Hi Dr Diana
I’m sorry but I don’t think a photo would show anything through my hair but I will try to explain what’s happening.
When I sit up or stand, the top back/crown area flattens and indents slightly. This indentation can increase slightly when I walk but usually only improves if I say absolutely still with a collar on or if I lie down with pillows behind. A physiotherapist I recently consulted tells me that the small muscles at the side of my neck and in the lower part of my head are in constant spasm but the exercises he’s given me to strengthen the larger muscles in my neck haven’t helped. He tells me that I shouldn’t were a collar but it feels that my life is at risk if I don’t wear one and my breathing, temperature control and insomnia problems increase. I am taking anti-histamines which help with the sleep and reactions to food and drink etc but am in a bad way! It feels as though my neck muscles are pulling my head backwards sometimes and, if they relax when I’m tired, my head falls forwards or to the left. The Neurologist who examined me could hear a very loud bruit on the left clavicular fossa but a recent CT scans did not show the blockage in the carotid artery that he suspected only slight asymmetry of the sternocleidomastoid muscles. He also said I have brisk upper limb reflexes but lower limbs are OK. A previous upright scan showed a Chiari 0. My Neurologist is considering a Dopplar ultrasound of the carotid and vertebras done with my head in neutral and turning positions as well as tests for POTS as my blood pressure shows a significant elevation on standing. Any advice you can offer would be very welcome.
Before the minor head injury, I had previously had heart racing and allergic symptoms which seems to run in the family but my health was quite good.
Any advice would be very welcome.