pain in the neck

No I am not referring to Hubs or Little 'Ny or work or the crazy people still driving around talking on their cell phones. I am being literal. I have had a debilitating pain in my neck since Tuesday morning.

I am not new to this kind of pain. Rewind a little over 4 years ...

Hubs and I were walking around the new Petco Park when one of his drunk friends came running up to us. He grabbed Hubs and I into a group hug and squeezed ... too tightly. My head was already turned, so the squeeze forced it to turn farther than humanly natural. I heard a click and that was it. I was stuck with a throbbing pain along the left side of my neck. I suffered for 3 days until I finally called a chiropractor to fix me up. Which they did. Six months later I was totally back to normal.

Fast forward about 11 months ...

I was 6 months pregnant with Little 'Ny. Hubs and I were driving up to LA for my friend's baby shower. I was driving in the far left lane when a teenage punk cut me off. He did not see me swerve to avoid colliding with him or when I lost control of the car causing me to crashed head first into the center divide. I heard a click and that was it. My car was totaled, Hubs was hysterically worried about me, and I was rushed to the hospital for observation. Me and the baby were fine, but I had terrible whiplash. (Good Samaritans who witnessed what had happened followed the punk and called the police. He was caught and his insurance covered EVERYTHING!)

On top of these two injuries I carry all of my stress in my neck. Occasionally I get horrible tension headaches that start in my neck. I have woken up before with kinks in my neck, but usually these kinks work themselves out in a day or two getting better with each passing hour.

So, Tuesday morning I woke up with a kink in the left side of my neck that didn't seem terribly abnormal. I popped an Advil and went on with my day. I missed yoga due to a business lunch which was a good idea considering the pinch in my neck. But, by the end of the night I was in so much pain I had an upset stomach and chills.

On Wednesday when I got up I heard a click and that was it. I could barely concentrate at work. I couldn't carry Little 'Ny for long periods of time. All I wanted to do was lie down and not move. I took one of Hubs' muscle relaxants for his back and had a great night's sleep. I woke up this morning feeling better. But, after a couple of hours the pain started increasing. I could barely turn my head left or right. Waves of pain brought tears to my eyes. By 11am I was on the phone with my doctor's office making an appointment to come in.

My doctor said my neck muscles are strained and I am experiencing spasms. Since my condition is progressively getting worse she prescribed a shot of Toradol, a muscle relaxant, an anti inflamatory, and lidocaine patches. Thanks to all of those things (and a lavender heated neck pillow) I am already feeling better! Tomorrow will be a much better day!