neck pain

[gorbybelle]

I have had MRI results which show arthritic changes in my neck which is affecting nerves on both sides

does this mean I should rule out Lyme  or is it a symptom of chronic Lyme  eg; three years since tick bite

I am in the U.K.   I have found a LLMD but now wondering if I should see him or not - opinions would be appreciated

thanks  gorbybelle

[JackieCalifornia]

You could have two different things going on:  Lyme and something else that is causing neck pain.

That makes diagnosis more difficult, but not impossible.

Looking back, it seems I had a thyroid infection or something that dragged on and on, and then I got Lyme and a coinfection, so the drs were really confused beyond what they might be otherwise.  It is inflammation that causes the stiff neck I have from Lyme; it is slowly going away with antibiotic treatment.

Do get the Lyme checked out, though.  Good luck.

[wonko]

I'm not positive, but I think Lyme arthritis is inflammatory, not degenerative.  If you have worn down the tissue between your vertebra, then that is probably something that happened very slowly in your body over years.  In my experience and from what I've read, Lyme arthritis can onset very suddenly and involves fluid building up around the joint, not mechanical wear-down of the joint.

I'm not really sure what causes the stiff neck in Lyme, but I know that meningitis also causes the same sort of neck stiffness that you get in Lyme.  So I think there is a common mechanism for how these infections cause that symptom, but I don't know what it is!

[gorbybelle]

I have to wait to talk to my pain doc. all I had was phone call abour MRI results.  Yes I do get  problems other than neck pain but do not know what pressure on nerves can cause other than pain!!  

Am I right in thinking that LYME can cause the arthritis?  

What causes the extremely stiff neck that some Lyme patients experience at on set.
I presume it is muscle tension-I guess unrelenting tension in neck/shoulder area can start to impact on the skeleton by pulling etc;  

I haven't ruled out Lyme.  Like you say I have other issues, and since I didn't have 'any' of these untill after the Tick bite - how can I .  Am going to G.P. to ask for medical records - and probably no sympathy!!!

[wonko]

Well, arthritis in your neck could be responsible for some of your symptoms, but don't you also have congestion and other issues that can not be traced to your neck?

You know how it is, if you go looking for trouble, you often find it!  However, this doesn't seem like a complete, satisfying explanation for your symptoms.

It is good to go into your LLMD appointment with healthy skepticism, but I still think you should go.

Just my opinion, of course.