Whenever I come down with the flu, like right this second, it is almost invariably preceded by a stiff neck for a few days. In a way, this is good, because I’m able to rather confidently predict that I will have the flu before any other symptoms reveal themselves. (“Yes, well, I won’t be able to make that meeting, most likely–I’m coming down with something.”)
But WTF is going on? I’ve never heard of a stiff neck as a flu symptom (other than “aches and pains”) and I’ve never heard of anyone complaining about a specific part of the body that always has the same specific ache and pain, just “My joints are achy” or some such general complaint. But I was turning my whole body around to look at things that would normally require only a neck swivel from Saturday through Monday, and my sniffles, headache, fever etc didn’t show up until Monday mid-morning. Anyone have an explanation, or a similar phenomenon?
I guess I didn’t it make it clear, that I rarely come down with flu but when I do OVER THE COURSE OF MY LIFE I’ve noticed it’s preceded by the stiff neck. If I have meningitis, it’s a case that hasn’t gone away since the 1950s.
In fact, I assumed that everyone’s flu started with a stiff neck when I was a kid. It’s only in the last few years that I realized everyone doesn’'t get this as the first symptom, and only recently that no one other than me seems to.
Well, that’s an interesting diagnosis, and you might be correct for all I know. I do have most of the symptoms of the flu: fever, cough, fatigue, headache, runny nose. It could be a nasty cold, I suppose, or a mild case of flu, and I usually don’t trouble hauling my tired ass into the doctor’s office so he can tell me I should stay in bed and drink liquids. I just mostly stay in bed and drink liquids, with an occasional visit to the computer to see what’s happening on the Straight Dope. Now that I know that the SD is a contraindication for the flu, I’ll rephrase my original question to “Why do I get a stiff neck just before coming down with the common cold?”