Arthritis of the neck

[FloridaJim57]

I was told that x-rays revealed I had arthritis of the neck. This has caused me to have severe headaches on one side of my head. My dad had this, maybe it is hereditary, the doctor was not sure. He gave me medications to take when in bad pain, and a nutritionist advised magnesium, Vit D, Vit C. Does anyone else suffer from this and what nutritional supplements have you found works?

 

[latexman]

Have you tried Voltaren gel?

 

[FloridaJim57]

no but I will

Have you tried Voltaren gel?

no, but I will. Thanks!

 

[jet757f]

The worst pain that I have ever had was in my neck. There was no relief. I tried heat and cold but that wouldn't work. Advil, Alleve etc. which didn't work. There was no position that would relief the pain. Then had an MRI and it was arthritis. I wore a neck brace just to restrict my neck movements which helped.
Finally it just disappeared but when I turn my neck there is some stiffness.

I did not get headaches from the neck. I have always had them over the years. The Doctor prescribed Zomig which has always worked for me.

 

[BruinBones]

The presence of arthritis is not always the cause or the main cause of headaches. A good internal medicine doctor (vs ER or Primary Care) can often help determine the root cause of your headache. An orthopedic surgeon can determine if your neck arthritis needs more care beyond NSAIDs and physical therapy. A neurologist can more precisely determine the cause and severity of, and treatment for, your headaches.

 

[Koolau]

The presence of arthritis is not always the cause or the main cause of headaches. A good internal medicine doctor (vs ER or Primary Care) can often help determine the root cause of your headache. An orthopedic surgeon can determine if your neck arthritis needs more care beyond NSAIDs and physical therapy. A neurologist can more precisely determine the cause and severity of, and treatment for, your headaches.

Most important is to find a doc who will listen to you AND then work toward a solution (maybe doc can handle it or hand you off to a specialist.) "Live with it" is not a solution nor is heavy drug use in most cases. Find a doc you trust even if it takes a lot of "second opinions." YMMV

 

[Dash man]

I was told that x-rays revealed I had arthritis of the neck. This has caused me to have severe headaches on one side of my head. My dad had this, maybe it is hereditary, the doctor was not sure. He gave me medications to take when in bad pain, and a nutritionist advised magnesium, Vit D, Vit C. Does anyone else suffer from this and what nutritional supplements have you found works?

I’ve had cervical disc degeneration disease for fifteen years, accompanied with nerve damage and arthritis, all causing debilitating pain. I tried physical therapy, which helped, but did not eliminate the pain. Neurosurgeons said surgery was not possible in my case.
I found a pain management doctor that has given my life back by doing nerve ablations to relieve the pain. It’s limited to once per year per side (used to be twice, but protocols have changed). I’m getting on next week because the pain has been creeping back. The arthritis is beyond the neck, so I take 3,000mg/day of Tylenol to battle that because I can’t take NSAIDs. For bad days I keep some hydrocodone around and occasionally replace the Tylenol with that. I don’t use it much.

 

[Aerides]

I was told that x-rays revealed I had arthritis of the neck. This has caused me to have severe headaches on one side of my head. My dad had this, maybe it is hereditary, the doctor was not sure. He gave me medications to take when in bad pain, and a nutritionist advised magnesium, Vit D, Vit C. Does anyone else suffer from this and what nutritional supplements have you found works?

I would seek another opinion. I have some arthritis in my neck, diagnosed via a xray when looking at something unrelated. I don't get headaches. Yours might be related, might be something else.

 

[pacergal]

I also have cervical neck arthritis. It is sometimes painful. I take either Tylenol, ibuprofen or naproxen daily depending on severity, as they all work a bit differently on me.
I do find muscle stiffness and sometimes headaches if the bone pain is more noticeable, most likely because I tend to hold my neck more stiffly. When that happens, I apply heat and have a neck/back massage.
I second the idea of a second opinion. A headache only on one side does not sound like it is from arthritis.