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I can’t shake this stiff, achy neck. It’s not in the bones of my neck, it’s on each side. I am constantly doing stretches to loosen it up, taking Nsaids thinking it might help and have applied hot and cold to the muscles also. Is this a symptom of RA also? Has anyone else experienced this? It’s been going on for over a week now. I’ve tried changing pillows, positions, nothing helps!
No I don’t have one but my mother might still have hers. I will have to ask.
I take tumeric and ginger as well as drink tart unsweetened cherry juice.
I will try the one pillow…I was thinking of purchasing one of those memory foam ergonomic pillows.
As long as I keep it moving, it feels ok but the minute I rest for any amount of time, it sure stiffens up and I have to stretch all over again.
Neck pain such as you described is very typical of Lyme symptoms (often called ‘Lyme shrug’). It has always been my biggest bugbear. Regular osteo treatments were key for me.
Be well! Lynnie
Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)jlynne,
Neck pain has been the bane of my existence for about 5 years now. It took me that long to discover that a root ‘canaled’ tooth was indeed still infected after a dentist told me numerous times it was not. For 8 years I had a nice smoldering infection making its way into my blood stream and lymph nodes. Mine is very obvious since the tooth was on the right side and all my pain is right down the right lateral side of my body. The tooth was removed and was indeed infected. Just like Brown describes in his book – I had a huge flare afterward and my body was already very sensitized to the bacterial antigen – so I did not recover after it was removed. Now I am on AP.Although I am not saying yours is related to your teeth, I am throwing it out there as a thought on this. If you’ve had root canals or infected wisdom teeth removed improperly (cavitations) it is worth pondering.
More importantly is the fact that our neck pain sounds very much alike. Major stiffness, shrugging all day, pain…beyond belief! Mine is on the side also much less than in the joints. I also found that alot of mine was coming from swollen lymph glands. I get very sore in the bony area behind my ear, at C1 and C2 down the side there and all the way into my trapezius area. It also radiates down my arm.
What is your diagnosis? Do you have one? Have you been tested for RA or other infections such as lyme?
Kali
No official diagnosis yet. I have my first appointment next Wednesday. However, my GP did a rheumatoid panel on me and my RF was 121 and my Anti CCP was greater than 250 with the words “strong positive” beside it. My GP referred me to a rheumy.
I had a root canal done 2 years ago. I haven’t had any trouble with it. I’m beginning to lose old fillings from when I was a child. I need to talk to my dentist about this.
I haven’t been tested for anything as of yet. I do want to get tested for lymes as I had a tick on me a couple of summers ago.
I haven’t been bothered by neck pain until a couple of weeks ago. Most of my RA symptoms are in my hands, wrists, and feet. This neck thing is really bothersome.
J-
I guess I will be the dental police around here – but please don’t ignore the dental issue. It plays a huge role with your immune system as well as systemic disease and ‘autoimmune’ issues.
Although it certainly can be, it may not be the cause of your RA or other disease- but it will certainly be a factor in your healing process.http://www.icnr.com/cs/cs_23.html
http://www.healingteethnaturally.com/summary-weston-price-root-canal-research.htmljlynne,
Here is another thought on your neck pain. It is possible that it could be from swollen lymph nodes in that area. There are lots of diagrams on the internet you may want to check out and see if it relates to your areas of pain. There are more lymph glands in our neck than anywhere in our body. Of course any infection, be it localized or systemic can cause them to swell – RA is one such infectious agent that will do this. I have had very painful lymph nodes in my neck as well as under my armpits and in my breasts. This could be bringing on some of your neck pain. Interestingly, strep is one of those infections that will also cause swelling of lymph nodes in the neck.Good luck with your appointment this week 🙂
Kali@jlynne wrote:
my RF was 121 and my Anti CCP was greater than 250 with the words “strong positive” beside it. My GP referred me to a rheumy.
When I was 1st tested my anti-CCP was also that high. After being on ap for 2 yrs, it dropped to ~100; still 5x normal, but a nice drop.
I haven’t been bothered by neck pain until a couple of weeks ago. Most of my RA symptoms are in my hands, wrists, and feet. This neck thing is really bothersome.
My symptoms are also in hands, wrists & feet. When i 1st started ap, I got the kind of neck pain you’re talking about. It lasted 2-3 weeks. I think that it was due to lymph getting backed up in my lymph nodes, as Kali said. It was 4-5 months before I could feel inflammation going down. By the end of my 1st year on ap, I felt 90% better. I’m just telling you this because some say a high anti-CCP means a bad prognosis, but I don’t think they really know what it means.
jlynne,
I have had neck pain since 2009 after a chiropractic neck manipulation. Ever since that manipulation, I have constant dull and extremely annoying pain…kind of feels like headache, but in the neck, shoulder area. For the last 2 years, I have gone to so many physio therapists, specialists and no improvement or clear diagnosis. All my tests came negative. Everybody, but one doctor thaugh that it is all in my head. The only doctor who believed me tested me for Lyme antibodies, which came negative. My IgM and IgG antibodies came negative. So the doctor dismissed Lyme disease as possisble diagnosis and prescribed me a long list of NSAIDs and muscle relaxants. Then after another year of non stop pain, I went back to the doctor and asked for DMX-ray, which is a better X-ray technology in determining cervical instability. The doctor decided to order one more test before the DMX-ray and sure enough Epstein-Barr Virus came positive. I was immediatley referred to rheumatologist after 2 years of pain!!! All my tests came negative again, except anti-CCP, which was very high=180. So the doctor diagnosed me with RA. She wants to treat me with MTX, but after reading so much about RA, I came up with the conclusion that MTX and all other DMARDS, biologics are only masking the symptoms and not treating the real cause of the disease. I asked a friend of mine, who is a doctor to prescribe me Minocin, but she has no idea what protocol to follow. She prescribed me 100 mg for every MWF. I am not sure if I should be more aggressive or simply follow the slow and safe protocol. I am starting to have flares in my hands, but nothing serious..just red, warm joints without the inflammation. It feels exactly like my neck:-(
Exactly! My wrist pain is identical to my neck pain. As long as I keep both moving, I’m much better off but the minute I rest, whammo! It stiffens up and is so painful to move!
I still have this pain. It was starting to subside a bit but today it is actually more painful than stiff. I had to stay home because of it. It is always in the cords of my neck in the back and extending outward toward the sides. Sometimes I have shooting pains up the back of my neck into my head and ouch! that really hurts. I had the rheumy check my lymph nodes and she says they feel fine, not swollen so I don’t know.
jlynne,
it looks like not too many people in this forum suffer from neck and shoulder pain. Only in the cases of Lyme. I wonder if my tests somehow were false and I have been misdiagnosed with RA as opposed to Lyme. The strangest thing is that I never feel stiffness in my neck, shoulders or hands…just dull constant pain( the usual pain after extreme workout). In the past I loved this kind of pain, because I knew I had a good workout, but now the pain is always there and it bothers me so much!I feel the best in the morning and the worst in late afternoon… that is why for the longest time I refused to believe that I have RA…something doesn’t match up??? My pain worsens with movement, which usually indicates some instability in the neck 😕 My X-rays ot MRIs show nothing.
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