• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Stimulants Extreme neck shoulder muscle spasms - is it from dexedrine??

RobotRipping

RobotRipping

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
4,002
Location
NS, Canada
So the last week i've been getting worsening neck and shoulder muscle spasms. Tonight was the worst i've ever experienced, after taking a bunch of OTC muscle relaxers with acetaminophen i got really nauseous as well. The only real relief i got was from sitting in the shower with the hot water hitting my neck. The pain is insanely bad. This has been happening all week long and has also happened from time to time in the past.

I take 40mg dexedrine/day 7-9mg etizolam per day, also took 1600mg of methocarbamol didn't help. Also came off 10mg of loperamide recently after a long drawn out opiate withdrawal, was just kind of using the lope to stop from shitting myself at school.

i get the same kind of tension on psychedelics as well so i think it's stimulant related but what the fuck, the pain is so insanely intense and doesn't happen every single day, but more frequently lately, like every 2nd day.

It's just on one side of my neck (always the right side), goes up from my shoulder into my neck (right side only again) behind my right ear, then into the back of my head and causes migraines that hit right behind my right eye. I don't really want to tell my dr about this in case i end up losing my dex script but fuck it, if i have to i will because the pain is what i would consider a 6-8 on the old pain scale. Tension always starts mid-day progresses until 3 different muscles in my shoulders and neck are rock hard, one near the jaw and ear, one on the back of the upper neck and one on the upper shoulder. Symptoms sound awfully similar to Torticollis.

i've been doing a bit of googling on it and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of info on the cause of such pain other than injuries but i've had none. I never had a muscle spasm before my first benzo withdrawal about 3 years ago, ever since then my back, shoulders and neck have acted up from time to time. in the last month it's become more and more serious and now it's to the point where i wouldn't mind just chopping all the nerves off in there.

anyone else been through this? do stimulants typically cause such issues? is it something else? any home remedies other than applying tremendous pressure and moving my neck around? Could it have something to do with the fact that i don't eat lunch during the day because i am usually on dexedrine and just don't bother? bad posture? i try to stretch my neck as often as possible, especially when the tension starts to hit.

i need some help! another night of this shit and i'll go insane. I'll try not taking dexedrine for a few days and see how that affects me but that's going to suck. Any experience, tips, advice, insight, would be greatly appreciated. I'm surprised i could squeeze this post out. I've been trying every remedy on the internet and most of my symptoms are the ones that say you should seek health care fuck.
 
do you get really into videogames or wank hard for a long time when you do dex? amps can have you clenching muscles without realizing especially if you focus hard on something and it gets intense. my tweaker friends and i will get sore necks/shoulders/backs from gaming so hard for so long whilst tekked out. like my hands will hurt bad from clutching the controller so hard it hurts. muscles hurt from being fatigued
 
I get the same thing I think, it only happens occasionally and is in the left side and the pain is only medium, makes me think i'm about to have a stroke or something lol

Just relax and massage the area and it should go away, you're probably really tense without even knowing it, just sit quietly and relax your whole body
 
no it's not from gaming and wanking lol haha i don't get too spun off 40mg, it's just a a therapeutic dose for me. If i were up in the 160-200mg area that'd be a different story. From all the research i've done it doesn't seem like stimulants typically cause this issue, it's more from bad posture, lack of magnesium, other physical issues, stress, dystonia, things like seroquel which i took for 2 months hopefully didn't cause any greater problems than i already had. I just don't get how i fucked my back/neck/shoulder muscles so bad from benzo withdrawal, before that i had no idea what muscle spasms were. Opiate withdrawal caused muscle spasms as well but not nearly as bad.

think i'm just gonna take it easy for a few days, lay off the dexedrine and see if it goes away. Even now, the muscle near my lymph node area on the right side is hard as a fucking rock. Not overly painful today just extremely sore and tense. I feel like Shaq in those old taco bell commercials, hopefully i'm not too old and no one gets that reference :)

if it's not better after the weekend then i'll have to see my doctor because it's completely fucked to touch, the muscle is completely seized and won't let up at all, tried magnesium this morning, i have enough magnesium in my diet already though. I just really don't want to have to give up my dex script, as it turns me into a study monster at school and my marks sky rocket, which will in turn give me great references and a great job in a years time. And of course my line of work will involve my neck being in bad positions for hours at a time, so hopefully this just goes away and doesn't come back.

I feel like just ripping the muscles out. I know there's a surgery where they do cut the nerves off or something like that lol or i can get these shots into the muscles that will help. I'm not even an old man yet though! at least it's painfully obvious there is something messed up so i won't have to fight my Dr about getting meds if it continues, not to mention i can order plenty of nice muscle relaxers anyway.

thanks for the replies
 
I get the same thing dude on my left side. It's involuntary muscle spasms and you are unaware of it for the first half of your high until you start coming down when you become aware of how fucked up your shoulder, arm, neck has become. Doctor ain't gonna do shit. For me, magnesium makes it worse. I happen to be low on potassium and honestly eating a single banana will produce significant relief within 30 mins usually. But yes, I get it bad and sometimes i think it's my heart and it causes all this anxiety but it's really muscular. I think it's mostly underdeveloped muscle tone, bad posture, stimulant abuse and nutrient deficiency. One thing is for sure, it's definitely from the stims.
 
Just from the title I know what it is because I have the same thing. It's its from dilated blood vessels in your brain, jaw clenching in your sleep, tension, and stress headaches. The best remedy is muscle relaxants and anti inflammatories. Caffeine works well too. If that's not enough opiates. Try to relax. It could also be the pillow your sleeping on or the position your sleeping in. I went to the ER 2 times in a week this month from them. They hurt. They hurt bad.
 
Coraline said:
Just from the title I know what it is because I have the same thing. It's its from dilated blood vessels in your brain, jaw clenching in your sleep, tension, and stress headaches. The best remedy is muscle relaxants and anti inflammatories. Caffeine works well too. If that's not enough opiates. Try to relax. It could also be the pillow your sleeping on or the position your sleeping in. I went to the ER 2 times in a week this month from them. They hurt. They hurt bad.
Click to expand...


Are you saying the condition as a whole is a result of dilated blood vessels in the brain?? Or is that what the headache is from..
 
Coraline said:
Just from the title I know what it is because I have the same thing. It's its from dilated blood vessels in your brain, jaw clenching in your sleep, tension, and stress headaches. The best remedy is muscle relaxants and anti inflammatories. Caffeine works well too. If that's not enough opiates. Try to relax. It could also be the pillow your sleeping on or the position your sleeping in. I went to the ER 2 times in a week this month from them. They hurt. They hurt bad.
Click to expand...

yes this is what i was reading about last night, sounds exactly like what's going on. Caffeine does seem to help actually. As for muscle relaxants, what's the gold standard these days carisoprodol? anti inflammatories don't help whatsoever unfortunately. I even have some ketorlac around if it gets too bad but that's a nasty NSAID. I could get some tylenol with codeine but i really would prefer not to touch an opiate at this point.

i do have this strange cross bite thing with my jaw the dentist (seemed very rare to them) was worried that i may experience severe pain from it one day. That could be a factor as well.

going to look into getting a neck pillow, the pain is fucking outrageously bad. Even no stimulants today, muscle still fucking seized up, i feel like jabbing it with a needle would make it retract lol. I get nasty muscle tension though and that's how it starts out, it used to just stay that way, now it climbs up into my neck and into my head. i can't go the opiate route being a former opiate addict and just quitting completely over the last year. But i can definitely get some carisoprodol or other muscle relaxers if needed. This is just bullshit, every time i clear up a mental issue, i get a physical one in return it seems. I need my neck to be in good shape for the next 30 years at least!

btw i'm not getting high on my stims, that's just my dose for ADD. It's the fact it's only on my right side that suggests something is strange. if i am stimmed to hell, yeah muscle tension becomes an issue but i will get pain everywhere. I've had the left side chest pain anxiety issue many times and this is much different, purely physical. In this case it's 3 muscles or muscle groups that spasm only on one side. It's definitely a combination of things causing it. I eat healthy enough though, stretch, am active, am 27 years old and always have enough magnesium, potassium, calcium in my diet among all other essential nutrients. Only issues - i may sometimes let myself get dehydrated when i'm not paying attention.

My posture is generally good and i'm always aware of it but even sometimes when i am studying non stop i'll get massive muscle tension but generally won't spasm. Sometimes when i am working on electronics it's just impossible to maintain good posture and that may be a problem. In the last month though it's just been getting worse and worse, only thing i've changed is i cut my loperamide dose from 10mg (after being on that for several months) to 0mg. Which didn't have any impact at first. Other than that, i don't know wtf is up.

I figure my Dr will be useless in getting me any help whatsoever so if i can avoid seeing him that would be ideal. What do they do for you at ER? CT scans or anything like that? I think with an x-ray or a CT scan it'll be quite obvious that the muscle is contracted and stuck.

thanks for the help though much appreciated as well as the input from everyone else.
 
Last edited:
I just want to mention that I have had this problem while taking adderall, and I discovered it was related to my ingestion of either benadryl or NyQuil to help me sleep at night. When I stopped those, the problem largely went away. I know that's weird and maybe it's just me. I took these drugs in conjunction w adderall for many years without a problem. It just seems that in recent years I've developed some sort of weird intolerance to taking those antihistamines (diphenhydramine or doxylamine succinate) for any extended period. If I take a break from them for awhile and then start taking them again, I don't have any problem for a few weeks, but then the neck pain & tension headaches come back until I cut them out again. So, you might want to look at any other drugs you are taking w the Dexedrine. Just because you used to do fine on a certain combo of drugs doesn't mean you never will develop problems with it.
 
Last edited:
I have been taking diphenhydramine lately to sleep, used to take hydroxyzine and before that seroquel. So a good history of antihistamine use for sleep. Also have to take ceterizine (reactine) 20mg daily for allergies. Also take omeprazole 20mg for acid reflux, sometimes zopiclone for sleep, and the last few days have been taking lorazepam to try and help the pain but no success whatsoever.

@CaptainHeroin: sometimes but only if i'm stuck studying or working on electronics, i do get up to stretch and move around a lot because i've had similar issues in the past. I am very careful about my posture and sitting too long especially on d-amp and psychs because of these issues. This recent bunch of muscle spasms have no direct cause i can think of, other than a possible jaw alignment problem. Perhaps as well i caused some sort of damage while studying 6-8 hours/day on d-amp (fucking killed that course :) ) while i was in school in May, i had terrible muscle pain but nothing like this.

I know stims will cause muscle pain or tension but that's not the issue. I've stopped taking dexedrine and there's no difference at all. I get what you guys mean by saying dexedrine can and will cause pain but a muscle spasm is a pain like no other, it's excruciatingly bad. The pain is so bad i get severe nausea to top it off. It's not meningitis though.

The muscle behind my ear is so tender to the touch and is rock hard compared to the other side. Bad posture on stims may have caused it but i stretch regularly, don't sit for too long, careful about posture, been taking magnesium and calcium, healthy diet. I've had muscle spasms before in benzo withdrawal and they weren't even close to as painful as this.

I still have a severe muscle spasm in my neck muscle (top of STM) that is so fucking insanely painful. Caffeine helps a bit but nothing actually gives me any relief. Went to sleep last night woke up after 3 hours and had severe pain shooting down my lower back into my legs, making them extremely restless.

tomorrow i'm going to say fuck it and take codeine until i can see my Dr, or if it gets worse, i'll just have to head to the ER. I've had my fair share of stim binges and know that kind of pain (not to mention muscle issues while in opie/benzo w/d) but this pain is about as bad as an abscessed tooth except i also get migraines from it. So even without dexedrine, i'm still not feeling any improvements - if anything it is the same or getting worse.

I did take 10mg ketorolac (toradol) about an hour ago, pain is a tiny bit better but toradol is insanely fucking strong for an NSAID. It still hurts quite a bit and the muscle is still indeed seized and i definitely don't want to take toradol more than 2 or 3 times.

is there any way to get the muscle to retract? i can only get sleep in one position but should i try to sleep on my back? heat/ice? would codeine even help (former opie addict)? should i go to the ER tomorrow or wait to see my Dr on Monday? I have a feeling this thing isn't going to go away at this point.


thanks for the follow up posts, i'm still dying here.
 
Last edited:
First you have to stretch. Lifting arms above head, all around, tilting neck slowly to stretch that area. Just fuck around and figure out how to contort your body in a way that send shooting pains, that's where you wanna focus a stretch. Also, Lay on a golf ball around the area in your back right behind your shoulder and just put all your weight on it and find a 'trigger point' which is easy to find because it will feel like a solid rock and be extremely painful. Then just work it out with your body laying on the golf ball. It can hurt really bad but you can catalyze the nerves and muscle tissue to move back to normal with a lot of pressure. Drink a lot of water and eat bananas.
 
Every 45 min make sure you get up and walk around. Stretch your neck by doing slow wide circles with your head. Make sure you drink water and are replenishing electrolytes. Gatorade or bananas help.
 
^ and ^^ thanks that's what i've been trying to do, wasn't sure if i was hurting or helping, golf ball idea would have been great if i had one :) The pain is gone as of today, maybe the one dose of toradol helped, maybe it just allowed me to get some relief but the pain is gone as of now, the muscle itself is just tender, not seized anymore and i am very thankful. i hope to fuck this isn't a reoccurring problem because that pain is so fucking bad, i don't know how people can deal with such pain chronically. Everything feels a bit funny like a bit stiff still but there's no pain, just feels weird to stretch. Whatever though, i'm glad that i have relief for now. If this happens again ill just see my Dr right away and figure out if there is an underlying issue, hopefully i'm in the clear tho.

thanks for all the help, i felt like shooting myself because i couldn't find any info online that helped.
 
yeah for the last 3 years, d-amp is definitely aggravating or exacerbating it though but it really is also to do with my posture and lowered activity since i've been out of school and basically sitting around, doing chores and looking for a job/scanning bluelight.

it's not consistent though, took 60mg of d-amp yesterday, no issues, so long as i catch the tension and fix my posture, move around, it doesn't escalate. I think i was deluding myself a bit by trying to rule out my precious d-amp as the cause lol It's not the sole cause but it certainly doesn't help. I guess what i learned is to be a lot more conscious of using d-amp and not paying attention to hydration, eating regularly, sleeping properly, watching my posture, getting up to move around, be more active and stretch.

I'm going to try my bestest to stop taking d-amp for now, at least until i'm back in school, i have no need for it just to sit at home and look for jobs and read bluelight or play guitar. Of course i say that now, when that big ass bottle of it stares me in the face it may become a different story.

last 2 days no pain really, bit of muscle tension but worked it out by massage and stretching. It's likely an underlying issue as it's been happening since my very first cold turkey benzo withdrawal but yeah, i'm by no means helping the situation by using psychs and stims so often though. Sad that i couldn't realize that at first, d-amp's really got a hold on me.
 
hi robot.
i havent read thoroughly through all posts but i cant relate to your experience clearly and wanted to offer some advice. i have bee ntaking adderall at about 50 mg per day for a couple of years and have at times considered stopping entirely and or taken long breaks solely due to the insane muscle tension i experience. some days its my lower back, some days my neck and shoulders, soem days my calves, etc. the tension areas migrate and get worse/better seemingly without explanation, but ALWAYS are a direct result of swallowing amphetamine. its quite frustrating as the benefits of the drug are incredible to me. its just this one side effect that at times drives me mad. i have found that ibuprofen and heating pad at the end of the day helps immensely to loosen things up - but i dont have any type of downers or muscle relaxers to help me otherwise. if i have a particularly bad episode ill skip my dose for a few days, til i feel my body can handle it. the tension is absolutely cumulative. each day it tendds to get worse until i allow my body to relax again.
BUT, as a resullt of this problem i have taken up getting regular massages at least once a month and ask for deep tissue and trigger point release. trigger point therapy is so m ething you can TRY on your own, just to see if ur muscles respond. if you google "myofascial release" "trigger point tools" trigger point release and so on, you will see that muscles lock up in particular patterns and often can be released with some moderate pressure on specific points. if your muscle feels rock hard, you likely have a "knot" in it and either you or a professional should be able to help significantly. i have found this knowledge to be priceless as i try to keep my body happy whilst taking amphetamines. hope this helps!
 
^yeah really, i don't want to stop taking dexedrine as it improves my life so much but the muscle pain coming and going and working in an industry where this will impact my ability to work or will have to adjust my career path around it, is a big issue as well.

i have been doing trigger point massages for a while, either on me or my gf with a fair amount of success. This time around though the muscle just wouldn't let up. I don't really get why it was so bad this time, it's been gone now for 3 days, i do fear it returning. I have some heavy hitting meds to combat it but i just don't want to do any permanent damage as i need my back/neck to be in good shape to make money for the rest of my life.

I still have some residual muscle tension at this point but it's not bad by any means, especially compared to a muscle spasm, but whether i take dexedrine today or not may have an impact on that; it's fucked up because i need dexedrine to maintain my functionality but it also inhibits my functionality if my muscles get so fucked i can't move for 3 days. thanks for the insight as another amp user, it helps to know that dexedrine is indeed not helping the matter and likely pushing my muscle tension into muscle spasms. Don't really want to quit dexedrine for good though but taking a few days off here and there isn't that bad.
 
yeah, i've found if you go into the high aware of the problem, you can correct it and eventually your body wont do that anymore. BEWARE THOUGH. It's a stimulant tick, most everyone has it. When you take stims, the body needs a focal point for the excess energy. Some people grind their teeth, others flick their tongue or rock there jaw.

I used to grind, then i became aware of it and stopped that, but the tick moved to my tongue, so then i would rub all the taste buds off of that. Then i mastered that and it moved into my neck, so i got rid of that through conscious awareness and now it happens in my left breast/shoulder area. It's a pretty strange idea but I feel like i cant get rid of it, I just end up re-concentrating it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top