Neck Cricks, strange tinglings and other odd post SAH "symptoms"

[mshawx_head]

I'm starting this new posting to try to find others who have had strange neurological things happen to them since they had their SAH.

PERSISTENT NECK/SHOULDER CRICKhad their SAH.

In my case, I've had a persistent neck & should crick on the left hand side. I think my SAH was on the left. When I am fatigued/stressed the crick is undoubtedly worse, and my head is usually aching a bit then, too - nothing like the SAh headache but certainly there. Occasionally when I am feeling really good and relaxed, it goes away. It feels like I need a really good massage to ease it away. I've met one other person (another NASAH) who has experienced this. Anyone else experienced this - and did it ease off over time ?

PATCHY TINGLING DOWN AN ARM

Just recently I've started to get a very odd tingling in certain patches down my left arm. Its not pins and needles, but something less intense than that. Now I know I'm not about to have a heart attack - its not that kind of feeling. It occurs mainly when I am sitting down but very occassionally when I am standing. Its most odd. I guess its a little like the odd tingles I used to get in my head.

Any one else had this, and has it ever gone away ?

PINS and NEEDLES IN FINGERS WHEN LAYING ON SIDE IN BED

Since SAH, I seem to invariably wake up with pins and needles in my fingers (this is on both hands). It mostly affects, my first two fingers, and thumb. If I lay on my back I'm fine but if I lay on either side this is what happens sooner or later. I can't think of any other reason why this happens and as I said, its only started since the SAH.

ACCENTUATED SENSITIVITY TO CERTAIN FOODS or ALCOHOL

I now find that I am more sensitive to foods to which gave me a bit of a headache before SAH - things like milk and cheese. The headache they induce now is more intense than before my SAH - so I don't get tempted by them anymore, whereas before, there were certain cheeses which I might nibble during the evening, so I could sleep off any headache over night.

As for alcohol, I can't touch it without a mega hangover for the most tiny and diluted amount, so I'm on the lime and soda for the foreseeable future, and I can only dream of a nice cool beer !

If you've had (or still have) any of these or any other odd "symptoms" (I can't think of another word for them), then let us know.

Cheers,

Mags

[SarahLou]

Hello dear Mags,

Yes, I get the creaking noises in my neck a lot, also achey shoulders too. Yes, it feels like a good massage would be heaven!

I also still get tender feelings on the left side of my head (my SAH side) it's hard to describe the feeling, it's a bit like a dead arm feeling but in my head! I'll hold my head as if trying to protect it, if that makes sense. I still get a lot of head pains and temple pressure, like two fingers are pressing into the side of my head permanently. Pains are also a lot worse in this cold weather.

I don't get any of the other symptoms you've said about.

Hope to see you at the next neuro support group in February.

Big hugs to you, take care and keep smiling,

SarahLou Xx

[Gill C]

I get the pins & needles in my hands in bed, usually if I lay on my side with the top arm resting on the bed, if I rest it on my side its fine though. If I stand for too long I get a numb foot only on my left side (my anni was right side so my left side was the one that went tingly after vasospasms).

I have all sorts of neck cricks but then I sit badly with my feet up on the sofa on my right side so my posture is very left heavy. As for my head its most def improved since last year, I don't get many itchy feelings & the bad headaches are a rarity usually brought on by lack of sleep!

Foodwise I think I am ok although I ate something yesterday which gave me a lot of pain in the early hours (I used to be lactose intolerant but that seemed to ease when I was pregnant). Alcohol I rarely touch, I made the mistake of drinking a bottle of wine on mothers day & the 2 day hangover was just the pits!! I have had a couple of small Baileys the last few nights & have been fine but I darent try more than one.

I think on another thread you mentioned temperature. I find I am either too hot (in shops or shopping centres/offices) & sweaty or very cold. I did raise this at my 3 month review but my full bloods showed everything to be normal. I do find if I walk anywhere I do get very hot too

[mshawx_head]

Hi there Sarah Lou,

Interesting...very interesting ....

My hubby also has occasional neck crick issues since he had menigitis. I'm guessing its one of those head trauma legacy things, but I don't know that.

I'm not going to make the Feb support meeting as hope to be in South Africa and riding the Cape Argus cycle race. We do this every year (this one will be my 9th, I think), and I'm blowed if I'm going to let a SAH stop me doing it ! That said, I have a feeling it may be a little bit different because I am not certain yet of how well I will be able to push myself through the tiredness towards the end of the race, but we gotta get on with our lives, eh ?

The other Sarah (the new lady), I was speaking to at the last Support meeting, also had the neck/shoulder crick which got worse as she got more tired. Have you heard anything from her ? I haven't heard or seen anything through the various websites. I hope she's doing OK.

You coping OK with getting yourselves sorted for Christmas ? Sandi K is quite right, it really does add an extra level of "stuff" which makes all the regular things harder to manage.

Take care,

Mags

xx

[mshawx_head]

Thanks for that posting Gill. I'll be thinking of you now, each time I wake up with pins and needles ! Coming out in sympathy together !

I always assumed the sort of cramp I get in my left leg after I wake up was more to do with the old back problem (I managed to give myself sciatica down my left leg a few years ago, just by reaching into the fridge) than the SAH, but its another thing which has only started ssince SAH ! Your comment about the numb foot makes me wonder .

My God, I sound like a complete physical wreck ..... bring on the bath chair .... or shoot me or something ... !!

Catch up with you again son,

Mags

xx

[SarahLou]

Hi Mags,

Sorry to hear you won't be at the meeting but there'll be other meetings. Good for you for doing the cycle ride, yes, it would be a shame to not continue to do something that's so close to your heart. Your'll be fine, just go careful, I'm sure you can judge your limits now.

No, I've not heard anything from the other Sarah, was hoping she'd join here and / or the Wessex site.

I think all the neck creaks/pains etc are due to the head traumas we've been through, after all we have had our brains re-arranged!

Take care,

SarahLou Xx

[Janet]

Hi Mags

The neck/shoulder problem is probably a remnant of when the blood was draining down the spinal cord and don't suppose anyone knows if it causes lasting damage. I'm 5 years on now and still occasionally get neck/shoulder pain.

I also suffer with the tingling in my fingers when in bed on both hands but mostly my left and have done ever since the SAH.

With regards to food have never really thought of monitoring my reactions but have found that I am much more adventurous post SAH and have tried and enjoyed lots of things I never would have before.

[snootybutnice]

I was diagnosed with SAH (no aneurisym) 2 weeks ago tomorrow - and came out of hospital earlier this week.

I still continue to get head pain - but for the past week I've been suffering from cramps around my coccyx area and buttocks. The last few days this has moved to also include my cervix.

It is very painful and particularly bad if I've been sitting down for a little while or go to toilet then it suddenly starts - and feels like my bones and muscles are being pulled apart inside me. I guess it's the blood still draining and causing problems at the bottom of the spine (the doctors did say that it may start to affect the spine).

The doctors couldn't find a reason for the bleed but did say that I had hydrocephalus, and did a spinal tap - which did help relieve the headaches I was having. Headaches are becoming less and less severe so just dealing with these other symptoms now.

I also find that I start to get tension around my neck into my head when I've overdone things before I start getting head pain.

I also get tingling in my fingers on my left hand (I already had tingling in my fingers in my right hand due to cervical spondylosis which was diagnosed at the end of January).

Anyone else have a similar experience? I'm female, age 45.

Nic

Edited February 12, 2012 by snootybutnice
additional info

[MaryB]

Hi, I just saw this thread. I had my SAH in Sept, 2011. I have always had pain in the neck , like arthtitis? If it gets too stiff i get nausea. I am sensitive to foods and chemicals. BUT I also have fibromylsia...... I was suffering with severe exhaustion and pain prior to my SAH. I think it is worth reading about. I have been taking Cymbalta for th epast year and half. Prior I took Gabepetin but the side effects were awful. Priot to any mediation other than Elavil and pain meds I was falling, losing my grip, stumbling for a year or so. It was very scarey. I have said all along that fibro had prepared me for the post SAH issues. If I eat a non inflammation diet I feel so muh better. If I eat whole foods,stay away from fat, sugars & sodas I feel 85% better.

http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/whatisfibromyalgia/a/fibromyalgiapain.htm

http://fibromyalgia-stinks.blogspot.com/2008/04/nerve-pain.html

"Neuropathy often results in numbness, abnormal sensations called dysesthesias and allodynias that occur either spontaneously or in reaction to external stimuli, and a characteristic form of pain, called neuropathic pain or neuralgia, that is qualitatively different from the ordinary nociceptive pain one might experience from stubbing a toe.

Neuropathic pain may have continuous and/or episodic (paroxysmal) components. The latter are likened to an electric shock. Common qualities of the pain include burning or coldness, "pins and needles" sensations, numbness and itching. "Ordinary" pain results from exclusive stimulation of pain fibers, while neuropathic pain often results from the firing of both pain and non-pain (touch, warm, cool) sensory nerve fibers serving the same area. The result is signals that the spinal cord and brain do not normally receive."

The Neurological Connection to Fibromyalgia

If you have fibromyalgia, some of your symptoms might be caused by a neurological disorder such as a cervical spinal cord compression (stenosis) and/or Chiari malformation. It is important for your long term health and for relief of pain, fatigue, and mental function, to rule out neurological conditions as part of your syndrome. If you answer yes to several of the following questions, you should take the initiative to be examined by a neurosurgeon for possible neurological implications.

Maryb

[DawnS]

Morning

I'm coming to this thread a little late, but only noticed it this morning.

I have shoulder/neck pain quite regularly. About 2 weeks ago, my friend bought be a hot stone massage and miraculously, the pain vanished and has only been very vague and slight since.

My arms go dead all the time, it's not like pins and needles where if you move your arm into the right position it feels ok, no this stays put and when it starts it goes on and on. I checked with my GP but he wasn't concerned.

I can't drink alcohol at all, it's not that I get a bad hangover, it's that it seems to cut the tenuous link I have between my brain and my body, so to me it's just not worth it. Wine is the worst culprit of all.

What I do get all the time is an incredibly itchy face. I often can't actually find the itch, like it's my eye that feels itchy but my hand will go to my nose and no matter how hard I try, it will not go to where the itch really is. It drives me insane!

Dawn x

[MaryB]

Dawn,

I get a massage at least one a month up to 4 a month. I cannot manage without one ( to 4). I have had to do this for years to keep my shoulders and body relaxed. I also started bak to yaog and doign some beginning poses again. One pose is for tension, it is simple child pose, I spread knees further apart and hold my hands in to stacked fist with my head resting on them for about3-5 minutes & of course breathe deeply. It has really helped, but it is in combination of several things I have learned to do.

The only time I had itchy face is when I take fish oils or any supplement with fish and then eat certain foods. I am a thinking an itchy face it is a reaction of some sorts or sensitivity? My face on the other hand since SAH has broken out ( zits) around my mouth.

[Sandi K]

Hi Snootybutnice, I also had a NASAH and 2 or 3 weeks later experienced the same pain in my coccyx area. It was intense, almost as bad as the bleed in my head and it lasted a few days, maybe even a couple of weeks. I was told it was the blood from my brain bleed being reabsorbed into my body. A chiropractor helped to alleviate some of the pain, I walked through my house a lot, I used ice packs and a heating pad. I couldn't sleep for more than a couple of hours because it hurt so much.

Sandi K.

[kpaggett]

I've had several bouts with neck pain. I assume it stems from our neck nerves not working correctly. Sometimes it has been all the way down my arm to my little finger, but If I use heat/cold packs...it really helps.

I have not had any alcohol since my NASAH on Aug 10, 2011. I usually feel drop dead drunk, so adding to that would be a nightmare, I think.

I have also had a really weird limb feeling like my gravity responses are too strong for the descending signal from my brain. It goes away only if I'm actively weight bearing. I find this very disturbing most of the day...I think it is like that alternate universe people were describing. I hate it.

I wonder if acupuncture would be good? Has anyone tried it?

Oh, and lets not forget the rest (nap) I crave almost all the time. Boy, the bed looks really good.

~Kris

[MaryB]

Kris I have had accupunture once for bad shoulder. It worked, expensive though. I really think we all would benefit form the anti inflammatory types of like fibro diets and approach as it is in the end all related. I think they is why I have adjusted so well because it is not much wose than I already had which my neuro man diregards but he also said my 4-6 months of being really sick prior had nothing to do with SAH either. I already felt disabled from the pain adnd fatigue prior but......... By all means I know how much more serious a SAH is but the symphons (SP?) you are left with in general are very similar.

Edited February 13, 2012 by MaryB

[kpaggett]

Interesting. I've noticed that I crave more fats than I used to. I wonder about this. I eat mostly whole foods and I've noticed that there seem to be 'hard' grains which make me feel worse and 'easy' grains which don't seem to actively do anything. The fats though, I really want them right now. Incidentally, my niece has epilepsy and is required to drink cream to keep her seizures in check. Weird.

My neck seems to be getting better as my back goes out of wack...so Yoga is what I'm trying right now. I think that's cheaper than acupuncture.

Only for now.

So many symptoms are temporary, it's hard to know how to navigate them. I've been a big proponent of, " Only my deep dark recesses know what's going on and they don't always clue me in when I wish they would." So I go...to and fro.

~Kris

[emmac]

Hi all,

Does the neck pain ever go away? I seem to have an issue with the left side of my neck which is my SAH side whereby it almost feels as if I have pulled it most of the time and if I try to do anything weight wise it does actually pull. It didn't used to do this!

Also arm numbness. I have this weird sort of feeling whereby from about half way down my fingers to half way up my upper arm I keep going numb/a little tingly.

Is this what others have experienced and did any body find anything that helps?

Thanks

Emma

[Super Mario]

If this is concerning you, you must go to the doctors as we cannot give medical advice.

More than likely it is nothing at all to do with your SAH and more likely to be a problem with your neck, possibly something like a trapped nerve.

The timing may be quite coincidental.

[Tina]

Hi Emma

I had neck pain at the back of my neck where I had my bleed, brain stem....I had this pain for quite some time. If I get very tired it still plays up now 6 years later.

If you are worried please go and get it checked out as Penny has said. Especially if you are having numbness in your arm and fingers.

Let us know how you get on xx

Edited April 8, 2014 by Tina
typo :)

[jess]

Hi there like penny said you must go to the Dr's however if they are like mine you may have a wait so get some tiger balm or vicks vapour rub (they are more or less the same) and put it where the pain is it relieves my pain practically instantly and you can use it with other medication (HOWEVER PLEASE CHECK THAT YOU CAN) sorry for the capitals but needed to make sure everyone understood that you must check with Dr before using anything. I still get neck pain and I am 12yrs in xxx

[emmac]

Thanks guys,

I wasn't panicking - it's more irritating but as you so rightly say I will go & get it checked out.

Tiger balm - is that the very cold month stuff?

[Winb143]

Hi Emma,

If worried put your mind at ease see Doc.

Saying that my neck creaks and cracks and numbness in my thumb up to my forearm most days.

I have a shoulder pain I put down to hoisting myself up .LHS also.

With all the creaking I make it is a wonder I can hear myself sing.

Hope all goes well xx Smile xx

Love

WinB143

[kpaggett]

left neck pain days are still there, but sometimes I have NO pain. 2 1/2 years post.

Remember, everyone heals differently, but it seems like many of us have had overlapping symptoms at various times. Learning to deal with what comes is hard when that is sometimes unexpected. New symptoms start ad others fade. What an interesting healing journey.

~Kris

[Teechur]

The odd sensations scared the carp out of me (yes, creepy little fishes were literally scared out of me) when I had my SAH until I found a website explaining that they were normal. Now a lot of my sensations, I think, are due to medications. I am still a dizzy blonde (or really more redhead) because of the SAH, but the Topiramate that I take makes my extremities tingle a lot. It's not a huge deal, so I just ignore it because I do think it might be helping some. It at least has helped with my weight gain from the amitryptiline, that's for sure!