Bad neck/shoulder pain with viral symptoms?

[bertiedog]

I have lost count how many different viruses I have had so far this year (or is it the same one that keeps resurfacing)? After having all the signs of a typical cold coming on last Saturday I managed to calm them all down by using Echinacea Augustaflora every hour. The master herbalist, Stephen Buhner suggests this along with some Licorice Root dribbled down the throat to kill off the virus.

So it appeared to work on Saturday but the rough throat came back Sunday so I repeated the above and felt ok. However on Monday the symptoms of the cold seemed to go but instead i had a very severe dizzy turn when driving and my energy was half it usually is. I thought it was going to be a migraine and yesterday I did have a mild one in the morning but by now my throat was red and sore again and I had virtually no energy.

Another symptom that had started up was severe neck pain going into the shoulders. I get this quite badly from time to time and was told once that it was spondylititis but I am not sure because in between attacks I don't have any symptoms there apart from knots in my shoulders.

Are there others here who can relate to this severe aching from the neck and shoulders when one has a virus? I realise I didn't rest enough but now I just have to because of feeling so crap but wonder if this sort of thing is common when we have ME/CFS?

Pam

 

[PatJ]

Are there others here who can relate to this severe aching from the neck and shoulders when one has a virus? I realise I didn't rest enough but now I just have to because of feeling so crap but wonder if this sort of thing is common when we have ME/CFS?

It might be 'coat hanger pain'.

Many people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and especially Orthostatic Intolerance have a tightness in their necks and across their shoulders that often progresses to an ache, then pain. It is in the shape of a coat hanger, where you might imagine a coat hanger would still be if your shirt was still on one. Professionals who work with patients with dysautonomia (problems with the autonomic nervous system including poor circulation) actually call it "Coat Hanger Pain."

...
The coat hanger ache is often much diminished quickly (hours to days) by doing/pushing far, far less, and getting more flat: feet up, head down and supported. A recliner of the appropriate size and design is a wonderful treatment for someone with coat hanger pain problems of the OI type. The mechanism of the recliner must be easy to use, even on "weak" days.

Supplements that help those with dysautonomia can also take the edge off the neck and shoulder pain. Electrolytes, especially chelated calcium and magnesium help the muscles relax more, and they also may aid sleep and alleviate some anxiety. Staying hydrated helps, too.

Support Hose can help improve circulation back to the upper body.

Moving around more than you usually do can help. Get up and walk a few steps every 10 minutes or as much as you can stand, wiggle, fidget. Do what you can to keep the blood moving.

A cold pack helps because cold constricts blood vessels and makes blood flow faster. Heat seams to help at first because by opening blood vessels, there is a feeling of the tension dissolving, a relaxation, BUT circulation is slowing. In the long run, if your body can not easily move the blood again due to whatever is going on with its poor circulation, the heat may have made things worse over time, especially in cognitive processing, and ability to read.

More information is available in the article.

 

[dangermouse]

I get significant neck (left side) and shoulder pain during a relapse. The virus that I had (from which I developed ME) left all patients who had it with neck pain on the left, just below skull and radiating down (the consultant at the hospital noticed this).

I also get the coat hanger pain at other times, normally when I've pushed beyond my limits.

Edit: The virus that I got before developing ME was preceded by a food poisoning episode and infected tap water (cryptosporidium) infection. I've also had immunisations which include Hep B. All of these affected me in some way that I never felt like my normal self (health wise). It's confusing though interesting. The final straw (what it felt like & affected me dramatically compared to other staff) was getting the Norovirus.

 

[bertiedog]

Thanks to you both @dangermouse and PatJ it is exactly what I am experiencing at the moment and yes I realise I did do too much when the virus started and I also get OI but I am helped by a beta blocker during normal times.

@dangermouse Do you know what the original virus was that caused you to get ME?

Pam

 

[dangermouse]

@bertidog I got Norovirus whilst working as a Staff Nurse in a busy hospital. It was the most severe virus or infection that I'd ever experienced (up to then) and I was very unwell for weeks. I tried to return to work. I pushed myself in and struggled on for around six months, on the last morning that I worked I almost collapsed three times, I couldn't concentrate. I've never been the same since that virus.

Interestingly, whilst other staff members made a good recovery between 4-7 days I was still bedbound (some days sofa bound, lay down) for several weeks and never recovered to how I was prior.

 

[bertiedog]

@bertidog I got Norovirus whilst working as a Staff Nurse in a busy hospital. It was the most severe virus or infection that I'd ever experienced (up to then) and I was very unwell for weeks. I tried to return to work. I pushed myself in and struggled on for around six months, on the last morning that I worked I almost collapsed three times, I couldn't concentrate. I've never been the same since that virus.

Sounds horrendous, I have had the Norovirus twice but not recently. I think the first virus that affected my CNS was a bout of influenza in 1979, Like you say I was never the same again with vertigo and migraines that would leave me bedridden for weeks. However in-between bouts of these my energy was ok. It wasn't till 2000 when I developed full blown ME/CFS after many different infections including Campylabactor.

Pam

 

[dangermouse]

Sounds horrendous, I have had the Norovirus twice but not recently. I think the first virus that affected my CNS was a bout of influenza in 1979, Like you say I was never the same again with vertigo and migraines that would leave me bedridden for weeks. However in-between bouts of these my energy was ok. It wasn't till 2000 when I developed full blown ME/CFS after many different infections including Campylabactor.

Pam

It's interesting (and confusing) in that I had severe food poisoning around 7 years prior to the Norovirus, and I also had cryptosporidium infection (from our tap water) around 5 years prior to the infection of Norovirus. I never really felt right after those infections , though I muddled along and managed to work. I also had Hep B vaccine whilst nursing which left me feeling unwell for a while.

Interestingly, too, I found out (we had moved) some years later that my next door neighbour (with the infected tap water) had also developed ME!

The influenza sounds awful. I had it around a year and a half ago and then developed pneumonia.