I don't know where to begin.

[Andie_t]

I am 20 years old and I have a long list of various symptoms of things that are going on with my body. I'm 5'4", approx. 130 lbs. I am very active. I go to the gym often and run and do strengthing exercises. Two summers ago, after I ran my first 10 miles, I started having sever pain in my hips, and have had it ever since. It got to where I couldn't lift my leg. I've been to a physical therapist, which she said not to run (but I still do) and I did various exercises to strengthen my back, which she says, along with my collapsing arch in my foot, was the cause of my pain. I still have the hip pain, and my hips pop often. Before I even had hip pain, I have had joint pain in the rest of my body. My pointer and middle fingers curve outward. After asking my physical therapist if I could have arthritis and showing her my fingers (which I thought to be a classic sign of arthritis) she told me that I was too young to have it. A pharmacist I work with told me it could possibly be my diet and to look into it. I don't even know where to start with that. I am a vegetarian, and have been for over 4.5 years. I am currently getting tested to see if I have celiac disease. Two or three summers ago I experienced a scare. My lymph nodes, one in my neck and the other in my jaw, became very enlarged. It started out as a pain in my neck, which I had thought I had just slept on my neck wrong so I ignored it. Then the gland in my neck started growing, so I thought I was just getting sick. It just kept getting larger, then the one in my jaw ( under my ear) started getting bigger. They became very painful and very large. My grandmother finally got me to go to the hospital because she was worried. The emergency room doctor told me he was pretty confident it was lymphoma after testing for mono, but he had doubts because of the pain. So I went to a specialist and they took a biopsy out of the node in my neck and tried to culture it and also took more blood to test for mono. In the end they just pumped me full of antibiotics until the nodes when down and never came to a conclusion of what it was. I also have been under alot of stress in the past 5 years and have suffered from depression due to various situations. I finally decided to let my doctor put me on an anti depressant, which has helped with dealing with the depression and stress. So, with all that being said... Any suggestions on where I should start looking for what could possibly be going on with me?
Thanks.

[Dnmh]

For starters, welcome to the forum! Since the lymph nodes went down with antibiotics, I wouldn't be too worried about lymphoma. Antibiotics don't shrink them when it's that.
I would go see a rhematologist about your fingers and joint pain. They know what tests to order, including x-rays and blood work, that can point them in the right direction. I myself have a very tight sacroiliac joint, and it makes my right hip pop whenever I walk for long periods of time. It also locks on me in certain positions so I have to be careful how I move. I mention it to let you know there are more causes of joint pain and popping then arthritis. I do have osteoarthritis in my low back, but the hip problem has been around since I was 15 yrs old... I'm 42 now. As to your diet, being vegitarian, do you get enough calcium, magnesium and vitamin D? You need all three of them working together for good bone health, and Vitamin D deficiency has been known to cause depression.
A good rhematologist is the place to start. And perhaps even a nutritionist. I would mention to any doctor about your vegetarian lifestyle so they can test you for vitamin deficiencies. I'm sure there are alternatives for you to eat to help if thats the case.
Please let us know what you decide to do and I hope you find relief soon!
D.

[txsilver]

You certainly do have a lot going on.  What medications are you taking?  Have you investigated the side effects?  I see that you have talked to a physical therapist but have you seen a doctor about the pain and popping in your hips?  
The causes could be anything from tendonitis, bone spurs on to arthritis (and you are not too young, unfortunately.)  It would take a doctor to identify the cause.  Running could be aggravating what ever you have going on there so maybe stopping would be a good idea until you see a doc and have that investigated.  Please write back with more info and call to make a doc appt if you have not already done so.