chronic neck pain

[rory4]

iv had this terrible pain in my left shoulder and neck it seems to get worse as the day goes on. im sick of complaining to my doctor who gives me inflamitary tabs. i hate constantly taking tablets so i decided to go for accupunture and the rest of the stuff they do (accupressure and cupping) im not sure if this is going to work i paid for 6 sessions which they recommend and it cost me 390euros. im that desperate id try anything. has anybody used this kind of treatment with any succes id love to hear from you please pleas write back if you have any other suggestions the pain is really getting me depressed  

[Tuckamore]

Hi Rory,

First let me reassure you that you did not upset me by asking about my family. Sorry I just missed you next question. I've been a bit busy and I apologize. You may send me a PM (personal message) if you would like.

Now to your questions, TMJ is Temporomandibular joint disorder. You can usually feel it if you have a "cracking" or "grinding" or "tapping" like noise or feeling when you move your jaw. It is located about in the middle of where your ear begins on your face, kind of like the "hinge" of your jaw. It causes pain when you open or close your mouth or sometimes you can experience pain at rest due to the severity of the TMJ.

Occlusal therapy means  treatment to establish and maintain a comfortable, stable, and functional occlusion for patients with one of several types of occlusal problems such as TMJ. Treatment may be limited to the teeth, the neuromuscular mechanisms of chewing, or a combination of both.

If I understand Scottma they don't mean to say you have TMJ, just that the medical practioneer that treats TMJ may be able to help you with your pain. I guess it's worth a try as long as nothing else has helped.

I will be off line till saturday but will chat with you again than. Please take care and I hope you will soon find some answers to your pain. Tuck

[rory4]

sorry but what is a tmj. also what is occlusal therapy iv never heard of it

[scottma]

Seeing a competent tmj specialist is advised. Occlusal therapy is highly effective for chronic head, neck, and shoulder pain.

[rory4]

hi tuckamore i hope i wasnt being to personal when i asked did you have any family. if i was then i appologise its just that i havent heard from you since you had a bad monday hope you are keeping ok

[rory4]

hi im really sorry to hear you had such a bad day hope today brought you a better day. its awful when we feel like that. do you have any family or grandchildren. they are what keep me going somedays. thank god we are a close family. the weather has brightened up here big time we get a lot of rain so its hard to plan anything. my lads want me to go up the lake camping there is an island we stay on up there. think i will if this weather keeps up. i seem to forget my aches and pains when i am around them. there all grown up except for my youngest whos only 10 he was a big suprise. family can bring us such joy,well tuckamore il sign off now hope you have a good day. i enjoy our little gossip

[Tuckamore]

Hi,

Sorry I am so late with this response. I've had a heck of a day. First of all I am very glad you got your money back. I have to admit I am a bit surprised. Good for you.

And second and more important, I hope you are cured. You will always have me to talk to, hurting or happy. And I sure many of the other members feel the same.

Yes do be careful with the gastrointestinal side effects of long term NSAID's. You may want to ask your physician about taking something to protect your GI tract while you are on the medications. There are some very good meds out there that do just that.

Sounds like you had a busy day. I've had it for a Monday and am putting this ole body between the sheets. Take care and let us know how your increased meds help you. Tuck

[rory4]

hi tuck i got my refund today. but they tried everything to make me stay with them they even asked me to have facial massages. god theyd do anything to keep your money. anyway i went to the doctor today and she gave me difene 75mg inflamatary tabs and told me to take them every second night. so im going to give that a go. my only worry is that i dont want to be on them long term in case i develop something else like a stomach ulser. god i hate getting old with all the creaks in my body.i work in childcare and often wonder will i still be their at 60 i love my job.anyway il sign of now have to cook the dinner for the workers theyl be home soon thank for listening. i dont know what il do when im cured il have no one to talk too

[Tuckamore]

Hello Rory,

I am really sorry this last treatment did not work for you either. You can ask for a refund but check your contract. You may be stuck with the remaining treatments.

And I know how you feel. You are young and your pain makes you feel old. If it helps, we all feel that way sometimes. You are not old and this pain will one day be cured or better controlled. Your pain is obviously not be treated. Your frustration is coming in part from not having a diagnosis and the never ending pain. Stress does increase pain but it is rare that it causes all your pain. And I agree that sometimes physicians diagnosis you with "stress" because they can't determine what is wrong with us. I know, I went through it for years.

So you should begin from the beginning, again. I have said it here many times. Physicians work for us, we hire them. They are not God's. There are very good ones, in-between ones and bad ones. And maybe the physician that's good for me is not good for you. If you hired a plumber to fix your broken sink and when he left your sink still leaked what would you do? I hope your response would be "fire him."  Physicians are no different than plumbers.

As I understand it your physician is unable to determine the source of your pain and unwilling to treat it. If I am correct than on Monday make some calls and locate a PCP that is willing to listen to you and get to the bottom of your pain. It make take you a few "interviews" with physicians but I believe they are out there. There are physicians that care and that listen. You need to find one.

I admire the fact that you have been willing to give something else a try. If it isn't working, move on. We are here for you. Hang in there. Look for that new PCP and keep in touch.  Try some warm moist compresses to the most painful areas with your anti inflammatory med. Please take care and feel free to keep us posted. Tuck

[rory4]

hi tuck well i did my second session and to tell you the truth im sorry i payed all the money up front because i dont feel any better and the symptoms are the same. im in agony bt the time evening comes the pain seems to be a gradual thing through the day. when i get up in the morning it really isnt that bad but as the day goes on it gets really painful.the chinese doc says its caused by stress but i dont belieive this is whats wrong with me. i think people say that when they dont know. im going to the doc monday and get a referal letter to see a consultant and see will they give me the same injection they gave me for my knee. i cant go on like this any more im sick and tired of not feeling right. also i dont think il go back to the chinese doc i think il ask for a refund. they will probably be mad at me for not wanting to stick it out but i truly believe im just throwing my money away and its not that i have loads of it. i really love getting your replys its reasuring to know that you are there. i feel nobody understands my pain and think that it cant be that bad. im only 46 and sometimes i feel really old its recking my head. please post back i like getting the support from you. you are very caring and understanding.THANKS    

[Tuckamore]

I hear you. Sometimes it is difficult to pinpoint the "starting point" of your pain. So many times it radiates and you just can't tell. Could it be possible that this is coming from an area of your spine?

I have severe leg pain and there really isn't anything wrong with the leg where the pain is "radiating." So one would guess that I have something wrong with my leg but I really don't. Therefore yours could be coming from another location. Some ppl seem prone to tendonitis and get it in several locations. I am prone to bursitis and have it in several joints. If I were you I would have this looked at. What do you have to lose?

Soon more ppl will be on the site and will offer their opinions. Please keep us posted and let us know how you are doing. My best to you, Tuck

[rory4]

hi i went for another session today as i said i payed up front for six. i am very doubtful that i am going to get any relief i can feel the twinges staring already so i know its going to get worse as the evening goes ondo you know since i passed 40 i seem to be getting every ache and pain 6 mths ago i had to get an injection into my knee i had tendinitous in the left knee. i suffered for 2yrs before they figured out what was wrong thank god the injection worked i havent looked back so far. i have a funny feeling this is what is wrong with my shoulder and neck. yet when the cmd worked on me today i was very sore all around my armpit so i dont know if the pain is origanally starting there and wrking into my neck and shoulder. i get so frustrated when i dont know where to be able to pin point the pain.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Rory,

Welcome to MedHelp. I am sorry it took me awhile to see your post. I am glad you found us.

I don't know anything about your countries medical system. I can't imagine that your physician will not give you anything more than anti inflammatory medication. Have you tried another physician? I certainly would look for one.

I have tried acupuncture with no pain relief. It was relaxing and it reduced my muscle spams. So it may help you. Even though it did not relieve my pain, easing the spasms was a bit helpful. It did not reduce the amount of pain medication I had to take. It did reduce the muscle relaxants.

I wish you well. Let us know if this practice works for you. Best of Luck, Tuckamore