Oh, wow, thank you so much for the information! I'm going to bite it off in bits and pieces because there's alot of great advice there!

A couple of things standing out to me is your mentioning the area between the shoulder blade....OH MY GOSH. It's not smack dab between them but off to the left side (same side and interesting, yes?) I have the most amazing, insane tingle itch that I could literally scratch the skin off my back and it wouldn't be satiated. I've narrowed that down to when I'm sitting at the computer for a longer period...night time. I've scratched sores before...but it's a burning itch/tingle...feeling a weird numbness on the very surface of my skin. So strange. I figured it had to do with my posture at the computer and that might be a complete explanation for that.

Several times recently hubby has lookd at me and said, "Kim, honey, sit up. You never did that before and you look almost doubled in half." My shoulders roll forward significantly and they're so tight and tense.

The muscles in my neck hurt literally at any given time...that's the truth. If they don't hurt me, all I have to do is touch and have soft spots (mostly on the right though...strange), even up into the lower part of my head.

When I was typing this last night, I tried to relax my shoulders and let them drop down (but not forward) and it hurt...when i pushed it, I almost started spasming. It actually even had a "pulling hurt" but not bad just bruised feeling, it the front of my chest! Now, if I let them drop forward, it doesn't hurt my neck but my back between my shoulder blades will ache, then soon after I'll go into that insane burning itch over the left.

It makes so much sense what you said about the lower back compensating.

If I move my neck around too much (say twirl it around to try to work it...loosen it up), I'll actually get lightheaded/headrush feeling. If I turn my head at a 90 degree angle and hold it, I'll get lightheaded when I bring my head straight again...like a small headrush or something. It always hurts on the right side, back of neck to do that.

I appreciate you all sharing so much. I'm really apprehensive about all of this...especially know that I have no good excuse not to address it now and I figure knowledge is the best power in preparation to combating the massive anxiety I'm feeling with the treatment potentials.

See, I haven't allowed myself to think much about it, but as I'm typing this and it comes together, I really need to bite the bullet, don't I?

Thank you so much because I'm beginning to have a bit more understanding and that always lessens my anxieties about something. It's very good to know that I won't be alone while doing it.

KD