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MS is a pain in my neck. Anyone Else?

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    MS is a pain in my neck. Anyone Else?

    I was diagnosed about a month ago. I have had pain in my neck and shoulders for 2-3 years and now I am wondering if that neck pain is from the MS? anyone else? I went in for the MRi because of numbness and fire sensations in my leg. But it is the neck pain that is frustrating so far....

    thanks for reading.

    #2
    Zwisser

    It is so good to hear from you!! I started having issues a year ago and it started from a severe pain in my neck. I thought it was my usual go to the chiropractor and get adjusted thing but too many other things started happening however, I did end up having cervical neck surgery because I was told of stenosis in my neck... long story short, I might not have needed that surgery.. I am still having neck problems to this day... My MS doctor said it may have been a hidden lesion.. so anyhooooo here I am!!
    Debbie

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      #3
      arrrg

      I am sorry to hear about your surgery not fixing the problem. I can only imagine how frustrating that must be.

      How do you deal with the neck pain now?

      Does anybody have any good advise for controlling neck and shoulder pain caused by MS?Are drugs the only answer? or is there a more natural way? such as a routine of stretching, icing and diet that will help?

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        #4
        I get muscle spasms in my neck and boy does it stink. It is not only painful but stiff and makes movement jerky and ridiculous.

        I tried massage for this a couple times with no real relief. Increased my gabapentin and felt marginally better. Nightly stretching seems to help a little too and I do have a small number of muscle relaxers I take when I just can't take it any more. I do use heat pads but I know not everyone can handle that kind of treatment. This varied approach actually has lessened the spasms slowly and given me some relief.

        Good luck and I do hope you are able to figure out a regimen that helps!
        Newbie

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          #5
          Spasm? gabapentin?

          Thanks for the insight.

          I here a lot of people talk about spasms. What do you mean by SPASM?

          what is gabapentin? and how does it help with muscle aches?

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            #6
            I don't know if spasm is the right word. Maybe spasticity is a better descriptor. My neck is very tight and painful, like it has seized up and nothing relaxes it again. Very painful. Gabapentin is actually a medication for seizures but is commonly used to treat MS symptoms. I find it very helpful in managing sensory issues (tingling, etc) and mildly helpful in alleviating spasticity in my legs and neck.
            Newbie

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              #7
              I am trying back often for the neck pain, am on gabapentin for nerve pain. Baclofen not helping so I am not going to continue it. Baclofen is for spasticity

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                #8
                Neck spasm

                I used to go for trigger point injections. Sometimes the nurse described it as if she was trying to inject into bone, my muscles were so tight. It worked, but only for a week or two. I still go when it's really bad, but most of the time I use a "theracane" that massages out the trigger points.


                Originally posted by zwisser View Post
                I am sorry to hear about your surgery not fixing the problem. I can only imagine how frustrating that must be.

                How do you deal with the neck pain now?

                Does anybody have any good advise for controlling neck and shoulder pain caused by MS?Are drugs the only answer? or is there a more natural way? such as a routine of stretching, icing and diet that will help?
                CIS DX 2013

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                  #9
                  Good Morning

                  I was recently, diagnosed in maech 2013, and my PCP suspects I hve had it for 20 or so years. I have been suffering from neck issues for years, and sought out help from specialists, with no help or answers, so I saw a chiropractor. The only way I get relief is by being adjusted, and it helps me function as normal as a life as humanly possible.

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                    #10
                    Gralise - has helped my neck pain

                    Hi - I found this thread interesting because it was my pain in the neck that jump-started my MS fears. I've had severe attacks of headaches at the base of my skull. It turned out to to be a nerve, pinched and inflamed by muscle spasms in my neck/shoulders. I was given Gralise which is an XR gabapentin - less side effects. So far so good! Very effective on neuralgic pain. While checking into the pain, and MRI showed lesions, and additional tests showed general loss of sharp sense. I've been diagnosed with fibro for ever, so clumsiness, dizziness, etc have been 'normal' for a long time. Good luck with your neck.

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                      #11
                      This was one of my early symptoms and would come and go with no rhyme or reason. The first time it coincided with my first relapse, misdx'd as Bell's Palsy. No one had an answer for it then, but I did get a soft collar brace after this attack. The only thing that helped dull the pain was moist heat, ibuprofen, and wearing the soft collar brace.

                      It wasn't until I finally was dx'd several years later and was on baclofen and gabapentin that I finally started having this sx less often. I've never had a neurologist acknowledge this was from the MS, but after all these years I know it was from muscle spasticity in my neck.
                      Kimba

                      “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ― Max Planck

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                        #12
                        I have neck pain constantly. Also spy head to reading to my shoulder now. My docs think it is from my eye weakness and having to lift my head to see to account for my eye movement problems.

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                          #13
                          neck & shoulder pain & tightness

                          My neck and shoulders used to get really tight when I sat at the computer for too long (more than an hour). But a good massage usually helped a lot.

                          Since I was dx'd with MS a couple months ago, the pain and tightness that develops in my neck and shoulders after sitting in front of the computer is MUCH worse now.

                          I live in China for most of the year, but I'm back in the U.S. right now to visit family for the summer. When I return to China I'm going to see if acupuncture will help.
                          "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

                          RRMS, dx May 2013, on Gilenya from May '13 - Aug. 14
                          Currently following Dr. Jelinek's OMS (Overcoming MS) plan

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                            #14
                            neck pain

                            One of my first sypmtoms that I can remember is necp pain and stiffness. The first incident was so bad I could not turn my head for days. 15 years later I usually have tightness in my neck daily and do stretches several times throughout the day which helps. My MS was not clearly diagnosed until the MRI of the spinal cord came back with MS lesions.

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                              #15
                              It is so comforting, sorry to say that, to hear so many with neck issues. I have had neck pain all my adult life but attributed it to a car accident when I was in high school. The last episode was the worst and I could not say that I did anything to bring it on. Long story short, had 3 level neck surgery a year ago. 3 months after surgery, pain is back. But that is when my other symptoms started happening too. Lesions found at that time but not in my neck. Just my brain. Just diagnosed in December.

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