Never a good time.

Anything on your mind that isn't about RLS? It's nice to realize that there is life beyond this disease and have an opportunity to get to know our online family in a different context.
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Polar Bear
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Never a good time.

Post by Polar Bear »

I know there is never a good time to have neck or back problems, but now is most definitely not a good time.

On Saturday I arrived home from a brilliant holiday in Jersey, Channel Islands, just off the coast of France. Well relaxed and ready for our 3 houseguests who were arriving the next morning from Arkansas for a 3 week visit.

Whilst unpacking my back and neck got a bit sore, and by bedtime my neck was painful right up the back of my skull and over both ears with a raging headache. It was no better on Sunday when we took both cars to the airport for the pickup, and then did roast Sunday dinner for 10 people.

By the time it came to serving dessert I was beyond caring.... my pavlova base was all cracked.... did I care.... not one bit.... broke the lot up and threw everything into the glass bowl, lots of fruit, cream and chopped chocolate, with lots of cream topping to hide what was going on underneath. It worked but I was past the point of no return, good luck folks and enjoy.......I went to bed.

This morning I was fortunate enough to get an emergency physio appointment..... neck and base of skull massage which was agonising, acupuncture and heat treatment....... its a miracle........ I am a new woman.

It was not a good time for this to happen, but it could have been worse had it been last week during my holiday.

And Physio's fee was £30.... best value for money in a long time.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
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Scarlett46
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Post by Scarlett46 »

A good massage often does wonders! Glad you were able to get one so soon.

In addition to regular migraines, I get tension headaches that sound a lot like what you experienced - the pain from the shoulders, up the neck, and behind the ears. I use both ice and heat for those.
"After all... Tomorrow is another day!"

Polar Bear
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Post by Polar Bear »

Many years ago I used to have migraines but it is possibly 12 years since I had one, rarely even have a headache nowadays.

Yes, physio mentioned it was like a tension headache but coming from the neck muscles being so knotted.

Hmmm... I've been using a heated wheatbag, never thought of ice. Tho in my migraine days I always kept a back of frozen peas in the freezer that were not for consumption, having been defrosted and refrozen so many times.

Must remember that.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

ViewsAskew
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Post by ViewsAskew »

Polar Bear wrote:Many years ago I used to have migraines but it is possibly 12 years since I had one, rarely even have a headache nowadays.

Yes, physio mentioned it was like a tension headache but coming from the neck muscles being so knotted.

Hmmm... I've been using a heated wheatbag, never thought of ice. Tho in my migraine days I always kept a back of frozen peas in the freezer that were not for consumption, having been defrosted and refrozen so many times.

Must remember that.


PB, those are exactly what I've been getting for months with the new meds. I can feel the knots in the muscles. If you want to look up more on it, read about myofascial trigger points. They are awful, as you well know!

Heat is excellent for them. From the reading I've done and if I remember correctly, ice is not indicated, though may work excellently for other things.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Polar Bear
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Post by Polar Bear »

This is what is sooooo... good about this site, before you know it someone is there with advice.

Ann and Scarlett, I so sympathise.

Ann I understand that it is your new meds that are the cause, kind of between a rock and a hard place. What way to turn is a dilemma.

I haven't started any new meds. Last autumn I had a 5 session physio course for the same neck condition but without the awful headache and did great up until now. And I am so sorry that both of you have this as a constant/regular condition.

At present my neck isn't too bad, so far so good, and the headache is tolerable but hasn't gone.

What with my usual rls meds, sleeping meds, AD meds, pills for cholesterol and tummy, then randomly taking ibuprofen, rubbing on ibuprofen gel, taking migraine meds today, I feel rather foggy.

Some sleep will help and as Scarlett says: ' Tomorrow is another day'
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

SquirmingSusan
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Post by SquirmingSusan »

I'm glad you had a great vacation; sorry you're having such problems with your back and neck. I hope you get a great night's sleep and feel better tomorrow.
Susan

ViewsAskew
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Post by ViewsAskew »

Scarlett and PB, please consider paying for the following:

http://saveyourself.ca/tutorials/trigger-points.php

It's literally over 180 pages if you print it (I copied it to my hard drive) and is totally worth the price you pay for a month or two to read everything on his website.

I had migraines for years as a teen and through my twenties, but they stopped about 15-20 years ago. About 10 years ago, I started getting serious pain up into my jaw when I'd move my neck. My doctor said I had torticollis. But, I looked that up and it didn't seem right. After a lot of searching, I discovered trigger points. My husband also has them, so I bought several books to learn how to find them and "treat" them. It wasn't great info, but it helped.

But, it wasn't until I started these new meds that the migraines came back. This time, though, I recognized them as being caused by the trigger points. The research suggests that many of us have them - they are not uncommon at all. What's uncommon is that doctors know anything about them. Massage therapist are the most likely, followed by physical therapists, but many of them do not, either.

I am not sure what caused them in the past or why they stopped for a few years and then morphed into shoulder ones instead of neck and head ones. I just know that they can be excruciating.

When I found the website above, I felt like I was reading about myself. It was much better info than the books I'd purchased prior. Maybe it doesn't apply to you, but if your headaches have ever been described as tension headaches, it almost certainly will.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Polar Bear
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Post by Polar Bear »

Thanks Ann.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

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