Arthritis Forum - Im 20, Pain In Every Single Joint In My Body. Help!

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Q: Im 20, Pain In Every Single Joint In My Body. Help!

asked by: icarianguy on August 21st, 2005

New User

I am 20 years old & have horrible pain in all of my joints, every single one of them are inflamed so bad... I dont believe I have swelling, but the pain & stiffness is unbelivable.

Toes,ankles,knees,hips, lower back, elbows,shoulders,fingers,wrists,neck ect...

Ive been to 3 doctors & they cant figure out whats wrong with me, all I know is that my blood count had an "extreme high count" of something, which I never found out what exactly, but at first they told me it wasnt arthridis, the x-rays & tests they did showed arthridis in my lower back, thats it, well after he put me on "prednosone"(sorry I cant spell it, dont have the bottle handy) I felt a lot better after I took the first 6 pills, but as the dosages went lower, I felt horrible again, but since they worked at first, he changed his mind & said I have juvinile arthridis..... Which I think is ridiculious to make a guess after my family paid out a ton for help.

Im now waiting unteal oct 25th rolls on by for my apointment at uab.

I've decided to lay off the pills because I heard they made a friend of my moms lose his hair , plus they have me on this stuff for way to long, its not good for me at all...

When I wake up is when its worst, cant make a fist with my hands, my knees seem to pop out of joint with every step I take, my wrists have an intence pain sometimes, as if they disconnect & grind against or pop against another bone, my jaw even comes out of socket & my left hand goes numb several times a day , ive wokin up with my hands purple on a few occasions.

I also have 3 bone spurs in my neck & a pinched nerve in my neck, no idea if this could have anything to do with it, but they seem to not think so.

I was a body builder & a professional wrestler before all of this happend, now ive lost 20lbs of muscle & had to quit doing the thing I love most, I feel horrible all the time , it even hurts me when I pour a glass of milk :(

im 20, im to young for all of this to be happening to me, ide just really like to know whats causing all of this so I can live life w/o pain in my body 24-7 , the never ending pain is depressing me.

It started about 4 months ago, with my feet hurting, like the arch in my foot, then ankles, knees, toes, then one day I lifted a keg onto a shelf 4 feet off the ground by myself & it slipped out of my hands, hurting my fingers really bad, but the bones in my fingers dont hurt anymore, its just the joints..Along w/ everyone in my body. With the numbness in my hands, they also have a tingly feeling when I move them into a fist, the feeling of your foot asleep almost but not as intence.

Thank you-

icarianguy

Replies(12)

naruto

replied on August 23rd, 2005

New User

Hey man , I kinda know how it feels although my pains arent so bad . Im 22 and have been having these joint pains all over for a yr or so . Went to atleast 3 different docs , they cant really find nething wrong and so they have me doing physiotherapy but that isnt helping that much though the docs say that it takes time .Anywyas my advise for now would be dont panic , lay off any very physical sport and to keep in shape resort to swimming . Swimming is an awesome exercise and doesnt exert much force on the joints (unless u trying to make a lap record or sumthing). Also do simple stretching and extending exercises for ur hands legs etc irrespective of what u have all patients with join paint need physiotherapy and simple stretching exercises can only be good!! Also do look for information on the internet !! (personally I think that since uv been doing so much bodybuilding and weighlifting it could be like ur body tiring up a bit , maybe rest and lighter exercises are th order of the day) .Anyways best of luck and try not to worry too muchl

hurtallover

replied on December 2nd, 2005

New User

You are right - you are way too young to be going through this!!!! :cry: are you going to a rheumatologist? If not you should be. They specialize in rheumatoid arthritis - and other autoimmune disorders. Good luck. I'm 56 and going through this and hate it!!! :evil: :evil: and can't imagine having gone through it at 22. The prednisone has awful side effects and causes me to gain weight - ugh - and upsets my stomach something awful, but it cuts the pain so so far it's worth it. I'm on other drugs as well and plan to hang in there. The good news is that these diseases often - usually??? Go into remission. I send you both a big hug. :)

YoungNclueless15

replied on February 4th, 2006

New User

Hey I feel your pain, i'm 15 and have arthritis ( jra ) in my knees, wrists, ankles, toes, fingers, elbows and shoulders.

This one day I asked my gym teacher if I could leave 5 minutes early because I was having terrible knee pain and he got a snooty look on his face and said "no! I have arthritis all over!"

and all the time when my teachers let me out early because of it i'll get interrogated in the halls and when I say I have jra they'll usually say " so what?" and say to get back to class. They must think its not painful at all.

rabiddustbunnie

replied on February 6th, 2006

Experienced User

Hi there! Like a few others have said, you need to schedule an appointment to see a rheumatologist if you haven't already done so... Your syptoms are very similar to several different types of arthritis as well as fibromyalgia or possibly lupus (lupus would show up in bloodwork though as would rheumatoid arthritis). Bone spurs are often times a syptom of osteoarthritis. I know how you feel..... My symptoms are the same as yours (the nerves in my neck are pinched too), my joints always crack and grind, i'm prone to numbness in my limbs, i'm very stiff when I first wake up, etc.

Anyway a rheumatologist diagnosed me with osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia shortly after I turned 22 and I saw a bunch of different specialists and took many different prescription meds to help deal with the pain before I finally got a diagnosis. Usually most of the meds didn't help.

The best things that works for me are eating fairly well (especially foods high in omega 3s - they help decrease joint inflammation temporarily), exercising for at least 20 minutes every day even if i'm in a lot of pain (i was also in physical therapy for 3 months to regain the strength I lost), and sleeping regularly. If the joint pain is making it hard for you to sleep, try an over the counter sleep aid like tylenol pm. If that doesn't work, ask your doctor about other sleep medications. I take a real low dose anti depressant to relax my muscles so they don't spasm and twitch when i'm trying to fall asleep. Do you have that problem too? Also, I don't know if you drink or not, but if you do, occasionally having a small glass of wine before bedtime helps me fall asleep on the particularly bad days.

Lack of sleep, being stressed out, and having the blues for extended periods of time tend to make arthritis pain much, much worse, so take the best care of yourself that you can. There were a lot of times I know I felt like giving up due to the pain I was under and a lot of people didn't understand, but it's important not to dwell on the negative things too much and focus on what you can do, not what you can't as a result of the pain. :)

good luck!

Nicole

organicpaul

replied on February 8th, 2006

New User

Go See Your Doctor

While your waiting to see your rheumatologist try seeing your local doctor or gp as we call them in the uk . He can give you a short course of steroids (prednisolone) for a couple of weeks to get you mobile in the short term. It worked for me.
#
best wishes

kimijean3

replied on February 16th, 2006

New User

Arthritis

When you say these usually go into remission, are you talking about auto immune disorders? I recentley came from a rheumetologist in edmond, and was diagnosed with a type of arthritis, vasculitis, which is an auto immune disorder. Actually called polyarteritis nodosa. But he said my symptoms were not far enough along to give me the medicine. I feel terrible everyday. I can't hardly get out of bed to do normal everday things. I am 32 yrs old and trying to type this is hurting. I also have osteoarthritis on top of everything else which he said I will need total replacements within 5 yrs. Just wondering if you have been dealing with an auto immune disorder and remission? Please let me know?

Kimijean3 :)

sharon midgley

replied on March 24th, 2006

New User

Skin Problems And Arthritis?

Hi, since january 2005 I have been suffering with the most terrible pain in all of my joints. It started in my left knee and within days progressed to all of my joints including my toes and jaw and subsequently had swelling that was noticeable in my fingers, wrists and left knee. The pain has never gone away but does tend to vary.My rheumatologist has advised that it is some kind of inflammatory arthritis which is understandable as my sister has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (sero/negative)the same. However, i'm now starting to think of all the problems I have had before the joint pain, for instance boils since I was 18 (now 29) and i've just discovered that I have eczema too. My sister hasn't had the boils but she started with arthritis at 16 but does have the same itchy skin and what we thought in the summer was prickly heat.I can't help but think it's all linked. Does anyone else have these symptoms?

Bethanyatg

replied on February 12th, 2007

New User

Joint Pain

You state that your joints move around.
You might want to check into a disease called ehlers danlos syndrome. It can cause horrible pain and joint dislocations. Do you bruise easily too? Do you heal slow? If you want further info just email me and put ehlers danlos or eds in the subject line. I would be more than happy to help you off this forum as I am not sure if I am able to post links to other sites on this board.
I hope I can help you with the pain and to get a diagnosis.
Bethany

Moonlightchest

replied on February 16th, 2007

New User

Hi icarianguy, try 3-1-2 acupuncture meridian exercise... "3-1-2" meridian exercise is a development of the traditional chinese meridian theory in integrating the 3 aspects of meridian exercise, i.E., the direct massage of 3 meridians to activate the "blood" and "qi" of the 3 regions of the body, and the indirect massage of the 9 meridians of abdomen by qigong training to balance the yin and yang of the viscera, and to excite the 20 meridians of the whole body by physical exercise in a dynamic state, leading to an extra augmentative flow of "blood" and "qi". Get the instructions and illustrations here: http://health.Moonlightchest.Com/exe312.As p (note: it's not a commercial website)

purplekate

replied on February 28th, 2007

New User

Hug

i know exactly how you feel, sounds like we have the same thing (whatever that might be?)! the joint pain started in my knees, then my hands and now it's in every joint in my body. started about 8months ago when i was 19 for no obvious reason whatsoever. not to scare you but i have ended up in hospital because of it. the doctors won't diagnose anything and i've seen about 7 now. some say maybe arthritis, some m.e., they just have no idea. by the way i think someone said that arthritis shows up in blood tests, well this isn't necessarily true. the rheumatoid factor test is not very effective at all. 20% of those with a positive result DON'T have artritis and never will. whilst only 60% of those WITH arthritis have positive rheumatoid results.

ive given up with hospital and doctors at the moment as they dont do anything other than put me on a million drugs which hardly dull the pain. i've had to quit work and my second year of university.

i would suggest going on a "stone-age" diet very strictly for a month. see www.drmyhill.co.uk you basically eat meat, fish, fruit and veg for a month, nothing else, no additives, eveything must be 100% natural. i'm vegan and have stil managed it. since being on the diet my symtoms have almost completely gone. i've come a long way from not being able to walk in january.

i have started to re-introduce food this week, starting with tap water! unfortunately some of my symptoms have returned today. so possibly i have an intolerance to tap water.

if you're going to try this do it very strictly or it really wont work. also intolerances can develop so say you love cheese and have eaten it your whole life you may NOW be intolerant to it.

good luck, i hope you feel better soon hunnie. let us know how it's going. xxx

roxiebabi

replied on August 25th, 2008

New User

Hi I know you wrote your post a few years ago but I just found it now and I was wondering if your joint pain has improved at all? I am 20 and I have arthritis...worst in my knees and feet and wrists especially when i wake up. The stiffness is bad. But the medication i'm on helps a lot and keeps the swelling down. Hope all is well!
Ashley

GeeGee2

replied on September 29th, 2008

Experienced User

Joint pain

I suggest you request a test for LUPUS-as stated in an above post it can be detected through a blood test. Not just any blood test will detect this disease...it needs to be specific for lupus. Lupus is VERY often OVERLOOKED and misdiagnosed by doctors because it mimicks sooo many other diseases.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease and most often attacks the joints. It sometimes causes a "butterfly" rash on the face-but not always. I urge you to request this blood test-even if just to rule out.

Take care & good luck..hope you find answers soon!

Gee

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