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Monday, April 10, 2017

Muscle Spasm, Migraines and Fibromyalgia

I'm now 5 days into a fairly severe muscle spasm. My neck and upper back started to spasm this past Thursday. Despite resting it, using the heating pad and taking my usual daily dose of muscle relaxant, the pain and stiffness has only gotten worse.

Muscle spasms are a regular part of my life. They have been for a very long time. What's unusual and noteworthy about this one is that it isn't resolving and it covers a fairly large area. I had one like this right around the time my migraines were starting to increase in frequency.

A little more than a year later my migraines were daily (constant). About 6 months after that, the neurologist I was being treated by in North Carolina put me on a daily dose of bachlofen (muscle relaxer). The idea being that if I could calm down the muscle tension in my neck/shoulders/upper back area that would prevent my muscle tension from retriggering another migraine before it has a chance to resolve.

Obviously this isn't a migraine treatment but it absolutely did reduce my daily migraine down to an average of 18 per month.
Perhaps it was actually treating a component of my fibromyalgia (I didn't even know I had at the time) and by doing so it helped with my migraines. Either way, I've taken 30mg of bachlofen every night for the last 10 years. Now I'm beginning to wonder if my body has grown so accustomed to it that it no longer is as effective as it used to be.

When I look at the big picture of my migraines and fibromyalgia I can't help but notice there are several components out of whack. Perhaps it's time to seek out a local migraine specialist. I would prefer to continue to see my specialist at the Mayo Clinic but considering I'm facing a number of questions I think it would be better if I could find someone local. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Meanwhile, I have my fingers crossed that my PCP will call in a prescription to help me get on top of this present spasm. The range of motion in my neck is so bad that driving is not an option.

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