Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Fibro and Shoulder and Neck Muscles???

Hi Guys,

Wonderful Sunday except now for the last couple of days I started getting really sore shoulders and especially the muscles in my neck..it is so bad that it is hard for me to keep my head up..it feels best when I lay down.

The only way I can take it is I am taking tylenol/ibuprofen, tramadol, zanaflex, and a few mgs of pred all this about every 6 to 8 hours.

Do we have any other Fibro patients here that can give me some tips or ideas, is it just a flare? did I do something to anger it..lol I cant do this for very long the drugs make me loopy (the muscle relaxer) but it sure helps with the pain in my muscles.

Anyway any thoughts would be appreciated!

Hugs

Sorry to hear this Angel. I hope it passes

no fibro, but adhesions and triggerpoints set up over the years, neck gets into spasm mode, ice and/or heat only things that seem to give any relief at that time. the zanaflex helps some as does the ultrasound, done carefully, not over any bone, helps too, but ice / heat gives me the most instant relief. and laying with a thin feather pillow so head / neck completely neutral, that's always important for my neck.

i have this big "knot" all along the trap (along the ridge from the shoulder up through the neck) that the chiro is helping to slowly work out, lots of adhesions left over from along time ago and frequent spasms since. 8 years ago had PT and physiatrist that were helping me with the same thing, but then moved and only now have i found someone else (the chiro) that gets it. not talking about adjustments, talking about gentle working at the adhesions within the myofascia.

feel better soon!

Hi,

Sorry to hear that your feeling so poorly. Marty has both AS and fibro. His pain is mostly in his neck. His rheuym said that his pain is more from fibro than the AS.

On the advice of Darrel, I stated putting magnesium powder,630mg, in Marty's pancakes. Within three weeks, he started having his first "good days" in at least a year. He even smiled a couple of times-I mean- real smiles. It was so good to see. Then he said that the magnesium changed the taste of the pancakes so we went to capsules. He has to take 4-5 capsules to get the same dosage. Because he is not very compliant with meds, his dosage dropped off to 125mg/day. Then came two straight nights of continuous leg cramps. I can't find any capsules at 500mg or more so I guess I'll just have to nag. Magnesium has helped him more than any muscle relaxent so far. Hope it can help you too. Take care.

thanks for that info. i started adding magnesium to my regiment recently, but not sure how much to take. i take a 250 mg horse pill at night, think i'll take another one some other part of the day. when bowels are good, it makes them too loose, but lately constipated, one reason i started adding it in with the calcium and vit D, hadn't noticed anything with the magnesium at this lower dose, maybe i'll try more. though also haven't had a leg or foot cramp since i started it, but i also went for months without them before the magnesium. will be interesting to see if i get them again. thanks again.

Hi Lisa

Sorry to hear about your pain, It can really make life miserable at times. I have AS and Fibro and it really seems to be in my neck and shoulders and notice it more if I drive, rake, snowblow or vacuum. Carring groceries can be painful too. MY x-rays show that I do not have a curve in my neck, so my head juts forward which I am sure puts extra strain on my neck and shoulders.

Laying down helps also a hot shower with the spray nozzel right on my neck helps while I SLOWLY turn my head from side to side.

I also have a script for a sedative called Metaxalone which is the generic for Sklaxaan which seems to help. I am sure the Hydrocodone helps too.

Lisa I am soooo sorry you are having trouble. It is hard getting anything done when your head feels like a bowling ball.

I am sure turning your head and saying "no" to your husband all the time doesn't help either.

Hey honey;
I get that too. It effin b lows. The only things i've found that really help are Salonpas patches (immediate) and trigger-point injections (huge help, but delayed a day and hurt like hel1 for that one day).

hughug gotta go to bed

My shoulders have some truly awesome knots and they hurt a LOT!! I find that going for a walk and allowing my arms to swing naturally helps a great deal. And when I was weight training a lot, that helped loads.

Wish I could take it away for you.

Warm hugs,

i second that going for a walk, swinging arms for loosening up those knots in the tops of my shoulders. now that i've been seeing the chiro for almost 6 months, its the thing that's the most obvious now, the thing we work on every week the most.