Bilateral Pain In Upper Portion of Arms and Legs

Question

Hi! I am a 24 year old male and lately I have been experiencing some strange symptoms. The symptoms started approximately two and a half weeks ago with a strange sensation in the backs of both of my thighs. The feeling was somewhere between sore muscles and restless leg syndrome. This sensation came on bilaterally and remained the same for about 2 or 3 days. After that the pain/sensation intensified and spread to the fronts of my thighs, my upper arms and slightly into my lower legs. Again, all of these sensations came on bilaterally. The feeling was so intense that it gave me trouble sleeping. After a few more days the feeling subsided greatly and was noticeable only in my thighs. Around this time I also began experiencing some slight muscle twitching. The twitching is primarily in my thighs but does occasionally occur elsewhere in the body. These twitches seem to happen most often when I am sitting on the couch using my laptop and far less anywhere else. Currently the feeling is coming and going with the most sensation coming when I wake up or when I am feeling anxious and the least sensation coming when I am doing something to take my mind off of it.  

I am a vegetarian. Could this be a b-12 Defeciency? 

Could this be a post-viral syndrome/illness?
  
Could this be a nerve pinch?

Do these symptoms sound like any of the more scary diseases? ALS, MS, Parkinsons, Fibromylagia?

What course of action do you recommend? It seems to be non-progressive, with no muscle atrophy or weakness and seems to be getting better but it is definetely still there. 

Thanks so much!

Help21 · Answer

The doctors appointment is already made. At my job I have to lift heavy boxes quite a bit. Do you think improper lifting could lead to pain in both arms and legs?

Annie62 · Answer

I agree, you should see a doctor even if it seems to be getting better.  That might be the end of it but it might not, and it is better to get a doctor's opinion while it is happening instead of relating this experience to a doctor after the fact some time down the road.   

Regarding the B-12, if you still eat dairy (just vegetarian, not vegan) and eat cereal, etc., with B12 added you should get enough of the vitamin.  If you're vegan you should definitely take supplements and/or make sure you eat food that is fortified with B12.  Not sure if you know, but you can't get B12 in a vegan diet so supplements and food fortified with B12 are a must, as deficiency can potentially cause serious neurologic problems.  I have been a vegetarian since I was 8 years old and had my B12 tested a few years ago and it was normal.  After changing my diet a year ago to mostly vegan in order to lower my cholesterol I just found out I had a low-normal B12 blood level a few weeks ago--that's how quickly it dropped due to cutting out most dairy products.  So you really should go to a doctor and he/she will let you know if B12 can cause the symptoms you describe or if it's something totally different causing them.  Before then you could type in a description of your symptoms and do a search online as well.  Good luck.

Help21 · Answer

I am not vegan but I do eat very little dairy. I don't drink milk, I RARELY eat eggs and sometimes eat cheese and yogurt. I normally try to avoid them if at all possible. Do you think this kind of diet could cause a b-12 defeciency? Do you think a supplement would fix the problem or if it gets too low does it require a b-12 injection?

Annie62 · Answer

It doesn't sound like you're eating that much dairy so you might be B12 deficient.  I was only in the low end of the normal range (not that deficient) yet my gastroenterologist suggested B12 shots but then left it up to me to either do the shots or just take supplements once I let him know that I thought it was due to the change in my diet (less dairy) in the past year.  So if you have B12 deficiency due to a vegan or mostly vegan diet then supplements should work fine.  However, some B12 deficiency is due to lack of intrinsic factor in the stomach/malabsorption problems (which I know nothing about), and in that case I believe B12 shots would be necessary.  

So you should probably take a B12 supplement daily whether the  symptoms you described are due to a B12 deficiency or not.  But you still need to go to a doctor to see what is causing your symptoms and maybe he will do a B12 level on you if he thinks it is at all relevant.

Bilateral Pain In Upper Portion of Arms and Legs

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