Help! Excruciating Muscle Pain And Stiffness

[Guest BERNESES]

Hi Everyone- My back neck and jaw are so tight I could practically scream. I've tried all the home remedies (ice, heath, baths, arnica, OTC pain stuff) and the muscle relaxants my doctor gave me when I had a ski accident this winter and nothing is helping. And I'm having weird muscle spasms in my feet and legs. Could this be a vitamin deficiency? i take cal mag and I've been feeling really good otherwise. It's scaring me. Thanks, Beverly

[Guest nini]

when I get this type of pain and stiffness, I usually just want to crawl into a hole somewhere and sleep... but I hurt to bad to sleep!

Yes it could be a vit. issue... look into potassium, or eat some bananas! that usually helps me feel better. That and taking loads of tylenol and packing myself in ice packs.

[mommida]

Make sure you do not have a fever. If you do, seek medical help. If you are still feeling worse or can not find relief, go to the doctor. Try putting your head forward, chin to chest. If that causes more pain, go to the emergency with or without a fever. (It would be significant pain.)

Laura

[jenvan]

Laura had a good idea, make sure you don't have a fever too--that the pain isn't a sign of acute illness. Could it be fibromyalgia pain? I have it and sometimes my pain is really horrible. Donna, another woman who deals with Fibro gets muscle spasms too, possibly like your describing. We both use heat to treat the soreness. I use a heating pad about 5 nights a week .

A year a half ago I suffered from incredible neck, upper back pain and tightness. It came on fairly suddenly, with noticeable injury. So much so I had trouble moving my neck without using my hands to help. I tried acupunture, meds, chiropractor, possible surgery... and nothing helped. It eventually went away (praise God!) and I attribute it to changing jobs. At my previous job I spent a lot of time with my neck bent and back hunched over. I think that may have been the culprit. I also had burning in my muscles. If that is a possibility, make sure your work station is ergonomic. ( I can give you more info ) Try and stretch and take frequent breaks during work too.

You might want to ck this link out and read about Fibromyalgia as a possibility and see if it might relate to you. Many people with Fibro also have TMJ (jaw) type problems too. Open Original Shared Link If interested, you could also read these recent posts on Fibro. https://www.celiac.com/index.php?s...t=0entry46260

Hope you start to feel better soon !!

[jaimek]

I think I have this. How do you get tested for it?

[jenvan]

Jamie-

Its my understanding that there is really no test for Fibro... just a diagnosis based on how you meet a certain number of criteria. Such as pain for a certain period of time and in certain areas. Go here and it gives you those criteria and pictures of the points. Open Original Shared Link

If you have a doctor that is familiar with Fibro, they could help you diagnosis for sure, rule out other possibilites. What are your symptoms like?

[mommida]

I had viral meningitis that was turning bacterial before I made it to the hospital. That was about 4 years ago. I was also misdiagnosed when I went into the doctor's office, and 6 hours later had a seizure in the middle of the night. Your odds of having meningitis are about 1 in 250,000. Most adults with viral meningitis do not receive medical treatment. The fatality rate for bacterial meningitis is 1 in 10.

This not to diagnose, but to let you know- seek medical treatment when you have an unexplained onset of symptoms and are experiencing pain. In my case I was misdiagnosed and had to wait longer for relief.

Laura

[mela14]

My fibro came about after a terrible viral infection (Parvo Virus) 8 years ago. I have not been the same since and now have to deal with daily pain. There are times when it flares up and gets worse......like a flu, cold, bacterial infection, stress or just being run down by over doing it. Mornings are usually the worst. I also now get sick a lot as my immune system changed after that illness.

going gluten free has helped as I now know when it is a virus or gluten contamination. Before I would l think I had a virus ALL the time. At least now there is a break between periods of being ill. I also notice that when I accidentaly ingest gluten I actually feel sick with muscle pain...and it cold actually pass for a virus if I didn't know better.

[tammy]

I found a website that might shed some light on managing multiple health symptoms:

DR. MAJID ALI

He is located in NY, NY and Denville NJ.

He uses a variety of treatments, mainly oxygen therapy and vitamins.

I hope this brightens your day!!

[Guest BERNESES]

Thanks Everyone- For some reason I never got an email that there were replies to this topic. Luckily, the apin went away. I THINK what happened was I tried to cut down on my anti-anxiety medicine (klonopin- it has VERY bad withdrawal) because the symptoms strted right around then. I returned to my regular dose, am wearing my mouth guard while I sleep and have been taking ibuprofen and Tylenol arthritis (I have arthritis in my neck and back) and finally feel human again. I've also been heating, icing and using arnica gel. I feel much better. Even went surfing for a bit yesterday. thanks Everyone! i am going to check out the info on fibromyalgia though. Beverly

[hnc]

The correct doctor to see to check to see if you have fibromyalgia is a rheumatologist. As someone else pointed out, they will diagnose by asking you about your pain and putting pressure on spots on your body called "trigger points." It may make you want to jumpt through the roof for a few seconds, but it pretty clearly defines if you have it. Keep in mind that it is only in the past few years that most doctors accept this as a "real" illness, so if you find one who doesn't, change doctors. Almost all now understand how serious it can be. Good luck!

[Guest BERNESES]

Thanks- it's probably a good idea considering I have arthritis and I'm 37! Yuck!

[skbird]

B -

Glad you're feeling better. Yeah, that klonopin can be nasty - when I was on it (about 6 months) my medical insurance kept changing around (off my parents, onto the county insurance at the time) and they took me off klonopin - COLD TURKEY! Four days of pure hell, then the next month was uncomfortable but not so bad. Have you seen Trainspotting? I felt a lot like the guy in the movie when he was going off heroin.

Still amazed at the idiots in the county health system who let that happen. Unfortunatly, at the time I was not in a good place where I could argue with the wisdom (didn't know it was going to hurt me like that).

Take care

Stephanie

[Guest BERNESES]

Thanks Stephanie and Everyone- yeah, klonopin ishideous to get off of. My sister couldn't leave the house for a week. I can't believe they made you go off like that- it's actually medically dangerous. You can have a seizure and die! Talk about ignorance. That's obscene!

I am feeling better and don't plan on trying to cut down again anytime soon. Beverly

[cdford]

Two things about klonopin.

1- Check with the manufacturer to be certain that it is gluten-free. Some are not.

2- If you need to change this med, come off it slowly. There are what I believe to be better alternatives out there and the only way to determine which is right for you is a discussion with your doc. The change went far more smoothly for me with the doc's help.

Another important note:

The advise in these posts was excellent about checking with a medical professional when you have pain and fever, especially when that pain is in or around the head/neck area. Even a sinus infection gone awry can kill with meningitis if not correctly assessed. My stepsister died having her third child not from the pregnancy but from a sinus infection that seeped into the meninges.

[mela14]

That's terrible about your step sister. i am so sorry.

[etm567]

I see that this is very old. I kjust wanted to add that I have many problems like this, and they seem to be mostly caused by mineral and vitamin deficiencies. But the whole mineral balance is so incredibly complicated that it can be difficult to pin down.

For example, I have read that a magnesium deficiency can cause a potassium deficiency, and you just can't get enough potassium if you really are low in magnesium.

And then vitamin D is involved as well. And that also becomes very difficult. If you take vitamin D, you can indirectly cause your body to reduce the number of receptors for it, which means you can't use it as much.

And, finally, I have read that the part of the lower intestine that absorbs most minerals is the end of it, just before the large intestine begins. And when you develop SIBO, which many celiacs suffer from, the bad bacteria migrate from the large intestine into the lower part of the small intestine, which is where you absorb your minerals.

I tend to tense up in my buttock muscles and hips, and once I got full blown tetany, which is when you get really rigid all over, including that lockjaw thing. That's caused by low blood calcium, but again, low blood calcium can be complicated. And really low vitamin D can cause that, I think.  And you need vitamin D to absorb calcium. Don't know if it affects absorption of magnesium and potassium.

Good luck.