NEUROS please help a little insight would be nice 19 year old male, unexplainable side effects

[mikerobinson41]

hi i am a 19 year old college student. it all started last march(09) when i was in the middle of an avid weight lifting routine. I was up to this point a 6 day a week weight lifter, 6'6 195 lbs with very low body fat and ran 3-4 miles almost daily. I eat very well, and was at that point on track to play division 1 college basketball at depaul university...until my life fell apart..on march 23, 2009 i felt a strong pull just behind the medial side of my left elbow, but kept lifting that day, on my curls that day i felt an almost electric shock feeling on throough my elbow. i was smart and said screw the weights for a bit and thought i'd take a few weeks off..fast forward 4 weeks i saw my MD and complained that even though I wasn't lifting at all my elbow felt inflammed, no more pain at all and at that point sometimes subsiding, but i wanted to get back to the gym. fast forward two weeks, i began with a physical therapist who used ultra sound and electrical stimulation on it and it felt near 100%, but at work, i was a waiter at the time, the night I LEFT PT, i felt that same weird intensified pull in my arm. so i took more time off, still not taking ibeauprofen or icing regularly, i took a few weeks off PT still no weights hoping to get back to 100%. fast forward to June, i finally couldn't take it and decided to try a new PT who was an A$$, and told me he could get e back in the gym in 2 weeks. fast forward two weeks with him, i was doing very light assisted pullups and felt a light tear in my RIGHT bicep, and new right away what just happened. I left that PT that day and never went back, my dad is a chiropractor who is licensed to use PT equipt. so i just started going to him, and seeing my orthopedic, in july i got an MRI of my left elbow which showed moderate inflammation, and at this point i was taking 10 ibeauprofens a day and still absolutely NO lifting. in august i opted for a cortisone shot(even tho im totally against them) in my left medial epicondyle, and it didnt do squat...at that point i began noticing fasiculations(non painful) in my left arm..at that point i started taking fish oil, glucosamine, chondratonin with MSM, and ibeauprofen religiously, and things seemed to slowly be getting better, i even quit my job as a waiter to avoid any lifting..things stayed consistent but slowly got better through october, when i went into my surgeons office and asked "don't you think it could be my ulnar nerves" he replied probably not because i had no tingling in the arm whatsoever, or weakness. but i demanded an emg..just days after i felt a light tingle in my hand through my bottom two fingers, and new what to expect, days later my emg revealed a 42 NCV of both ulnar nerves, and medials tested out fine. at that point i began to spiral into depression, my girlfriend of 3 years left me because i became so depressed, i lost my basketball scholarship, and was holding out of work(i had money in the bank) hoping that little activity meant recovery...my ulnar nerves seemed to get better but i did have light tingling in my carpal fingers as well, but soon after emg and my dad saying "its inflammation causing it" i had some yet little hope. fast forward to  november my tendonitis finally left both arms but cubital tunnel stayed persistant then  i was on the machine in the gym idk what its called but you sit(i think its for women) and drive the pads inward with your thighs, and my legs were realllly jumpy, but to tell you the truth i think thats always been that way(theres a point to this..) i had also began to start feeling my fasiculations all over my body..fast forward to december 1st, as i was walking home from the gym, LOWER BODY AND ABS ONLY(i started this soon after march 23 and never messed with arms once) i sat down at my computer and noticed my feet were tingling, no leg pain just abnormal nerve sensations in my feet, and i almost went nuts, i was still out of work, and the only time i was leaving the house at this point was for my community college classes, other than that i slept all day, but that was strictly my depression, i became severly depressed after the tingly feeling, a few days later i noticed tremors in my fingers, and then later realized they were everywhere, my face, mouth, feet, legs, arms, abs, hands, but nothing horrible, very mild tremors, at this point i became suicidal, no joke, i've lost everything, i got in a fight with my mom and told her i was gonna slit my wrists, and she called the cops, and i got taken into a psych ward for 10 days and it saved my life...after that i moved out of my moms because it was nothing but a depressive hole, and moved in with my sister, i tried to join the armed forces, every branch, i aced their tests, but none would take me with my pinched nerves and all..fast forward xmas eve, i couldnt take not lifting, and decided to just do pushups, like 200(10 sets)..i wasnt 4 pushups in when i felt a pain on my lateral side of my arm and new all to well it was no tennis elbow it was radial tunnel, BOTH arms..the radial tunnel is still here but lighter...fast forward january, i went to see a neurologist in ann arbor, mi, who told me my nervous system was in tact, and that he thinks the nerve injuries are overuse, but i've done only those pushups in almost a year now and theres no way what so ever its overuse..fast forward 2 weeks ago when i got a brain MRI which cleared anything central nervous system, i also got one of my neck that showed my nerves werent pinched in my neck, i knew that because there is only pain in my elbow and i need to go get blood tests done, and a whole bunch of other stuff i see the neuro monday..none of these symptoms have left, staticy feeling at the bottom of my feet seems consistant, fasiculations have died down a lil, tremors are the same, cubital tunnel seems to be worsening these past few days after months of minimal pain..still have tingling in other parts of my hand..also when i crack my neck(i know bad, but im going to school to be a chiropractor so i can do it decently) i feel jolts that run down my arms and make all fingers tingle very briefly, sometimes these jolts are so electrifying i jump a little..the majority of my pain on my radial and ulnar nerves are at the elbow though, and i do not understand why they would hurt there if this was a neck problem..i went to MD today who drew blood and said we may need a few blood tests to confirm anything..my tremors are EVERYWHERE, and do feel like they gradually get worse FYI, if i had to describe them i would say their worse when my muscle is about 'half flexed' if i tighten them up they go away completely, and if i let them rest they're not there. theyre the worst in my face around my lips, and nose, but still hard to notice if your not looking, and in my hands and feet, my neck too..im starting to get suppper scared please help me


no one in my family has had ANY form of neuropathy, disability, any cns diseases, or anything..my grandma(moms side) died of a stroke, the rest of my family died of cancer IE lymphoma(3 people) and melanoma(2 people) and hear attacks(2 people) all lived well into their 80's though, except for my aunt(moms side) who died of melanoma at 44

i take 20 mg of adderall twice a day(have since i was 7), and thats all med wise(ps i quit taking adderall in december-feb because of fear that was it but no avail)

..any insight you may have regarding my situation would mean the world to me. this sits on my mind every minute of every day, i have lost so much through all of this and im sorry but this happens to 60 year olds not 19 year old athletes..i would literally murder to get back to the gym, nothing gets to me more than that, i started working two jobs when i was 16 because i take pride in my work, i did all the ways through when i got hurt, this kills me michaels never needed help, but now this beats my ego daily.

[Spaceystac]

That what you need, to let in out. Nerve pain is a *****, its hard to track it main causes. I am having a hard time with the medical field myself, I love that statement... you shouldnt have to go to med school for 4 years,,,so true!

[mikerobinson41]

thanks a lot for all the information..

we have all my medical reports faxed to my dads office(chiropractor) and he reads them over. he's actually let me see them both..my neck mri said i had a few bulging disks in my neck. my dad claims that there are two types of outcomes for bulging disks and mine are ones that don't pinch nerves..i don't really take his word to heart though, because although he is a different doctor he didn't even know what 'cubital tunnel syndrome' was, and will wait til i see the neuro again who will tell me if their pinched in my neck.

i dont think that i have some pain related disorder IE fibromyalgia, but i do know that my emg's have shown that the pain that I'm feeling is there, its just WHY, why are my nerves pinching, there IS a reason, im just afraid that medicine isn't advanced enough to answer this question, there is no way that whole body tremors, fasiculations, and pinched nerves in elbows/neck in a very very physically healthy 19 year old are not connected and that's what my one neuro suggested that somehow benign fasiculation syndrome which is very commonly associated with essential tremor came on at this age(usually like 40/50 yr olds) and my nerves are pinching because of physical exertion which is excuse my language ********. there is absolutely no way this all isn't connected and it doesn't take 4 years of medical school to figure that out.

i WILL keep fighting until i find the answer and i guess thats all i can do. but the part about reading the actual paperwork we are taking care of.

this is just so depressing to me because i took so much pride in who i worked so hard to become, and it's all just taken from me and i can't even get an answer at this point, i feel ripped off because no one in my last 4 generations(as far back as we could go) has had a problem like this, and for it to happen to me is again ********.

i have had neck x rays by my father who as i said is a chiropractor, a very successful and popular one, who says there is no sign of arthritis what so ever, and have been to other chiropractors just to make sure who all stated the same thing.

i just have something wrong with me neurologically, and it seems like neurological medicine is black and white and if they can't Dx you then your **** outta luck.

sorry about this long post i was just getting some frustration out thank you a ton for responding when others wouldn't thanks for the support and i will keep u posted on what happens over time

[Spaceystac]

I am sorry you are having medical issues, sometimes we cant control what happens to us. I understand that your life has changed due to all of this but try to stay positive  Depression can make your pain WAY worse. (I am not a doctor)
You listen very well to what you body tells you,  and that is good but it sounds like you are hearing too much. Like your nerves are over active. Do you have any other conditions diagnosed that might be linked to pain or nerve problems?      
I found out recently that I have had osteoarthritis evident on X-ray since I was 19, and no one ever told me. I would go in for x-rays and they would always say normal. I know that isnt normal to a 19 year old, did they even look at my age?  So   I understand how it feels to be in that position, not knowing why you have pain so young.
You need a second opinion on you mri's to see if you have any incidental findings, they don't always tell you about every thing they see. Some doctor's look at things differently than others. And remember that you have the right to view your images and report findings, take advantage of this. If you haven't already, gather up your records and look through them for your self. Be your own advocate, I have found that the medical system isnt as reliable as we are taught to believe.