Joint Pain, Fatigue, Frequent Urination, and more

I have so many symptoms that seem unrelated, yet I can't seem to get answers for any of them.
I have severe pain in several joints: knees, hips, shoulders, and wrist/fingers.
I have chronic fatigue. No desire to do much of anything most of the time.
Frequent urination, I seem to spend more time in the restroom then out of it.
I have trouble sleeping at night. I've tried ambien, but it doesn't seem to help, I'm still very tired the next day and wake up with a headache when I take it.
I'm also very forgetful, this drives me crazy, I've never been this bad about forgetting things.
Random abdominal pain. Most of the time it's my lower abdomin (abdomen), on both the left and right sides.
I feel like a hypochondriac when I think about it, I always feel poorly. I really want to know what's wrong with me so that I can begin to fix it. If anyone has any advice please post it.

[tinaet]

you might want to get your suger checked, sugar makes you have to go to the bathroom a lot. It also can cause fatigue.

[Bella Donna]

That's similar to what I've had for years. I have really screwy bloodwork but no chronic fatigue syndrome or anything like that, but no one has ever been able to figure out what it is. They think it's a number of problems tangling up and overlapping, which makes it really hard to diagnose any of them.

In the beginning they treated me like a complete hypochondriac, then like I couldn't possibly know what might be wrong with my own body (because I didn't go to medical school), then I was generally ignored and treated like I was hysterical. In the interims, when I was without or between insurance, it was worse. They pawned it all off on job stress, lack of sleep, and other things.

Now, new city, new state, new insurance, I have a decent set of doctors who actually agree something is terribly wrong and actually confer with each other, but they just still have no idea what it might be. They sent me to an endocrine doctor a few days ago.

Here's some things I've turned up a few days ago, because the excessive urination is truly annoying (it usually happens for me when I get the most ill):
Heart valve issues (heart problems can initiate joint problems, or false joint problems and fatigue), hypopituitarism, kidney problems, sugar/glucose issues, and something that causes fluid to pool in the legs and there's not enough power to be pumped back out causing the fatigue. I can't recall what that is.

Also, I read somewhere once that sometimes when the blood needs to reduce it's volume, that excessive urination will follow.

I like the Mayo Clinic website, and sometimes WebMD, but failing that, I just google things and see what turns up more than a few times.

Also, one doctor has a current good idea to explore the avenue of parasites, chronic low grade infections (like candida), and something called Hemachromatosis which can be very very hard to diagnose (because they used to think it was rare, and it isn't, and people can have widely varying degrees of it).

Everything is worth looking into.

[Bella Donna]

Thanks for the links! They actually ruled out all of those things awhile back.

I'm actually fairly active when I can be, and small and thin. So weight or activity aren't factors. I never had Epstein-Barr virus or human herpesvirus 6, never had mono to any doctors knowledge. I do have very low blood pressure and seasonal allergies though, but that's hereditary. They ruled out fibromyalgia because my bloodwork and labs show that I actually do have high inflammation. My liver enzymes are high, my white cells are high. My reds are normal, my blood oxygen is normal. My bilirubin has been high, and normal, and high, on and off. My urea nitrogen has been low, and my fasting glucose is borderline low. And a number of other things that have been 1 point from being counted as high. Something is definitely wrong.

Things that have helped have included aspirin, naproxen, prednisone, and provigil, although I'm not taking anything but the first 2 right now, and sparingly. I don't want to throw any lab results.

*A note to the original post: KEEP DIGGING. It's exhausting, but you have to be completely tenacious with the process. I'd never have found out all kinds of things (and ruled out lots of things) if I hadn't.

[talkdoc10]

have you been diagnosed since your post?  you have described my husband's symptoms almost exactly - after 6 months at cleveland clinic - no diagnosis...

[Ohnoma]

Gee, this sounds like Fibromyalgia to me. I was diagnosed with it 15 or so years ago. I still have some of the symptoms. But the doctor back then, put me on a yeast free diet. No breads, crackers, cheeses. Wash all fresh veggies extremely well. I also took acidopholis. It did alleviate the symptoms alot, but too expensive for me now. IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, joint stiffness, depression, headaches, Fibro fog is the forgetting part. Looks like you may be suffering from it also. Problem is, most doctors don't want to deal with it, or don't know how. It is not in your head. If you get the depression under control and the other symptoms go away, then it may be in your head. There is a very simple pressure point test for Fibromyalgia. That is all they have to do to diagnosis it. Good luck.

[talkdoc10]

thanks for your coment.  we asked the doctor about fibromyalgia, but were told kevin's pain would be muscular - not located in the joints.  his joints (wrists, ankles, knees) are visibly swollen & lock up and cause a lot of pain (a 7 on the pain scale).  the pain wakes him at night - he can only sleep on his bac.k.

no IBS - he does have increased urination though.  also, i've noticed his STM is slipping.  he won't remember to do simple tasks.

he's 36 years old, healthy overall, until July, 2008 (6 months ago).

thanks for any help/suggestions in finding out what this is...

[kjerst]

Hi, I am struggling with alot of the same things your husband seems to be. They have checked me for rheumatoid and things of that nature. The only bloodwork of mine that has come up abnormal so far is my bilirubin. I see the dr on Monday and plan to have them check me for celiac, Gilbert's syndrome and hemochromotosis. These are just a few that kept coming up when I googled my symptoms.  Let me know if you figure anything out!!

[charlie6901]

wow it seems like alot have in common, i was just googling symptoms i have been having and you popped up.  I get headaches all the time, i urinate alot, my knuckles are very sore alot of the time, and my ankles, my arms seem to have pain in them also.  but i am also having hot and cold spells one minute i am hot and have air cranked the next im freezing and covered in blankets.  and to top it off the last few days my skin has been itchy.  If anyone else may know whats up with me please let me know.  Im single mom of 2 and dont hae insurance on myself for all kinds of tests.  Thanks

[BonnieLMT]

I am a 22 year old female having similar issues. I have a list of symptoms that seems to go on and on. I am a massage therapist, so I am always on my feet and moving. I used to feel pretty healthy. Last year I had pancreatitis, the doctors didnt know why, among gallbladder issues (no stones though) and other stomach problems. Now its about a year later I am experiencing joint pain in my knees and hips, my neck and upper back always hurt. I have a headaches almost everyday. The last few weeks I've been having severe lower back pain around L1. Inflammation everywhere. I wake up sometimes at night with a pain in my lower abdomin (abdomen) (uterus area) Feels like I need to have a bowel movement, and cant, The pain normally last about 20 minutes, where I cant breathe and I'm sweating and crying, then it just stops.???? This has happen several times over the past few months. I have been constipated on and off, feel like I am urinating more frequently than normal. I am moody, down, distant with loved ones, having memory issues, COMPLETE lack of energy, dizzy spells and some nausea. I had my wisdom teeth out about a month or two ago, the constipation problems seemed to start after that. Not sure if its related or not. I keep thinking this is some kind of autoimmune thing? I'm heading to my doctor today for extensive blood work. I also dont have insurance, so I've been putting this off. But if I keep missing work because of all this I will lose my job.
Do any of you get really achey (achy) all over when you drink alcohol? When  I drink any kind of alcohol, the first few drinks make my whole body ache, especially in my neck, back, and exremeties. I heard this may be a symptom of Rhuematoid arthritis or some other autoimmune disease.
I will try to post again if I get any answers from my doctor. Let me know if anyone has any ideas or thoughts! good luck to all of you

[leahw09]

get checked for a UTI
i had the same symptoms, without pain during urination. all i had was fatigue, joint pain, and going to the bathroom A LOT. get a urine analysis, it could be a uti, and by now, it could be a kidney infection which would be why you're getting pain in your sides.
its definitely worth getting checked out!

[mayhem33]

I have the exact same symptoms, im 29 and fairly healthy except for all those same symptoms, even the memory loss! Did anybody ever end up withany answers?