after a few radiation treatments i am having mussle spasms in my neck, is there something that i can do to relieve the spasms ?

Hi Skifan,

Could you give us more history such as type of cancer, any surgeries, treatment plan such as how much radiation or any chemo? Everything you can tell us. You can get an idea from the signatures of the people posting on this board. You can add your own signature info by clicking on My Stuff at the top and then clicking My Profile. At the bottom you can create your own signature with info.

Ditto what Tom said. Also, have you had a neck dissection? All of these things factor in.

I never had any spasms from the chemo or the rad and I didn't have a ND either.

It took 2 years before the fibrosis in my neck (from RT) got to the point where I was having fairly consistent neck spasms. I tried PT with limited success and now they just give me scripts for Valium. I would ask the techs about your neck position and the spasms - something is not right. Maybe they got the headrest backwards - they did that to me one time. In any case you shouldn't be having spasms this early in the game.

thanks to all who gave their time in responding. I had my left side parotid glan removed on feb. 14. i started radiation last thursday at a rate of 5 times per week. on my 3rd treatment i experienced spasms on the area being treated 6 hours after treatment. no chemo. skifan

I just asked Dan this question and he said he gets them under his chin after yawning... But they must not be too bad because he's not mentioned them before.

What a great topic. I have spasms that I now know are called fasciculations. The muscles on the left side of my neck, the big ones in the back of the head, the left shoulder all twitch as many as hundreds of times per minute. After going through PT that only made it 100 times worse, I found a neurologist that has conducted numerous studies on post-radiation issues and many people 10 years out from radiation develop a syndrome that he has discovered. I was just lucky because it happened so soon, I guess. I had an EMG and then another test where they stick a needle into the neck and all the spasm areas, even the tongue from under the chin with a sonagram type noise when the muscle fires. I have tried the standard drugs, Neurontin, Gabapentin, etc., but nothing has worked and likely will work.

I took Gary's advice long ago and a valium/vicodin at bed time keeps my neck from flopping off the pillow and allows me to sleep without the dog and wife complaining about me not laying still!

A good night's sleep keeps the spasms down most of the day so I do not medicate until after work.

I still get massive spasms that create a fist sized ball in my neck sometimes but they massage out and only last for seconds.

I would be glad to offer the study if anyone is interested.

Ed

David,
the best is yet to come. The RT damage to the traps doesn't come into play for as long as 2 years post Tx. Radiation truly is the gift that keeps on giving. The spasms I have been getting are progressively getting worse as time goes on.

Michelle,
I had pain on yawning early on in Tx and immediately post Tx as well. Most of that is from the radiation burns and mucositus. it could hurt like hell at times.

Ed,
I use codeine instead because Vicodin has acetaminophen in it which is bad for the liver. PT didn't help me either but they did come up with suggestions for pillow heights depending on how you sleep which were useful (lower for stomach sleepers and higher for side sleepers).

Thanks Gary! I have had such remarkable results from the Hep C stuff and all liver functions are normal since 2003. I still limit the acetaminophen to 2 grains per day. My father is a pharmacist and we have been having lengthy discussions about codeine versus vicodin/loritab and he says codeine may cause more constipatin when taken longer term and oxycodone is considerably stronger. I have even gone back to the Fentanyl patches although only at 25 mcg/hr. The pain gets really tough sometimes.

The pillow thing isn't an issue because I can only last about 45 seconds on the side because of the shoulder surgeries. I use the pillows from Brookstone that really work well plus the wierd wheat or something like that pillow that conforms well.

I'm sorry to hear yours is progressivley worse but I know exactly what you mean. I have gone to a c-collar for all airplane trips and extended car trips as well. I just know something has to work.