To want some sort of drug that will relax the muscles in my neck??

[Stugs]

I keep having headaches and migraines and the muscles in my neck and shoulders are permanently rock hard. If I try and rotate my head a lot I get dizzy and faint.

I had this before 10 years ago after whiplash and the physio couldn't treat me as I kept fainting when she tried to manipulate my neck. I had an MRI scan which showed the top of my spine was straight not curved? Which apparently puts more strain on the surrounding muscles.

Would valium help?? Is there anything over the counter that helps?

Botox

I'd be worried I'd never be able to hold my head up again, but actually that's a good shout I wonder if its a thing

The obvious one is amitriptyline, although the side effects may not be acceptable to you.

Valium is a bad idea, it’s highly addictive and not a long term solution, has horrendous side effects and withdrawal effects.

I would also say magnesium oil, acupuncture and good pillows would be worth investing in.

disclaimer no medical background

manipulation while under the influence of valium worked for me, v low dose, like 2 mg, so could actually relax and feel the benefit of the manipulation and 'learn' if that makes sense

Thanks
I can't get comfortable at night at all so will look at my pillows
I don't really want valium but it definitely worked really well (I was only prescribed three days worth)

Amitriptyline and acupuncture were the 2 things that worked on my rock hard neck and shoulder muscles.

Short course of Valium might actually be effective and pretty safe for a specific period or intervention.

Slightly confused by cheesycracker lumping in a somewhat old fashioned and toxic antidepressant (albeit that might help with neuropathic pain) with snake oil and acupuncture.

agree @cheese, hence saying 2mg valium, amitryptyline worked while experiencing severe jaw pain, nhs says it isn't addictive

Thanks. Did you contact gp and ask about the muscles and they prescribed amyltriptaline? Actually I had acupuncture years and years ago and it was good for a while then I started to find it too invasive

wow interested to hear that amitriptyline is so effective

do valium and a physical therapy, it's like the valium opens the door, you shouldn't be frightened off by the horror stories, like @UmbilicusProfundus says, it can be really effective

Yes I think it's valium that I need.

No chance of getting addicted as I actually hate the feeling of opiates.

I can empathise OP neck pain is really debilitating.

Acupuncture is like a miracle drug on this. It literally saved my sanity

Thank you. It's not always painful but it's always there,.like a huge knot and I've had three migraines in three weeks. I think I'm clenching my teeth really badly also

Sounds miserable. Have you tried an osteopath? They might offer something different to physio and some do acupuncture as part of the treatment.

I also read somewhere on here about a shaktimat - which is an acupressure mat. I'm trying to see if that would be helpful for my partners back problems. Think it was in the yoga topic.

Hope you can find something that helps.

amitriptyline was a complete game changer for me - pain disappeared in 12 hours max, previoulsly just lying in bed rocking, allowed other therapies around manipulation which I believe were the 'cure' .

It isn't for everyone, nothing's for everyone

Diazepam. It relaxes the muscles

Shakti mat pillow has solved this for me. I go to sleep on it every night and have stopped clenching my teeth, muscles have relaxed and no migraines since I started using it.

Drugs and manipulation would be effective as a short term solution. I would however really reccomend looking into some Alexander technique clases for the long term. Your brain has probably got itself stuck in a cycle of keeping your neck clenched after your whiplash injury, which just causes more pain and tension in the long run. A good teacher will help you break those subconcious patterns of behaviour. It helped me so much after a traumatic back injury!

oh @Stugs me too, the neck tension caused massive migraines which was why my gp went for ammitriptyline, it was a v short course, dont like opiates either but i found 2mg valium was enough to relax the muscles without fucking up the brain

Different physio who can do acupuncture.

I sympathise with you OP and I think you need a chiropractor. I broke my neck in three places about five years ago. I have been left with some neurological problems. My neck tension has been increasing and end of last year I started with extreme dizziness. I could only be upright for 4 hours, before symptoms became debilitating, including double vision and slurred speech. Also could only sleep on one side without being dizzy and nauseous. I went to see a neurosurgeon, who said he didn’t know how to fix me. I decided to see a chiropractor, who did full diagnostics including X-rays, before treating me. My spine was too straight. After three months of adjustments I can now sleep on both sides, the numbness is my fingers has decreased and my grip measurement went from 5 to 17. I have halved my pain medication. Best of all I can now be upright for 7-8 hours. Chiropractic has made a huge difference and I’m only part way into treatment. See a chiropractor it’s life changing.

Botox works for this.

Is a chiropractor the one that clicks your neck? I had that done about 20 years ago and I agree it was really effective BUT I now really hate the idea of it, I think subconsciously I'm always tensing against it

I do weight lifting, nothing that heavy. I enjoy it but now have to close my eyes and wait a bit when I lay back on the bench as I get so dizzy for a few seconds.