Again, hi guys & dolls:

Once again, I tried to donate blood. Two finger sticks later, I was told, "Sorry, you're anemic," so I dutifully made the doc appt for the next day. Surprise!! Blood tests came up exactly where I normally sit for hemacrit (13.5) whereas both fingersticks were at a subpar 11.7. So ok.

Downside...Vit D now sits at 25. So back on 50,000 per week for 6 weeks. Super frustrated because this is how the fastrack to "your Vit D level isn't causing your other symptoms," and still no cause.

Family history of backward metabolism is a tip off of unusual presentment of other diseases & so my PC still thinks flares are from MS. She's a great doc & very supportive; so I'll keep her. She's progressive on meds and let's me tell her that low dosage of them is where I want to be.

Currently, I am looking into trying to find something...anything to help with stiff neck muscles & cracking sounds & pain at the base of my skull. Not into pain pills...so anything that is available at the healthfood store would be helpful. Neck MRI was deemed normal & some small sign of injury from 2006 does not show neck was broken; just some flexion (spelling?).

Thank you for any insights you might have.

Originally I started giving this a try because I injured my neck when I fell a couple of months ago. Major headaches and upper back/neck pain started up a few weeks after that. Standard X-rays showed that the upper 2 vertbrae were in a rather dangerous misaligned position.

Upper cervical chiropractic was suggested as a possibility for treatment; as opposed to a traction halo or surgery.

So far so good with the treatments I've had. The severe headaches are gone and although I'm still getting some milder headache pain and neck stiffness, overall everything is far better than it was, only after 3 sessions .
I can't say for sure that it has had an effect on the MS symptoms but I do feel that my balance is better since starting this form of therapy. Someone told me that they had it done and that the effects didn't last, so I suppose time will tell. I'm just happy that those horrific headaches are gone as they were truly disabling.

You might want to check it out.
Upper cervical chiropractic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxrMnxYQ6nI

With love, Erika

Because I''m seeing a chiropractor regularly now, I would've suggested it if Erika hadn't. I'm amazed at the improvement of my walking ability, but I bet it would help the stiff neck muscles & cracking sounds & pain at the base of your skull.

Sounds like you have good insurance - Medicare covers all but $6.68 of each visit for me. Surprised it was covered; hope it is for you also.

Some chiropractors have helped me. They are so various! The ones I like best are the ones who are trained in other modalities such as "Touch for Health" or Acupressure or even manipulation of soft tissue....the guy I go to spends 15-30 minutes with me, as opposed to the 5-10 minute sessions with people who only crack bones. Touch for Health, a form of acupressure was a great help to me years ago when I had neck pain, but it's not readily available here, so I do make the long drive to the good chiro if I can stand the stress of driving that far. Jin Shin Jyutsu in its pure unadulterated form is great for relaxing muscles. I use the Self-help points of Jin Shin which I found in a book, as well as having taken the training to be a practitioner, although I rarely used it except on myself or husband, without the add-ons some esoteric practitioners attach to Jin Shin.

Magnesium is good for muscle relaxation. You need both calcium and magnesium, and they are optimally not taken at the same time. I no longer have much neck pain but I need help with other lower vertebrae and pelvis rotation. My good chiropractor even adjusts my feet and ankles if needed.

Have you tried taking over-the-counter Vitamin D3 on a regular basis rather than the prescription Vitamin D?

My D3 was at 16. I have been taking NOW brand D3 (5000iu) soft gel caps for about a year and a half(give or take). My D3 is now at 57.2 which is in the range my neuro would like to see it. I now need to figure out what IU of D3 to take to maintain my D3 level. I belive this will be trial and error and possibly decreasing/increasing the D3 dosage as needed.

Nice to see that someone improved on D3. I gave up taking it after a year. I inherited a possible mal-absorbtion problem from my Gramps. I'm sure he didn't know he shared it, lol! I was up to 4000 iU, 3 times a week & had some side effects from that, so back to this dosage & will be tested on wk #7. Last time around, my level was at 33, I was put on the same therapy & they forgot to redraw to see what the therapy did or didn't do. So I'll remind 'em this time.

Glad that it's working for you, but, be careful as the "injury" I referred to was actually an overly aggressive chiropractor (a quack, I'm sure-he went out of business) was the cause of concern in 2006. My aunt worked for a marvelous Chiropractor for years & got most all of the local family to go to the practice. So, I'm not preaching against it. I would just have a hard time trusting someone else again.

Has anyone heard of the Atlas Orthogonal.? Some Chiros are board certified in it and use a non-invasive machine to places AO back in place (located under skull and helps supports it on neck)

Yes, the rehab chiro I'm seeing is board certified in Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic.

He does not use the 'device' shown on the videos though; instead relying on slight traction, body/head positioning and his own hand/finger pressure to make the adjustments.
With each visit he has also given a new set of exercises as well as modifications in sleeping position to assist in maintaining the vertebral position realignment. When lying down, I wear a traction collar that needs to get checked for fit and sometimes adjusted after each visit.

I'm not sure, but how my case is being handled might be a little different than what someone might receive as a treatment protocol for an upper cervical misalignment that was not head/neck injury related.

In checking this form of chiropractic therapy I out, I did learn that it requires specific certification in order to practice it; be that as a singular health care discipline or as an additional modality that may be employed by other health care professionals.

With love, Erika