As if having a wonky hip and sciatica/lumbago wasn’t enough…

I’ve had chronic neck pain for years. Apparently this is because my neck is completely rigid and lacks the slight curve that necks normally have. I found this out about 12 years ago when I could barely move my neck and my left forearm very weirdly swelled up to almost double its size. Even after a whole whack of tests nobody could explain this, though the two things must have been connected because after a couple of months the neck pain subsided and my arm went back to normal.

Another weird thing I notice is that when I’m lying down on my back I sometimes can ‘hear/feel’ an odd sound/sensation where the neck joins the skull … kind of a bubbly feeling with the slightest ‘almost there’ sound similar to crumpling up a paper bag.

As I say, this has been going on for as long as I can remember. But since yesterday I’ve been getting dizzy whenever I lie down (and sometimes getting up from lying down). And not just a bit dizzy – I always thought the expression ‘the room was spinning’ was an exaggeration until now.

My GP is away on holiday – the one I saw yesterday says it’s a neck contraction and prescribed muscle relaxants for 3 weeks, which I’m not really keen on taking. He also gave me a prescription for some ‘anti-dizzy’ pills (no idea what those are …). I dunno, I think I’ll just wait until next week when Agustín is back and get his opinion, because the dizziness is quite worrying.

Meanwhile, just wondering if anyone has had anything similar and what sort of treatment worked for you.

~ neck pain pic from Damon Tommolino ~

        Italian mayor offers diet subsidy

The mayor of a town in northern Italy is offering overweight residents a cash incentive to slim down.

Residents of Varallo Sesia who lose 3kg (6.6lbs) in one month are entitled to 50 euros (£34). A doctor must certify dieters as being overweight.

They can claim a further 100 euros if they keep the weight off for another five months.

Well hey, why not?

It would be interesting to see the longterm results of this scheme …