Depressed and anxious over tingling, shooting pain all over body

[tujurikkuja]

I am a 23-year-old male. In the middle of May, I came down with flu-like symptoms that went on for about 4 days and then went away, after which I had diarrhea for a few weeks up until the middle of June or so. Around this same time I began weightlifting (which is relevant, I promise, keep reading). Around 5 days ago, I started experiencing extreme discomfort in both of my arms -- numbness, tingling and pain and the constant sensation that my arms were about to fall asleep. Bending my elbows even slightly caused my arms to totally fall asleep Based on my symptoms at the time I decided that it was "ulnar nerve entrapment" -- that is, I figured I had used improper form while lifting weights and caused the ulnar nerves of both my arms to go out of whack.

Then a couple of days later, I noticed that the same sensations had begun to spread to my legs. It's not constant pain; it's very random and not concentrated to one spot. Sometimes it's really sudden, shooting pain in the heel of my foot or my thighs or ankles, sometimes it's a tingling or burning or numb sensation. It goes on throughout the day but is especially intense at night. It is impossible for me to get comfortable before bed because I am always seconds away from experiencing pain or having one of my limbs go to sleep. The pain strikes all over my body, from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes to my heels to my calves to my elbows, etc.

I haven't noticed any significant weakness and my ability to get up and move around hasn't been impaired. My balance is still fine. I can type like usual and I'm not having trouble opening jars and things like that. Still, I'm in a LOT of pain and I am so concerned and depressed over the idea that this could be something serious, considering that I'm planning to leave the US to attend graduate school at the end of August. If it's something that requires extensive treatment I'll have to postpone or forfeit my grad school plans and the thought of that crushes me. HIV can definitely be ruled out as I just recently tested negative for that. I'm REALLY terrified that, since this all came at the heels of a diarrhea spell, it could be something like Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which would mean that I'm days or weeks away from becoming a vegetable and having to spend months in a hospital bed, unable to walk or speak.

Could it be something related to the weightlifting after all, even despite the fact that the pain is ALL over my whole body? I was doing pretty basic strength training exercises like squats, deadlifts and benchpresses and I was literally doing it for the first time in my life, so it's not like I was pulling around 600 pounds of weight. Moreover, I never experienced any significant discomfort while lifting the weights, so could I have damaged some nerve whose effects showed up only a couple of days later? I had a total of 4 weightlifting sessions, during all four of which I did squats where I had the bar held against the upper part of my back below my neck.

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow, but in the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions on what could be happening to my body? I've spent the last few days in an almost constant state of anxiety and panic, trying to pull myself away from sites like this one but I just can't help it. I'm so scared.

[AuntJane1725]

I neglected to mention that CPRS can begin after an injury, often very minor one. Perhaps it was something which happened weight-lifting after being weakened by the illness?

[AuntJane1725]

One possibility is complex regional pain syndrome (CPRS), which presents much like you have described. Formerly known as RSD or causalgia, those two entities are now seen as two sub-types of CPRS. Your doctor may not be aware that it can spread, from two arms to two feet, for example, but it can.

Go ahead and read about it, from Mayo Clinic, for example, and be prepared to speak to your doc about it!

[flipper336]

It sounds to me like it is more along the lines of a pinched nerve than anything. I also believe that lifting the weights was also what could of started the problems you are having.  The bar going across the back of your neck when you are doing squats could be what started everything.

I recommend that you make an appointment with a chiropractor to see if you are out of alignment.