pain from old car accident

[allycovey]

I was in two major car accidents both within three years of each other.  i was 16 for the first a five car pile up in Dallas, TX.  Mom was driving we were rearended and pushed into the car in front of us bounced around the highway getting hit from all directions multiple times.  I had what I thought was pretty severe whiplash I was taken to the hospital on one of those boards.  Next at 19 I was in a head on collision both cars going about 50 on a curvy country road.  Hospitalized for a month ruptured speen along with various other injuries.  They sewed my spleen back together.  At about 21 the muscle spasms in my neck and arms started.  My neck would freeze up for a couple of days and I would be in Pain this would only happen a couple of times a year.  By thirty it was getting worse and happening more frequently.  Now at 45 I am in constant pain.  I can't look up at all if I do I feel like a spike is shooting down my spine.  I have very little movement to the left and right.   Between my shoulder blades is horrible my shoulders up to my neck.  I have to get my neck in just the right position and still get woke up with pain.  I started taking ibuprofen at thirty because I didn't want to be addicted to pain killers.  Actually, Ibuprofen will work it takes the heat out and releives the pain it will actually make it go away for several days at a time.  Now here's the challenging part.  I now have constant heartburn one ibuprofen or aleve will cause severe stomach pain and burning that feels like I just got shot.  i had h. polori (sorry can't spell it)  I took the antibioics I still can't take any ibuprofen and I still get constant heartburn the pain is much less and I can now eat again.  I have been on fibromyalgia meds but they don't help I still get horrible muscle spasms and inflamation in my neck. The only thing that ever worked is ibuprofen and now I can't take it.

[femmy29]

If the ibuprofen helped you could try enteric coated aspirin.  It is coated to protect your stomach lining.  These could give you the relief you need plus be easier on your stomach.

femmy

[LivingInHope]

You know of patients who had successful neck surgery?  I'd like the name of their surgeon(s) for future reference in case someone needs it.  My mom met someone (a stranger) who had neck surgery and was on a pain medication pump, feeling they were worse of than before the surgery and wishing they had never had it.

[Caryopteris]

If you haven't had an MRI of your spine, it's time.  You could have spinal stenosis by now.  While lower back surgery should be avoided as long as possible, neck surgery works better for patients, so if neck pain is your main problem and there is spinal stenosis, you need surgery.  With stenosis, the spinal cord is being compressed and it tends to progress and you can lose function.  Make sure you get a topnotch surgeon.  

[LivingInHope]

If you had severe whiplash, which it sounds very likely, you would definitely know it.  You said what you thought- did the docs not think you had whiplash for some reason?  I was in a car accident where the person who hit me estimated she was going 30 miles an hour when she plowed into my pretty much stopped/stopped vehicle and I hit the car in front of me.  My neck was severely sprained and it took about 10 months of physical therapy and it never has been quite the same (this was over 13 years ago).  In one of the direction, I could hardly turn my neck when it first happened and got what felt like a jolting electric shock or something.

  What did they do for you at 16 with all that trauma?  What about at 19, other than spleen surgery and hospitalization?  Did they do any MRIs, did they do lots of therapy, did they have you wearing neck braces, etc.?

I know the struggle about ibuprofen, though I didn't have h. pylori, which can be a risk factor for ulcers in itself.  There are prescriptions like sucralfate and cytotec they give for people with stomach problems, the latter is what I am taking when on ibuprofen for severe TMJ arthritis symptoms.  However, a GI specialist wanted me to take ibuprofen as little as possible (I previously had mild esophagitis & gastritis and had become anemic).

How about recently- have you had an MRI of your cervical and thoracic spine?  If so, with what results?  Have you had any physical therapy lately?  Tried acupuncture, massage, moist heat, been prescribed any muscle relaxants for sleep time?

For me with my neck, I can't do a pillow while on my back (gives me a headache) and use a select comfort bed with a beauty rest pillow by Simmons, contoured, soft, and impressionable for time spent on my sides.  

Has any doctor suggested referring you to pain management?  While they do teach a lot of hooey in their classes, they might work with you on trying to help you manage your pain.  Have they ever tried cortisone?