Weak neck, dizzy, fatigued, heavy head, feel sick

So were you diagnosed with anything....I am the same way. I am in so much pain with my neck, my eyes are dizzy. I fall apart with driving and head and neck movements. I have been diagnosed with disautonomia as well. Have three abnormal lesions on my brain. I am so tired of feeling sick. I get numbness and tingling. I need answers and the right medication... Currently taking 1800 mg gabapentin. 600 mg of lyrica. 30 mg of baclofen. Imitrex when needed. Please let me know if you have any advice...

were you drinking diet soda?

I am so glad I am reading this problems, because I am having the same siptoms and nobody knows waht in the h...is going on with me and I think I am deteriorating fast, well I don`t have a life outside of my work, i can hardly finish the day, then go home and lay down, that helps, sorry I need help.

I'm the OP of this thread, and I just wanted to give an update. Okay, a long update. Sorry, I sometimes just write really long post because this problem is well.... life changing

Quick question: Can I post a picture? If so, how? I have been able to "isolate" where the problems in my neck are coming from and have them shown in a picture. Problem is, I still can't figure out a way to get that muscle to relax/calm down/get back into normal position/whatever is wrong with it!

I still have the same problem, but it's gotten WORSE. When I wrote this thread back in 2006, 2007, or 2008 (I don't know when I posted this thread, it's not showing the date on my computer? But I know it was between 2006 to 2008 when I posted ths), well roughly 8 years ago when I made this thread my main problem was: Stiff neck, sometimes felt dizzy, my head felt fuzzy and I felt "spaced out", my head felt too heavy for my neck like my neck muscles couldn't support them, etc. NOW, I have all those same problems, but my pain has gotten worse over the last couple years. Around 2012 (I believe) this problem started to cause pain. Then the pain got worse and worse as time went on. I have pain in my neck, upper and low back, and I always wake up with back and/or neck pain. Now though my doctor has me on pain meds to help the pain.

So my pain is under control from the pain meds. Which is good, BUT,...

My stiff neck/weak neck feeling has NOT gone away at all, infact it's only gotten worse. Now I experience numbness in my hands. I'm told this is probably because I have a pinched nerve/knots somewhere around my shoulder blade area/neck area, and it's cutting off circulation to my hands..... =/

For everyone out there who has the same problem as me, I want to explain everything I've tried over the last 8+ years and what has helped, and was hasn't. NOTE: I'm going to list the things I've tried for the the "weak stiff neck feeling that causes dizzines/fatigue/spaced out feeling/balance problems/memory fog/etc/etc.  Why? Because that problem seems to be a MYSTERY to all doctors, and from what I've read on all the posts no-one here knows the answers... Here's what I've tried over the last 8 years, both doctors and meds, and what has helped and what HASN'T helped. I am going to list them in order from #1 being the MOST helpful thing, and #2 being the second most helpful thing, #3 being the third most helpful thing, ETC. You get the point.

For the pain :

#1: Pain meds. Simple as that.

Now, onto the tricky "Stiff neck/Weak neck/Dizziness/Foggy head/Memory fog/balance problems/Heavy head feeling/etc/etc/etc problems that nothing seems to help...

#1: ONE Muscle relaxer called Klonopin. It's arguably the strongest muscle relaxer. (generic name: Clonazepam). Most people assume this is just an anti-anxiety medication. BOY are you very WRONG. Sure it helps anxiety too, but at 1MG tablets (or higher) it can have one of the STRONGEST muscle relaxant effects period!! Also, it's one of the FEW "REAL" muscle relaxers. What do I mean by "real muscle relaxer"? Well, I do NOT consider Flexeril to be a REAL muscle relaxer. Why? Because Flexeril works ONLY by "slowing down and depressing the central nervous system, which the theory is that by slowing down the central  nervous system, this *should* help muscle relax. Key words: in theory, and *should*. That theory might work for MINOR muscle problems, but NOT major ones like I have. Therefore Flexeril is completely useless. Now back to Clonazepam. Why does it work? Because it's a REAL muscle relaxer. Clonazepam works as a muscle relaxer in THREE different ways that I know of, and 2 of them work directly on the muscles: FIRSTLY,  it slows down the central nerous system just like Flexeril does and other muscle relaxers. SECONDLY, it works on GABA, which GABA is involved in nerve transmission. If your neck is having weakness and muscle spasms, the it's probably getting the wrong signals and the signals are being "sent too fast, over-hyped". Clonazepam SLOWS this down "overhyped nerve muscle signal transmissions" in the brain, which actually RELAXES muscles. THIRDLY: Clonazepam works DIRECTLY by affecting muscle tone and reducing muscle tone. This in itself can relax musle much, much, much better than any other "fake" muscle relaxer like Flexirl ever good. It's believed that too much muscle tone can cause stiff muscles, tenision, etc, etc. Flexeril and other so-called "muscle relaxers" don't do the last two steps that clonezpam does, therefore making Clonazepam arguably the most most relaxer period.  NOW, this helped ONLY for maybe about 1 to 2 years, and I had to upp the dose a couple times. It never got rid of the problem, it just made it "less noticable" for a while. There was at least multiple times it relaxed my neck enough to where I didn't notice the problem much!! But sadly, it was only temporarily.  This is because it truly was relaxing the muscles and slowing down/calming down my over-active muscle nerve transmission. Yet in 2014, I'm still take it. Does is still help? SORTA. I mostly take it because if I don't take it, then the problem gets MUCH worse... When I take it, it only prevents it from "getting worse". Now, if I take 2 at a time (my doctor said this is fine), I can notice my neck muscles relax some-what and I'll feel some-what less tension in my neck. Problem? This is only temporary. And I can't keep taking 2 at a time, or else my body will get used to that and it'll stop working. Therefore I only do that when it's really bad. BTW, my doctor prescribes the 1MG tablets. So I take 2MG at once when it's bad. Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to explain how this medication helped better than anything else, and a few times my neck actually felt NORMAL, but sadly it's only temp and your body gets used to the med, so yeah...

#2: The second most helpful thing I've tried: Also a muscle relaxer. It's called SOMA. (Generic name: Carisoprodol). This is considered the most powerful muscle relaxer in the "muscle relaxer class" of medication. Well, it's actually a "tie" between this medication (SOMA), and Clonazepam. I still give Clonazepam the edge though in being stronger because it works on GABA and also muscle tone. There isn't as much information online on how exactly this works as compared to Clonezpam which has lots of information online, but you can read online and everyone confirms it's much, much stronger than Flexirl or similar muscle relaxers. I rememer a few times when I took this medication I actually felt my neck RELAX -- and my neck has only "relaxed" a small number of times in 8 years -- the only things that have made my neck trurly relax was SOMA or Clonazepam. Sadly they are both only very temporiarly. It's very short acting, and also makes you really tired until you get used to it. But 1/2 a tablet to 1 tablet would relax my neck muscles and I'd feel ALMOST (key word: almost) ALMOST normal for a short while. Then of course a couple hours later the muscle relaxer wears off, and my neck would sometimes tense up even MORE than before... So rebound was an issue too. But here's the thing: even if it provided relief for only 2 hours, it's still one of the ONLY things that provided any relief, EVER.

#3: Massage therapy. Has to be a really really experienced massage therapist. Although every one I've been too has told me my muscle are "too stiff, and they can't get into the muscles to actually massage them"... Sadly for me though, the massage therapist tell me I have knots inside knots inside more knots, and that it would take "hours" to actually even get into my muscles, to actually massage them. So the relief I get is only minor and very temporary because they can't even get into my muscles because they are so stiff.

#4: Upper cervical chrioprator: Now, this actually could have been higher on the list, BUT the doctor I'm going to is kind of "less experienced" and a sub-par doctor. Maybe once I find a new upper cervical doctor who's EXPERIENCED then I might get much, much better results.  I've heard AMAZING stories about upper cerival, in fact from what I've researched upper cervival is the most promising treatment for my kind of neck problem (or these kind of neck problems).

#5: Heat wraps around my neck. This sometimes helps  minorly for stiffness and circulation. But often times I have to have the heat pads so super hot to even relax my muscles, that they burn to even have them on!

 

#6: Memory foam pillow and mattress. It helps it from getting worse. If I sleep on the "wrong" kind of pillow, my problem gets worse. If I sleep on a rough bed, my problem gets worse. If I sleep the wrong way, it gets worse... So having memory foam will help things from getting worse. For some of you out there who's neck/back isn't as bad as mine, memory foam might help you even more.

I had many of the symptoms that have been described by many of you. I had neck stiffness and weakness, fogginess, spasms, etc.

I think I can help at least some of you, if not many of you, as I have found relief. Please note I am not in the medical field so this is not an excuse to not go see a doctor and get the tests done- definitley consult a professional and get a diagnosis. I am just someone with some experience in this area.

The root cause of the problem is poor posture. It doesn't even have to be horrible posture, just improper posture for extended periods. I have the typical desk type job where I sit in front of computers all day. It's an unnatural position. Over time, it wears on your body to the point where your muscular composition actually changes; an imbalance is developed. This imbalance causes stiffness, weakness, fatigue, dizzyness, tightness, and ultimately if left unchecked, is degenerative. The term for this condition is Upper Crossed Syndrome. Basically some muscles in your upper boddy are overworked and become tightened and fatigued and others are underworked and become weak. Long run effects are bulging discs, arthritis, circulatory issues, and nerve damage. When I hit bottom, my neck was stiff and weak, I was having debilitating spasms, and I was having awfule headaches. As I worked to come back from this, I developed awful soreness in my back, chest, and shoulders, was having TMJ dysfunction, and was battling chronic fatigue. All this from a muscular imbalance?!

The good news is that if attacked early enough and aggressively, you can recover. The body will heal but it will take time and an active approach on your part.

Here's what to do:

1. See a doctor and get a diagnosis to make sure it isn't something else. *IMPORTANT* Don't continue to step two until you do this! 2. Set up physical therapy. I was in pretty good shape when my body broke down and I never would have thought I needed this but a Therapist will help to design a regiment that is tailored to you and minimizes risk of injury and setbacks. They will show you proper form, excercises that target problem areas, and effective stretching techniques. 3. Rehab, rehab, rehab. It doesn't happen overnight. I'm well over a year into my excercising and I am just now operating at a consistent 95%. 4. Research proper Ergonomic setup for you work station. Different professions call for different setups. 5. Stay positive! You may have set backs- I did. But eventually you'll get there.

It's not just desk professionals. It's not just older people or out of shape people. It's more of an indicator of the society we live in now. Always on computers or looking down at smart phones while we text. It's causing havoc on our bodies through incorrect posture that causes neck strain, cervical spine damage, etc. I was 33 and in good physical shape when it hit me. It's important that you don't just manage the syptoms with pain killers, muscle relaxers, etc. If you correct the problem, the symptoms disappear.

I have had MRI's over the past 8 or 9 years of my spine. I have ALOT of spinal problems from my neck to my lumbar. The MRI's show that I have pinched nerves becasue of buldging disks that are enroached on the nerves. My head gets really head heavy, feels like a HARD "KARATE" punch has been deliverd to the base of my neck, I see little black dots, I get really dizzy, If I try and pysh it I get sick and will nearly pass out. I have been getting "TRIGER SHOTS" at the various points of the neck that are too sore to touch. (BAND-AID FIX) not permannet. Still have the same same feeligs if I try any physcal activites. As for the Therasic and Lumbar. I have had the " RADIO FREQUENCEY ABLATION" layman's terms; burnning of the nerves. The nerves are located by a needle, once the nerve is located by the Doctor, a button is pushed, the ends of the needle heats up and burns the nerve(s) in two. I have A GREAT DOCTOR THAT IS SPOT ON with this procedure. The next step for ( tomorrow is to ask for the RFA to be applied to the cervical partodf the spine.

I too face these symptoms. i m facing these since 2 years . My father says its spongelitis, but i don't think so.

I need some massage technique which i can do by myself.

Hi  I cannot tell the date of your post.  I did want to pass along some information that might help you.  I worked in front of a computer for more than 20 years and it did a job on my neck.  I lost the curve in my neck.  There were many things that helped me but one thing that might help you is the Posture pump.  It is an apparatus you can purchase either on line or thru a chiropractor.  This will over time restore the curve in your neck and make your posture a lot better.   Hope this helps!

My original post was made in 2006 or 2007 (around 8 years ago). Although I AM STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. I will look into the posture pump thanks for that info.

I had an X-Ray done and I have ZERO NECK CURVE AT ALL. Zero curve. None. It was completely straight. If I can post pictures on this website I can show my X-Rays where it shows my Neck Curve is completely straight, and also it's "leaned to the right by 5-7 degrees" (which is a lot, very noticable and not normal). So yes, I'm still having this problem and actually it's getting WORSE!!! (WEAKNESS feeling in Neck, Foggy head, some dizzines sometimes, off-balance, slower thinking due to the foggy head, etc, etc, etc.. Even wattery eyes, harder to breathe, and sinus problems too!!

Not too long ago I started to develop NUMBNESS in hands along with BAD PAIN (about 1.5 years ago or so), so this shows me it's getting worse. Also the weakness feeling in the neck is getting WORSE.  My muscles are EXTREMELY stiff where multiple massage therapist are "Shocked" and said my muscles are so stiff they can't even massage them. They said my muscles are like a brick wall and they can't even massage them.

So far the only thing that MIGHT help is Massage therapy but even then I'm not sure. I so far have only had 1 hour sessions done and I don't believe that's long enough to actually "get into the muscles" especially since my muscles are SUCH A WRECK. Here's the problem: I think my muscles have been messed up for so long that the soft tissue or the tissues of the musles are now TORN and damaged. The fibers of the muscles probably are torn and damaged.... If that is the case how do I treat that? Will massage even help anymore?

1.) I have had 105 Chiropractor adjustments in the last 2 years!! (85 of them where Upper Cervical, too, while 20 of them where regular chiropractor adjustments. Upper cervical is suppose to be the more advanced type. I have ZERO improvement).

2.) I have had around 20 massages. Sometimes when getting the massage I can feel my "sinuses opening up" along with "my breathing finally opening up", and I can feel DOZENS of random tingling and shocking feelings all in my body. ALSO: My right shoulder blade is now RAISED higher than the left shoulder blade. This is not good. How do I treat that?

3.) I have tried physical therapy but all they did was: Put heat on me for 20 minutes, did a 10 minute soft massage, and then had me do stretches for 30 minutes, and the stretches did not seem to help at all. In fact everytime I tried to stretch my muscles would either spasm or feel WORSE!! So physical therapy was too hard to continue so I stopped. ALSO: If I truly do have soft tissue damage in my muscles wouldn't stretching them make it worse? Wouldn't physical therapy be a bad idea then?

4.) Tried "pain injections". Did not help my pain. Obviously they did nothing for the muscle spasms since they where not meant for muscle spasms or stiffness. I was told that "Botox injections" help that. I am considering giving it a try but not sure if I should wait or not... I just want this problem to go away so if this helps even for a few months it's worth a try. Then at least I can know for certain that it's treatable if the Botox helps.. I dunno... I wonder if it could possibly make my muscles MORE weaker and MORE stiff? That would be bad...

 

What else should/can I try!?!? Also I have bad dental health which only makes things worse.. If my jaw/teeth are out of alignement this can further worse my neck problems... Ugh...

i too faced exactly same problem.... final solution identified was depression..... Dr prescribed Tab serlift (anti depressant) for 7 days... everything OK....

Have any of you been tested for syringomyelia? I am wondering if this might be putting pressure on nerves in the neck and spine causing the feeling of weakness. 

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I have this feeling to , for a long time now have to shake my head to come back from that foggy out in space feeling.
I also can't remember sh*t.

I have similar problem since long. Although it does not stand there all the time, it is is periodically but I feel like my neck is pressed land my head is heavy or under pressure and mood wise I dont feel good when it happens, sommetimes I also feel that I cannot breathe completely which is a different symptom and is sepeprate from this neck and heavy head issue, i mean both do not stand together. 

I hit my head on the car door frame, and ever since that happened my neck and shoulders were sore, I also have a fuzzy head, feel ill, so I went to the doctor, from what she asked me to do, she said it was whiplash, so she said to get a hot bag Therabag) heat in microwave for 50-60 seconds, lay down with this on your neck, it comes with a long bag for necks, go to a clinic, it could also be a concussion as well.

Ive been dizzy since 2 years ago. This thing just came on and off.. and is just like my daily task now. I know when and where it will happen example every morning when im going to work. I walk from my house to the bus terminus and when i stop walking , there it comes.. my head will spin..the dizziness is like when u first smoke a ciggarette.. ive tried chiropractor , ENT , went for CT scan.. anxiety meds..nth came back good..what came with this dizziness is that my back neck will feel tight , eyes and head feel heavy and sore.. some blurry vision.. and also at night when i sleep , i have tingling feel on my left leg..i cant even sleep well... i have to stretch my leg to make the tingling feel go away...gosh...