In constannt pain with my joints

meoklmrk91

I am having a seriously difficult time with both my hands and both of my shoulders. In one hand I have an old fracture so understand that there are issues with that but it's my left hand with no injury that is actually much worse. I can't put weight on it, even something as simple as changing gears on the car can send searing pain through my whole hand and my arm.

My shoulders also give me issues, especially my right shoulder, this is especially an issue when I have to stand for a long period of time or I have to do manual labour.

I have been to my doctor and all he gives me is diafene spray, I would understand if this was a short term issue but it has been going on for atleast 6 months. I would like to know what's wrong with me, not just get some spray.

I am only 21 and living with this everyday, it is becoming debilitating to the point that I know I am going to have alternate between writing and typing my notes in college. I am just so sick of being in pain.

Tropheus

I would suggest that you ask for a referral to a rheumatologist. They would be best placed to investigate joint pain.

Tapping girl

Stress could be contributing to your pain and also diet. If you go into a health food shop, they might be able to guide you advice on diet (I know for people with arthritis they recommend you stay off coffee, tomatoes, sugar and I can't remember what else). They are usually very happy to give you advice.

I was sick years ago with chronic fatigue and got better by completely altering my diet. I gave up gluten, dairy, sugar, fruit - but I was very sick so I had to do something. It was a kinesiologist who helped me (I was living in the UK at the time). Or maybe try a homeopath.

If it is stress related, you could look at what happened around the time when you first started to experience the pain. If you are able to pinpoint something that has happened, then that may be a good place to start and then look for help. Google EFT for pain relief and you might find something to help you also.

Good luck with this.

miss no stars

Please go down the route of conventional medicine or, in other words, medicine. Do not go with "alternative medicine" (aka, not medicine!).

There's clearly something medically wrong and there is absolutely no peer reviewed research to indicate that homeopathy or kinesiology actually work beyond the placebo effect.

Go to your doctor and don't leave until you get referred to a specialist. In fact, at the start of the appointment say to him/her "I am in too much pain to be able to tolerate yet another prescription for diffene spray. I want to be referred to a specialist who can get to the bottom of why I am in so much pain. I cannot live like this. It's affecting all areas of my life and I have tried just using the spray but it is simply not working. Who can you refer me to?"

If alternative medicine was shown to work it wouldn't be alternative - the medical community would accept it and it would simply become "medicine". Do not go down the alternative route. If you're having difficulty with the psychological aspect of dealing with pain and would like to see someone who is actually listening to you (doesn't sound like your GP is tbh), try going to your college's counsellor.

Also, go talk to the disability/accessibility service in your college before seeing your doctor again. If this is an ongoing issue you may be eligible for special accommodations in exams, labs, practicals etc. but you might require a doctor's note to confirm that it is ongoing and affects your ability to perform.

Best of luck.

QuiteInterestin

As others have said, push for your doctor to refer you on to someone who can actually get to the root of the problem, be it orthopaedics, rheumatology or neurology, don't let him fob you off with anymore sprays etc. Some of these disciplines have very long waiting lists so the sooner you get your name on one, the better.

I feel your pain (literally!), I started of with pain in my shoulders 5 years ago, and over the course of the last 5 years it has pretty much spread to all my joints. I've attended orthopaedics, rhumatologists etc with little success, but at least they were able to outrule any serious conditions and give me some advice of how to manage my joint pain.

In relation to your college work, my problems started right before my summer exams in college. I wasn't able to write for more then a few mins so they were able to arrange a scribe for me for those exams. While it was ok, it wasn't ideal. Dictating sounds easy, but you are usually given a postgrad who has studied different subjects (e.g. a Business student might get a Science post grad to do their writing) so you have to spell all the words that seem really easy to you (kinda ruins your chain of thought). Also, you need to specify when to put in full stops, new paragraphs etc, things that you do naturally if you were writing yourself. For my final exams, I asked and was given permission to type my exam paper, which was easier then dictating, but still difficult (though I did get an extra 10 mins per hour so kinda helped towards my slow typing). My college were very accommodating when it came to letting me dictate/type my exams, however I did need to provide them with a doctors letter stating that I was unable to write my exams.

For day to day studying/making notes etc, make sure you have good posture, sitting straight with feet flat on ground, google good sitting posture, ergonomics etc for info on how to sit correctly at a desk when writing/typing. Also, when writing, try to get the foam/rubber grippers for your biros or use wider biros (as you're less likely to grip them as hard as thinner biros so your arm/shoulder should be more relaxed when writing - thats the theory anyways, didn't help me much but it might help you)

Best of luck with it all, hope you get it all sorted

ingalway

You could ask for an MRI of your neck. I started getting terrible joint pains in neck/shoulders and left wrist and fingers. Turns out I have a badly damaged disc in my neck. I still had to wait 3 months to see a specialist but at least I had the MRI done before seeing him rather than him telling me to get one then wait another 3 months to see him again.

They are easy to arrange, just get your GP to refer you. At least you will know one way or another if it is disc related.

Hope you get some good news/pain relief soon.

cltt97

I would recommend an MRI, too - cost 200 Euros (or even less if you're a student) in Euromedic, so reasonably affordable. I have a slight curvature of the spine which caused muscle tension (and some nerve pinching) and I used to get terrible pains in my wrists, elbows, arms - like repetitive strain disorder. Between physiotherapist and chiropractor I got a good handle on this one and hardly ever get it these days. Good luck!

Equality

Go to a good physio first (by good I mean one that has been recommended, rather than one chosen at random).

A good physio will usually be able to identify the area causing the pain. Then get an MRI of that area.

Otherwise you may get an MRI of the wrong area, and each MRI costs 200. In other words, if the root cause is the spine/neck, then that is where you need the MRI.

If the problem is in the wrist, then you need to MRI the wrist.

kangaroo

I agree that physios can be good at isolating the cause of pain. When I was in college, there was a facility to get free physiotherapy on campus so that might be a possibility (although I preferred the private physios I went to that had various gadgets like laser and inferential treatments). Physios can also be good at making ergonomic recommendations.

Doctors such as rheumatologists and orthopaedic specialists can be useful and I agree with others that you should be looking for a referral.

Hopefully doctors will consider any relevant systemic problems that could cause the problems too. In my case, I first developed problems when I was 16, had over 100 physio appointments for the various muscle/joint/tendon/ligament problems I developed as well as seeing a few specialists but wasn't diagnosed with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome till I was 22 (I don't think the doctors had really been considering it as an option, although it's a bit better known now).

But hopefully it is a more localised problem. Laptops, for example, are not good ergonomically.