I have pain in every joint in my body and most of my muscles.

CClayton,

First, you need to get a diagnosis. When speaking with your physician, just try to explain the quality of you pain (burning, dull, aching, sharp, electrical, etc), where it is located (sometimes physician will have you mark the areas on a figure on a piece of paper), what makes it worse/better, when does it seem to be the worse, etc,etc.


With inflammatory arthropathies (arthritis) the joints usually feel the worse in the morning upon rising from bed. This discomfort usually get better with some stretching and light activities. So, patients with rheumatoid arthritis for example, usually feel bad in the morning and after resting for a while. They prefer to keep moving, as this make their joints feel better.

Osteoarthritis is the opposite. These patients usually state that they feel best after resting and the discomfort gets worse with activity.


As to the muscles pain, you may have fibromyalgia. This is a chronic pain disorder where widespread muscle pain is the hallmark. The discomfort has to be on both sides of the body (left and right, front and back) and both above and below the waist. The are 18 points that the physician tests for point tenderness. You supposedly have to have 11 out of the 18 of these tender points.


So, you should speak with you primary care physician about your problem. You may have to see a rheumatologist also. The rheumatologist is the specialist who would take care of these types of problems.


It is usually easier to speak with family members once you have a diagnosis and have been started on a treatment plan.


Good luck.