Neck Problems 4 Months after Injury
 

Hello. I am 20 years old. I am currently dealing with my second concussion in three years. I was in a car accident in February and have been through a lot in the past four months. To keep it short; I've had to have vestibular therapy and glasses to fix issues and I'm now trying Venlafaxine to help with my headache and depression issues.

After my accident I had some neck issues with some stiffness in my neck; but it backed off after a while. About a week ago; right when I started Venlafaxine; I started having neck pain and light sensitivity. The light sensitivity backed off in a couple days; but the neck pain hasn't. I'm not sure if maybe Venlafaxine is the cause of it or there is something wrong that my therapist and my doctor and I missed before.

The pain comes on suddenly; usually in the late afternoon or early evening and it gets worse by the time I go to bed and try to sleep. The pain starts about halfway up the back of my head and continues down my neck. I always have trouble falling asleep due to the pain. It takes me a good hour or so to get to sleep. When I wake up in the morning; I'm fine and I have no symptoms at all again until late afternoon again. Could it be a side effect of the medicine or something else?

Hi HNL2016

Welcome to NeuroTalk :).

I have no experience of TBI/PCS but was prescribed Venlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder.

One thing to bear in mind is that if you decide to discontinue it should be done slowly under close medical supervision.

Abrupt/unsupervised discontinuation can have very unpleasant side-effects.

HNL2016,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

After reading the myriad of side-effects of Venlafaxine, I think you should talk with your doctor or pharmacists about these symptoms. They could be caused by the Venlafaxine. "and severe muscle stiffness" is one of the "Call your doctor" side-effects. Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep is also a common side effect.

This is a powerful drugs, especially for a young, 20 year old brain.

The med commonly prescribed for PCS headache, depression/anxiety and insomnia is amitriptyline at low doses. Some have used Nortriptyline.

If your neck was an issue following the accident and it has become symptomatic again, it suggests the original injury is not resolved and the meds may be causing muscle tension that triggers the unhealed neck injury. Your headache may be caused by the neck injury. Have you sought any gentle treatment for your neck?

I suggest you read the Vitamins sticky at the top and follow the link to the updated post. The B vitamins are the most important. They are not a quick fix but proper brain nutrition helps the brain tolerate the stresses that concussions cause.

Hello; thank you for your advice kiwi33. I have heard that you gotta be careful with antidepressants that you can't stop them suddenly and that you got to be careful how you wean off of them. Hopefully I can come off of it soon since it is causing other side effects; and I plan to talk to my doctor in a couple days at my next appointment. I felt better today than I have most days this month.:)

Hi Mark; thank you for you advice. I see my doctor on Thursday and I plan to talk to him about what's been going on with my neck. I may ask about the amitriptyline or Nortriptyline that you mentioned and see what he thinks. I haven't sought any gentle treatment for my neck but I hope I can maybe get treatment for it after I talk to my doctor. Today; I felt better than I have most days this month; but I have been putting a cool washcloth on my neck at night to help me sleep to help ease the pain some. I'll look into the Vitamins thing you mentioned. Thank you again!

Whiplash effects can show up much later after an accident, do get to some expert PT or chiro. Ones that use hands on treatment along with other modalities.
More than just heat/ice, stretching & strengthening...:(
Best PT/DC providers use massage, trigger point, alignment, muscle spasms, ultrasound, IFC stim, even low level/soft laser if needed..