Concerned and Confused, cortisone shot

[LisCruz]

I am a 31 yr old female who has been having problems with pain.  I have been having a lot of pain in my neck for which I went to physical therapy for.  It helped some but the pain comes back priodically.  My C6 & C7 are showing signs of being degeneratve.  I have been having discomfort in all of my joints but the most pain is in my right elbow.  At times I cannot even extend it to is full length without pain shooting up and down my arm.  I have also been told I have onset of carpel tunnel.  My doc has given me skelaxin (3x  day) and vimovo(2x day) as well as neurotin(3x daily) to take orally.  He also had me putting 10 drops of pennsaid on my elbow 3x a day and lidoderm patches(which never stay on) but yesturday he switched it to the voltaren gel and told me I should get a cortisone shot. At last my question, is the shot going to help?  I have been taking all these drugs and putting on all this oil/gel and I am still in pain.  I'm not sure if my neck is the root of my problem or something else.  It seems odd that it keeps switching to different joints.  At times my knees or other joints are "popping/ grinding" , am I going to have problems with them too?  Has anyone else gone through this and if so how did it get treated?  I just want it to get better and go away so I can have my life back.  My blood work hascome back neg for arthritis and I had a false positive for lupis so don't quite know what it is.

[carolanivey]

I meant it isn't at all "unusual" to test negative. :) Sorry, I'm typing with a splint on one finger. lol

[carolanivey]

It isn't at all to test negative for autoimmune  diseases like RA and lupus yet still have symptoms. Are you seeing a rheumatologist or an orthopedic surgeon? It sounds like your doctor is willing to try a variety of pain relief techniques, which isn't always the case with some docs. if you aren't seeing a rheumie, ask for a referral, and also for a referral to a pain management specialist.