Neck Pain - not cancer

Last Monday morning Doug woke up with neck pain, hurting but tolerable. The next day, Tuesday, he took his Dexamethasone (steroid) - no neck pain. No pain Wed. Thursday (when the Dex wore off), the pain returned with a vengeance. He took a muscle relaxer, which did not do much. Thursday evening he finally took Oxycodone (a fairly potent pain med); that helped some, but it still hurt. More Oxy during the night. I started thinking - what if this is the myeloma acting up? What if this is a pathological fracture? I had these thoughts even though the myeloma numbers look good right now. (Remember back to last fall when everyone thought Doug's hip pain was 'just arthritis'?)

So this morning we called and got in to see our most excellent nurse practitioner. She listened carefully (I love that about her), examined Doug, and said she thought it was 'torticollis' - basically a severe muscle spasm. But she said "since it's Doug, I'm going to order x-rays of his neck to rule out anything going on in the bone."  She showed us the x-rays (I am a retired radiation therapist and am used to looking at x-rays) and we could see lots of arthritis but no obvious lesions. She will send them to be read by the radiologist, but it really looks like we dodged the bullet this time. She recommended he stop the muscle relaxant and the Oxycodone since it wasn't doing much, and start taking lorazepam (generic Ativan) 3 or 4 times a day instead. Right now he is relaxed enough to take a nap - good!

When we got home I was surprised to find how tired I felt. Of course - I was all geared up for battle, ready for another course of radiation therapy, etc. Rationally, I shouldn't have been, but my emotions responded. Crisis averted, whew, I slumped.

This coming Monday, we are going to Colorado Springs to the cardiologist, to get Doug's heart meds adjusted. His blood pressure is still lower than it should be, resulting in some dizziness. This coming Thursday, we drive back to the Springs for Doug's endoscopic ultrasound.

Here's a tip that I hope might help someone - you can make an easy muscle warmer by putting two pounds (or a little less) of raw rice in a tube sock. Tie the end shut and heat in microwave for one minute, give or take. Easy, cheap and works like a charm.

On this Good Friday, I am humbled and awed by how much God loves us.

Blessings to all.