Brokendishes Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 I'm going to see my Pdr next month and ask about getting muscle relaxants...When I get overly anxious and have a bad day (which seems to be all the time lately) I don't sleep well...and when I don't sleep well I wind up 'throwing my neck out'...I get this unbearable pain in my ear and cheek down the side of my face and all down the side of my neck. I have tight knots in my shoulders like all the time I'm so uptight and nervous. I'm having more and more of these neck/shoulder massive spasms so I want to see if there's a good muscle relaxant that will work with my Xanax. Anyone been given anything and how'd you fair?.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldorado Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 Flexerill works pretty good. See if you can also get a good anti-inflammatory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfred Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 Most muscle relaxers don't directly relax muscles, they work by causing sedation which causes the relaxation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 Flexeril worked well for me also when I needed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larkspur Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 The neck thing sounds to me like myofascial pain syndrome (which I have), and while you can try muscle relaxers, my experience is that muscle relaxants will relax certain muscles, but not myofascial trigger points (which are like "knots"), which can actually increase strain on the trigger point and make pain worse. Zanaflex (tizanidine) is the one that's usually given for these types of neck cramps associated with MPS, and your mileage may vary greatly - for me it didn't help much at all. I would ask your doc if MPS sounds like a possibility, and if so, if you should try trigger point injections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brokendishes Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Thanks for your replies everyone--I appreciate it!! I had thought previously about Flexeril because someone in my support group was on it and it helped her pain, but I'm not sure what exactly is causing mine...it could be anything from TMJ to MS. I've definitely got TMJ --I got the Dx on that. But I've got symptoms of MS brewing too...but I've been afraid to see for sure if that's a possibility. Larkspur, thanks for the info...that was one of the conditions I was wondering about. That facial pain syndrome is a possibility as well from what I read because I had surgery on my neck years ago to remove a Hodgekins tumor(and chemo and rad too)...My parents were told then that it was possible i could develp a pain syndrome from where the incision was near that facial muscle. I'll have to talk about these meds with my Pdr and see what she thinks...I'm sure she'll send me to a GP to do some tests, but at least there's some meds I could try in the meantime to see if something will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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