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Singer_Artist
USA
1516 Posts |
 Posted - 11/17/2006 : 00:22:07
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| Please if anyone has had symptoms in the back of their head such as tightness (worsened by stress) or hearing little bone sounds and even a tone sound in their upper neck (while at rest laying down) let me know..I have a bad cough and it has aggravated these symptoms which i pray are just another TMS manifestation..As some of my friends on here know i am under considerable stress right now..After a fight w/ my boyfriend (which happens alot lately)..or a drive over the very bad potholes here, my head moves very slightly on it's own while just sitting as well..Can all this be from tight muscles? I am considering seeing the TMS doc in NJ..but i have to sell a painting b4 i can afford it..I am so worried right now..HOpe someone can help..Dr. Ziggles, I would also love to hear your take on these very strange symptoms..I feel so scared.. |
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kevin t
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 00:44:33
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Yessssssssss, I have had the same for years.That was one of the symptoms that went away with my TMS studies.I sometimes get this "shock " feeling in my head when I fall asleep.When I had a very stressful time this past 3 months the muscles in the back of my skull were so tight that they made "sounds".Like tiny air bubbles moving or "crackles".When I would lay down or close my eyes it felt like a "zap" and then felt like my head moving.Heres what Ive noticed about that particular thing.
1)It happened sometimes if I was weaning off or taking anti depressants.
2)It would go away if I took a muscle relaxer or did some deep breathing meditation
3)It would INSTANTLY tighten if I was so angry I could kill.
4) The fear of "it" made it worse.
5)Ive been told by every doctor that its purely somatic.
This one I can say with 99.9% positivity that it is SOMATIC and a sign of complete anxiety.I bet that even the point at the back of your skull where the brain stem meets(that little bump) feels sore and sensitive after an attack.If there was something that I believed to be purely somatic,it is this.Treat it as you would any other somatic symptom.
Hope this helps.KEV
P.S. the "pops" sound is extreme nerve impingment from the mucles that is actually causing air,bones,nerves to flare extremely.Not to rub it in but man am I glad that symptom isnt with me,its scary as hell so I understand. |
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kevin t
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 00:51:08
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| Also, I forgot to add that these muscles and nerves tie into the whole face.You might get sounds in your ears(ringing),nose itching at sleep,weird electrical feelings,even pain in your literal eyeballs,teeth,jaw.Its all connected and can relate to the TETHER point/pressure point at the back of the skull.It can also effect vision and balance barring some infection like inner ear infection or in the most extreme case Herpes(please dont think you have herpes now)LOL.If its not an infection ,which I STRONGLY doubt it is, please know that its completely anxiety.Anxiety to the 1000th degree. |
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Singer_Artist
USA
1516 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 07:24:27
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Thanx so much Kev, for the compassionate advice..I feel better already just knowing I am not going nuts! I can't feel a bump at the base of my upper neck (skull).sometimes i think my head is literally not on straight! Scary stuff, all of it..THis cough is only making things worse..HOpefully it's just a conditioned TMS response to the coughing and nothing is physically wrong..Heat helps so i will continue doing that, trying to RELAX and doing the TMS work..
God bless!
K |
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kevin t
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 08:32:16
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| No Prob,Ive had that specific problem so bad that even muscle relaxers didnt help.Remember to that your head had plates that can be pulled by a cranial muscle spasm, and air can make weird sounds that are scary.And the feeling that your head is "on crooked" is just muscular too.Im not trying to diagnose, but if you dont have an inner ear infection(which is curious cuz you said you were currently sick)than it sounds muscular.But inner ear infection dont make muscles pull like that. |
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Bonnie
Canada
33 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 11:26:40
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Hi Singer and Kevin. I have this too. It's the bit of TMS I've had the most trouble getting rid of. I've gotten everything else to settle down including Migraines but the tension in the back of my head is the hardest to phase out for me. It gets so tight sometimes that the back of my head and neck goes numb, and I know it's TMS because when I'm completely relaxed it stops for a bit but when I'm tense, which is most of the time lately, it gets so bad it's scary, that continual crackling grinding noise at the base of my skull when I move my head, the popping and ringing in my ears. I know it's tension and I try to ignore it but it effects my eyes too, as Kevin mentioned, and that really frightens me. I moved to a new place and I'd been having trouble getting a doctor here, and when I did, everything he said brought back the PTSD and fear that was exacerbated by battles with my past doctors, and he wasn't even trying hard. It has been hell for the past three weeks trying to settle everything down, it's coming along but the tension in my neck and the back of my head is really bothering me which is probably why it's still there. I'd love to get to the place where I could simply shrug it off and ignore it. Hopefully, knowing other people have it too and it's benign will help, I'll keep reading these posts over and over to reassure myself.
Bonnie |
Edited by - Bonnie on 11/17/2006 11:28:32 |
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Singer_Artist
USA
1516 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2006 : 23:20:34
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HI Kevin,
Thanx sooooo much for calming me down about this..I really appreciate it..My ears are fine..Went to the pulmonary doc today and got some Rx cough meds and a Rx for an inhaler if i need it..Hoping to sleep tonight..THe neck is still acting up over this coughing..and definitely over the stress..WIsh i could convince myself it was all TMS (the cranial part) but i am not sure..THinking of looking into cranial sacral therapy..want to avoid chiros..had bad experiences and it sure isn't in line w/ TMS theory..
Blessings!
Karen
Hi Bonnie,
I hear you Bonnie..the posts are very helpful and reassuring indeed..This stuff is scary..The cracking sounds happen for me even when i am laying still on my side in bed lately..Seems the coughing made this worse..I also get some intermittent neuro symtoms like twitching at the base of the skull..Yikes, this is scary..I recently moved too, that is a very stressful thing..And we are having big time financial issues..the electricity might be turned off for a late bill..which means no computer for awhile..I will go nuts! Hoping for a miracle..I am thinking of seeing the TMS doc in NJ..he is on my insurance plan..I want to get over this already..I am sure you and Kevin understand..
Blessings,
Karen
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painintheneck
USA
124 Posts |
Posted - 11/18/2006 : 06:45:59
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I'm having a lot of head and muscle symptoms flaring up right now. I have super tight muscles with a headache every day now for 2 weeks in the back of my head with horrible itching feeling in the back of my head and shoulder muscles. I also have spots that feel as though they are getting a bit numb. It's frustrating and irritating but I've had this same stuff off and on for 10 years it just happens to flare up worse at times.
Cranial therapy might help some I've had it in the past and it is a wonder with the headaches and such so it really might give you some relief. I don't do chiro's any more on my neck either AT ALL. |
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Singer_Artist
USA
1516 Posts |
Posted - 11/18/2006 : 08:03:18
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Thanx for the advice painintheneck..so appreciate it..I am going to try to relax about all the stress going on right now..(very high level in all areas of life simulataneously)..if that doesnt help i might look into cranial sacral therapy..
God bless,
Karen |
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carbar
USA
227 Posts |
Posted - 11/19/2006 : 16:26:17
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hi karen,
I used to have tightness in the back of my head all the time during sophmore year of college. I thought it was because of wisdom teeth, but before I had them (all) removed I went on a 6 week study vacation. didn't have the symptom once on vacation. :) still got the wisdom teeth out when I came back, but clearly that was TMS pain. Sometimes I have pain in my head and neck, these seem like very common places to feel stress pain, even for folks who don't know about TMS.
Good luck handling your moving stress!!! I recently moved homes in the same city and changed jobs all at once and I'm still evening myself out from it. I've found doing Jon Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness meditation tapes to be helpful at managing stress. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Guided-Mindfulness-Meditation/dp/1591793599/sr=1-3/qid=1163978703/ref=sr_1_3/102-0003533-0440975?ie=UTF8&s=books
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Singer_Artist
USA
1516 Posts |
Posted - 11/19/2006 : 17:35:32
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Hey Carbar,
Thanx for the support and link..I heard of this type of meditation, sounds great..I used to meditate regularly, haven't for so long..THat is probably part of the problem..For some reason i find exercising/working out easier then meditation! Bizarre..huh? WHen I try to look up normally it just feels so tight, like it's locked or i lost range of motion from babying it for too long..It's probably all just in my head..no pun intended..lol..:)
~Karen |
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Newmom
USA
57 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2006 : 10:23:39
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SingerArtist, your initial post could of been my description. I CONSTANTLY HEAR POPS!! Scares the hell out of me - like something is breaking or literally popping in there. My neck muscles get so tight, I cannot look left or right. I feel the popping 1000 times a day - almost constantly. Usually when it "pops" it brings relief though. Because I couldn't move my neck to the left or right, for the past two months because of the pulling, I am scared I have lost mobility too.
Somedays are better than others, so I keep telling myself nothing is wrong and that it is my newest anxiety issue as somebody else put it. |
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kevin t
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2006 : 12:07:17
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Like I said before.....
This symptom of neck tension is almost 100% a sign of DIRE anxiety and tension. The only other "disease" that I can think of in western society that would cause "neck stiffness" CONSTANTLY would be infection in the spinal canal or with spinal fluids, and that is very rare in western society. Also, it NEVER lets up and almost ALWAYS accompanies fever or sweating.
I really do thing neck tension with all the sounds ,pops is a definite TMS thing. Those sounds are air releasing and the pops are just air also. Your muscles can tighten up so much with enough anxiety , that it can cause plates in the skull to "misallign" temporarily, and can also cause air to travel between tiny bones and ligaments in the neck. The reason you hear it(which causes more anxiety) is because your middle/inner ear is right next to it so it sounds louder than what it is.Same reason why deaf people have a hard time pronouncing words, because they cant hear themselves speak. The cranium and the sinus cavities can be huge amplifiers to the smallest sounds which can be scary.
Sorry to scare you but if something was really wrong with your head life threatening, you would have been dead a long time ago or on life support by now.
Smile........its extreme anxiety |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2006 : 15:36:35
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Hi Karen,
All this stuff just continues to scream TMS...It's so counter-productive to add worry over these symptoms to all the other stresses in your life...I know, because I often do the same thing myself...
So you know what I tell myself? Hey stupid, don't do that!! |
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JaneLeslie
USA
88 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2006 : 21:06:50
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Hi Karen,
I just happened to see this so I will chat with you on the forum. I think I know what is going on with you a bit from what you ahve told me off-line. Have you been able to journal about anger? Just a hunch. Sometimes this anxiety thing and symptoms is really triggered by our inner rage that we are in such a bleeping mess and can't fix it. It is tapping into the past as well. When have you felt like this before? In geneal, I am finding that "working on my anxiety" is not helpful. Anxiety is an equivalent too. Anxiety is our brain's way of expressing the rage of the inability to "control." I guess what I am saying is if you can get in touch with some feelings: rage, grief, ANYTHING this weird thing might give you a break. The anxiety will break too. Anxiety is not a feeling and cannot be directly tapped into. Anger, guilt, helpless feelings, needy feelings---they are something you can sink your teeth into. You can tap into fear which is scary but probably a good idea and so close to anxiety. Don't fight them, let them go through you.
Journaling can seem really boring, but along with reading the books or watching videos over and over it appears to be critical to us all.
I have tried cranial-sacral and did not find it helpful for neck stuff because in truth if the therapist can work it out of the neck it will go somewhere else. Don't waste your money in my humble opinion, It would be better to see a TMS doc or call Don. I think a part of you has not really accepted where you are. This is a psychosomatic disease and I am not sure that cranial-sacral people are going to be much different than chiro's. They see the body as fragile. Unless the therapist knows a lot about TMs I wouldn't bother. Just my opinion.
Blessings. Hang in there and don't scare yourself. Sorry if what I said seems a little different than the other folks. Just experiment.
Jane
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armchairlinguist
USA
1397 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2006 : 21:40:48
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JL, you said it about anxiety. I never had success "working with" my anxiety. Finally when I knew it was a TMS equivalent, I started working against it! Just totally diverting my attention to something big like rage or sadness or even fear, which I find is not the same as anxiety. I love the way you explain it's not really a feeling. More of an effect, I guess?
About the C-S therapists too. With TMS, they are just treating the symptoms, like anyone else. That can be helpful temporarily. Just probably not permanently.
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Wherever you go, there you are. |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2006 : 05:32:27
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This has been very helpful to me. I don't have the exact symptoms described, but the last 30 years have been a hellish journey through endless, ENDLESS permutations of symptoms, and a round of research, doctors, etc. to try to resolve them.
Every so often I would say to someone, "the symptoms seem to be moving around my body" - and I was working on my emotions and beliefs big-time. The part I didn't have was that my body is perfectly okay and I need to just take my attention off the whole symptoms thing. That was the big aha for me. And also that my feelings are still there even if I "processed" them last year, and that I need to stay current. How boring!
Now a lot of the time I just feel as though I don't believe in ANY illness that my body tries to come up with. However, as I have posted in a separate new thread, the dental thing is convincing.
Thanks for your genius posts!
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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Singer_Artist
USA
1516 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2006 : 10:52:47
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OMG, I am sooo touched by all of your posts, really! Thank you so much!! You all have something valuable to say and it makes so much sense..Kevin, the part of me I call "Dr. Wallo" really got alot out of what you wrote..I can be soo scientific, it's a wonder I am an artist/singer! My left brain is overactive too,,always trying to 'figure out' what the heck is going on in my body..The bumpy roads here in Staten Island are a big time conditioning issue for me..WIth the cranial issues, the big potholes and maniac drivers pushing me along really cause great tightening in my neck/head..I was thinking things were actually becoming misaligned..but i really know better...THe stress from the huge move, and literally every area of my life right now is the culprit, TMS is the culprit..Jane you are right, C-S therapy is probably a waste of time/money..I am going to save up to see a TMS doc in NJ..Again i am very grateful to all of you for caring enough to write..This is truly scary stuff..
Hugs and Happy THanksgiving,
Karen |
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kevin t
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2006 : 17:19:13
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| Youre welcome Singer/Artist..I am a singer and artist also. Have been since I was a teen. I have a soft spot for other artists/musicians. Anywho, Im glad I was of help even though Im having a rough time myself here. |
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Singer_Artist
USA
1516 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2006 : 17:32:01
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That's cool, KT..that you are a singer/artist as well..It's a tough job but somebody has to do it, lol! Anyway thanx again and if you get a chance check out a sample of my art at www.visualobjects.net/karen_artworks.htm Hope you are feeling better soon..Keep posting/journalling, it is helpful to know you are not alone in all this..:)
Happy Turkey day!
~Karen |
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Hilary
United Kingdom
191 Posts |
Posted - 11/23/2006 : 13:57:23
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God, all these posts sound just like me. I've had weird symptoms for years, which come and go; dizziness and weird muscular itching, like painintheneck. I don't want to fixate on symptoms, though, because THEY ARE TMS. The thing I find constantly distracting is anxiety. There's an insidious mind-**** I get into in which I convince myself that my rage is caused by the anxiety rather than vice-versa. But just today, reading these boards again and thinking about my anger (and thinking about the fact that it's okay to have anger - my anger is okay) I can feel the dizziness lessen.
Jane:
quote:
I am finding that "working on my anxiety" is not helpful. Anxiety is an equivalent too. Anxiety is our brain's way of expressing the rage of the inability to "control." I guess what I am saying is if you can get in touch with some feelings: rage, grief, ANYTHING this weird thing might give you a break. The anxiety will break too. Anxiety is not a feeling and cannot be directly tapped into.
Brilliant. Thank you. I've "worked on my anxiety" for years. It doesn't seem to help.
Another edit to add:
It's the psychological equivalents of TMS which really drive me insane. My current one is an obsession with social anxiety. Prior to that it was generalized anxiety, prior to that depression, prior to that physical symptoms. Each turns into an internet trawl, searching for "the answer" that'll cure me. Because, yeah, every time I convince myself that one thing is TMS (I can convince myself that my very odd symptoms are) I'll get something else (eg depression) which I convince myself must be genetic, chemical, or whatever. Which is classic TMS behaviour, of course.
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Edited by - Hilary on 11/23/2006 14:13:06 |
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cranial symptoms/sounds-tightness
