applied to my neck is what worked for me. Hope you feel better soon.
Posts: 158 | From PA. | Registered: Jul 2006
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Boomerang
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7979
posted
What a good thread to read. Hubby is having terrible joint pain right now......probably the worst he has ever had. He's doing a flagyl/mino combo right now to help his brain fog.
The combo has really brought out joint pain. His elbows, ankles and also stiff neck. Is it strange to have these aches after so long (over a year) on ABX?
Is the flagyl causing it? Thanks for any info or suggestions.
Take care all.
Posts: 1366 | From Southeast | Registered: Sep 2005
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