Can you help with this pain in my neck?
December 17, 2012 1:42 PM Subscribe
I'm having serious neck and shoulder pain due to some combination of a bone spur in my cervical spine, a herniated disc and/or flexor joint arthritis. I have doctors. I'm getting physical therapy. Anyone have suggestions for dealing with the pain in the meantime?
I'm taking pain medications and getting injection therapy. I use ice often on my neck and it helps. Heat helps -- but then seems to make it worse when I take it off. The pain at times is totally debilitating and often interferes with my daily routines.
I appreciate any help people can give in terms of gaining short term relief from pain. Thanks!
I'm taking pain medications and getting injection therapy. I use ice often on my neck and it helps. Heat helps -- but then seems to make it worse when I take it off. The pain at times is totally debilitating and often interferes with my daily routines.
I appreciate any help people can give in terms of gaining short term relief from pain. Thanks!
I have a pinched nerve due to a slipped disc. I assume mine is relatively minor compared to yours, but I was told to get a cervical traction machine, and it helps bunches.
It is a little rig that you lay on like a pillow; it has two prongs that hold the base of the skull and pulls using an air pump.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:11 PM on December 17, 2012
It is a little rig that you lay on like a pillow; it has two prongs that hold the base of the skull and pulls using an air pump.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:11 PM on December 17, 2012
You say that you are currently taking pain medication. It's not working as it should? I was given hydrocodone (no idea of the dosage) for the herniated disk in my neck, prior to surgery. It did the trick for me -- enough to calm the pain so that I could go about my daily tasks during the day and sleep at night. I would speak with your doctor about your options for pain mediation -- maybe switching to a different opioid would work better than your current prescription. [Not sure if surgical options are in your future. I will say that it was very successful for me. The pain was gone when I woke up; such a relief.]
posted by crepeMyrtle at 3:10 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by crepeMyrtle at 3:10 PM on December 17, 2012
Best answer: My husband has had very similar trouble. It has taken about a year to heal, with a combo of PT, Tramadol, massage and acupuncture, and, only lately, working out with a trainer. His best pain-relief strategy, when he was in the thick of it, was prescription Lidoderm patches, which stick on your back and numb the pain. He used three at a time. Good luck. It's terrible, but with a good arsenal of strategies it's possible to get better. MeMail me if you want to talk more.
posted by Ollie at 3:21 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Ollie at 3:21 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I recently had a triple cervical fusion after about 4 years of dealing with pain in my shoulder, arm and hands. The real problem was loss of strength in my arm and fingers. Pain is pain and can usually be dealt with even if it is sucking it up. Loss of strength can be permanent and has many repercussions.
Various things worked on a temporary or short term basis. My orthpeadist referred me to a doctor whose specialty was pain management. I used to tease her that she was a legal drug dealer, but actually she did and does way more than prescribe pain killers. I had epidurals. The first one did not do much at all, but the 2nd and 3rd ones did wonders. Lasted 4 -5 months each. Muscle relaxers helped a little bit, but like heat, once they wear off, you are sometimes worse off. I always assumed it was because I was holding my head neck funny when on relaxers because I could.
I tried acupuncture, and I had trigger point injections too. They worked a little, but not enough to say I was cured. I had electrical stimulation in conjunction with PT and that was really cool, but not sure it was a long term solution. I took plenty of paid killers. The real issue with taking Vicodin or Hydrocodone is the Tylenol that is also in the pills. You probably would start with 5/325s but you would build up a tolerance for the codeine part (5) and start taking more and more. Pain killers work especially if you take them in advance of the pain or before the pain becomes acute. Your pain specialist doctor might then put you on 7.5/325s. Take too much Tylenol and your liver gets screwed up. Eventually, you are on 10/325s instead of two 5/325s so you try to protect your liver.
The best relief I got was when I was able to use an inversion table. Going upside down (or close to it) for about 3-4 minutes in the morning did wonders. If I didn't have heart issues, I would have done it daily. I would try ArgentCorvid's suggestion about the traction. I used to have my teenage boys sort of lift me up so that no weight was on the bottom of my shoes by the base of my skull. They were scared to do it, and it was kind of weird so I stopped. Should have gotten a rig to do it for me.
Eventually, one night, I woke up from what I thought was me crying in a dream when it was me crying for real because of the pain. There was no position I could get into that relieved the pain. I had the surgery 3 weeks later and now 4 weeks ago.
I woke up from the surgery and literally felt better. No more pain and the loss of strength seemed to be gone. It was immediate relief in my arm. It took the last 4 weeks to recover from the surgery itself though. I am still exhausted which my Dr attributes to the energy spent healing.
One positive side effect of the surgery was that I lost 15 pounds. They go in from the front. Move your esophagus over and do their thing. Swallowing is mildly painful for about 3 days. My appetite was gone though. There are many videos on YouTube of the actual operation if you are the type to want to see it. Search for ACDF surgery.
I would do the whole thing over again. I would try every sort of relief possible and if it all failed I would have the surgery. Memail me with any questions.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 4:08 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Various things worked on a temporary or short term basis. My orthpeadist referred me to a doctor whose specialty was pain management. I used to tease her that she was a legal drug dealer, but actually she did and does way more than prescribe pain killers. I had epidurals. The first one did not do much at all, but the 2nd and 3rd ones did wonders. Lasted 4 -5 months each. Muscle relaxers helped a little bit, but like heat, once they wear off, you are sometimes worse off. I always assumed it was because I was holding my head neck funny when on relaxers because I could.
I tried acupuncture, and I had trigger point injections too. They worked a little, but not enough to say I was cured. I had electrical stimulation in conjunction with PT and that was really cool, but not sure it was a long term solution. I took plenty of paid killers. The real issue with taking Vicodin or Hydrocodone is the Tylenol that is also in the pills. You probably would start with 5/325s but you would build up a tolerance for the codeine part (5) and start taking more and more. Pain killers work especially if you take them in advance of the pain or before the pain becomes acute. Your pain specialist doctor might then put you on 7.5/325s. Take too much Tylenol and your liver gets screwed up. Eventually, you are on 10/325s instead of two 5/325s so you try to protect your liver.
The best relief I got was when I was able to use an inversion table. Going upside down (or close to it) for about 3-4 minutes in the morning did wonders. If I didn't have heart issues, I would have done it daily. I would try ArgentCorvid's suggestion about the traction. I used to have my teenage boys sort of lift me up so that no weight was on the bottom of my shoes by the base of my skull. They were scared to do it, and it was kind of weird so I stopped. Should have gotten a rig to do it for me.
Eventually, one night, I woke up from what I thought was me crying in a dream when it was me crying for real because of the pain. There was no position I could get into that relieved the pain. I had the surgery 3 weeks later and now 4 weeks ago.
I woke up from the surgery and literally felt better. No more pain and the loss of strength seemed to be gone. It was immediate relief in my arm. It took the last 4 weeks to recover from the surgery itself though. I am still exhausted which my Dr attributes to the energy spent healing.
One positive side effect of the surgery was that I lost 15 pounds. They go in from the front. Move your esophagus over and do their thing. Swallowing is mildly painful for about 3 days. My appetite was gone though. There are many videos on YouTube of the actual operation if you are the type to want to see it. Search for ACDF surgery.
I would do the whole thing over again. I would try every sort of relief possible and if it all failed I would have the surgery. Memail me with any questions.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 4:08 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Acupuncture! Saved me with cervical hernia. Floating in saltwater too.
posted by ig at 7:53 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by ig at 7:53 PM on December 17, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
I have rheumatoid arthritis, and I have found that when it's bad, I sleep poorly, which makes it worse. So enough pot to ease the pain so I can fall asleep on time actually has a cumulative positive effect, even if I don't want to take it during the day when I need to be less dumb. Marijuana makes me much less nervous than opiates for pain relief - opiates are addictive, and developing a tolerance is a huge problem - so I'm much happier going to it to supplement my official medication strategy. Do be careful, of course, when combining it with other medications.
I also find hot baths/a stint in the hot tub can help, partly because of the heat and partly because it takes the stress off my joints, but if you're getting worse inflammation or pain from heat then maybe that's not worth it.
Anything you can do to lower your overall stress level will probably help. Stress and inflammation are tightly linked, and inflammation makes everything worse. That's why sleep is such a big deal.
Anyway, you have my deep sympathy. Chronic pain is, well, a pain. Good luck regardless!
posted by restless_nomad at 2:00 PM on December 17, 2012