Stiff neck for 4 weeks??!!??!!

[Ljbrow]

I am a 40 year old, otherwise healthy, woman.  4 weeks ago today, I woke up with a stiff neck and I have had it ever since.  There are some mornings that my neck hurts so bad that my husband has to sit me up in bed.  The pain makes me scream out and it feels like I have been beaten with a metal bat.  The epicenter is the base of my skull, just to the right of the hollow.  I have the stiff neck all day long but it is much worse in the mornings.  It feels like the sensitivity often associated with a flu--it feels like my glands are swollen and sore.  I know it may be partly muscular but I don't feel that this is the underlying cause of it.  What's strange is that the day before I came down with this, I was visiting my friend whose husband was away on business.  Come to find out, her husband suffers from the exact same symptoms and has had them for 5 1/2 weeks now!  He has been seen by his M.D., been to P.T., massage therapy and even tried accupuncture-he is on pain killers.  I have been to my M.D. and my bloodwork, including Lyme, was neg. I am trying P.T. but without results.  Several people I know, including family and co-workers have had stiff necks but none have lasted as long as mine or the other person I mentioned.  Could this possibly be a strange virus that has settled into my neck??  I am SO sick of people asking me how old my mattress is or telling me I simply need a new pillow!  I feel it is too much of a coincidence that I have the same exact symptoms as my friend's husband and I was in his house the day before coming down with this. I am at my wits end! Any clues

[hannu]

See a neurologist and/or a chiropractic! A GOOD chiropractic may be able to help you, or may at least give valuable diagnostic comments. Have you had X-rays and MRI (or CT) taken?

Hannu

[moretocome]

10 years ago, I went through the same symptoms. after visiting some friends in the mountains of Virginia.  After months of every kind of specialist imaaginable, I found an Infectious disease Dr. who finally figured out what was wrong.  She had all the reports that I had been tested for everything including false Lyme disease tests.  However, she said for the most part these tests are useless because you can get a positive results if you do not have Lyme and a negative result if you do have it.  Its really a useless disease.  She was from an area up North that has a lot of Lyme disease and was very familiar.  Most Doctors around here in the South did not know that much about it. (of coarse they aren't going to tell you that!  Anyway she said that after reviewing all my tests and judging from my symptoms and the horrible stiff neck etc.  She would bet her life on it.  The tests mean nothing and until they come up with an accurate test for Lyme disease,its really useless.
She started me on an IV of Rocephin antibiotic for 30 days.  A nurse came to my house every day.  My neck problem totally cleared up.  I got so much better.  She said since I went so long undiagnosed and not properly treated, then unfortunately, I was in the "CHRONIC LYME" disease, and therefore, I would have residual problems all my life, like arthritis, fatigue, fibromyalgia etc.  If its caught in the beginning, then its treatable and cured.  This corkscrew bacteria links and hides in your body.  You may wish to contact The Lyme Disease Foundation on the Internet in Connecticut.  They sent me a video and it really  really helped.  Hope this helps you.  Good Luck and God Bless You!

[CMcG]

I have had a horrific headache on the top of skull, and pain going down the spine for 4 weeks now, non-STOP. I am having an MRI tomorrow. I have been reading about VM, and am leaning towards maybe thats it, however, the same thing happened to me 3 yrs. ago but only lasted 6 days. I understand you really cant get VM twice. I was hoping it was, b/c that would mean it would eventually go AWAY! I'm at the point where i am resigning myself to this forever. This is horrendous. They are doing the MRI of the brain and cervical spine, but w/o contrast as the approvals would have taken too long from the insurance co. Does anbody know if the MRI w/o contrast is as effective in showing things? thanks

[tlgusto]

If you have continued pressure, pain, stiffness etc. in your neck and head, you make want to check with a neurologist.  Especially if you experience tingling or numbness in your extemities, nystagmus, hoarseness, unexplained cough and difficulty swallowing, amoung other symptoms.  You can have one or all of these symptoms.  If so, you may have an Arnold Chiari Malformation and/or Syringomyelia.  To give a quick definition, a Chiari Malformation is where the cerebral tonsills desend into the forum magnum into your neck.  This causes a compression of the spinal cord, which can result in many neuro symptoms.  Sometimes it will also create a blockage of cerebral spinal fluid which can back up and form a pocket of fluid in your spine.  This also puts pressure on the cord and causes many symptoms.  You can have one or the other or both.  Chiari is a congenital disorder and you may not know you have it until symptoms present themselves later in life.  Syringomyelia (Syrinx) can be in association with the Chiari or can be alone as sudden onset due to trama to the spine.  You can look up both of these disorders on several web-sites.  The only way to diagnose them is through an MRI.  I was diagnosed 4 1/2 years ago and had surgery to stop the rapid progression.  I am not cured and it is a degenerative disease, however, a lot of pain and discomfort was eased due to the surgery.  It took almost 10 years for it to be discovered, which caused some nerve damage.  It's important to catch it as soon as possible.  Don't let your doctor brush you off.  This is a disorder that is fairly unknown to many physicians, and severely misunderstood and undiagnosed.

[TAA911]

Hi Eloise,

Im still going through it believe it or not. I just went to a neurologist and had an MRI. It is a herniated disc. I will need physical therapy. The pain from my neck is now radiating to my arm and chest.
Im taking perscription motrin which has helped. It is painful but it is not as bad as it could have been. Will try the PT.

TA

[EloiseUK]

Hello, I am a 46 year old woman who got shingles in my back last August (over a year ago) and last sept got a fever and swollen lymph glands. after that I got a stiff neck and have been unable to move it normally for a year. In the early days I felt like I had fluid in my head and one night the pain was so bad I couldn't put my head on the pillow and ended up in hospital. They gave me diazepan which helped abou 60% but then it came back. Now my neck is less painful but it's not easy to turn my head without wincing. The face it's getting better reassures me but I'd like to be completely recovered. what happened to you in the end?