Muscle/Joint Aches All Over Body

My boyfriend have been experiencing very severe muscle/joint pain all over the body 4 days ago and still is.  He's 25 and his body is killing him because it is difficult for him to walk or even wake up in the morning.  He is eating Tylenol (1000mg every 4-6 hours) to relieve some of his pain but once the effect of the Tylenol is gone, the pain comes back again.  He also have arthritis so the pain is even worst. Another friend of his is also experiencing the same symptoms and is having a fever.  What kind of disease could this be?  Could it be the flu?  

[Cindee56]

If he has arthritis, he should be taking some anti-inflammatory, like Advil or Aleve.  That might be more helpful than the Tylenol.  If he has a fever, then he should see a doctor as it could be some sort of infection.

If the joint/muscle pain continues, it could be something more serious like RA or some other autoimmune condition.  He could try going to a rheumatologist.

It could just pass in a few more days, but I wouldn't wait too long.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Some of the conditions with widespread body and joint aches are fibromyalgia(a disorder classified by the presence of chronic widespread pain and tactile allodynia(pain even on touching)  ,chronic fatigue syndrome(often manifests with widespread myalgia and arthralgia, cognitive difficulties, chronic mental and physical exhaustion)  ,polymyositis (means 'many muscle inflammation'), polymyalgia rheumatica(an inflammatory disorder that causes widespread muscle aching and stiffness, primarily in your neck, shoulders, upper arms, thighs and hips. It literally appears overnight, but the cause may be a problem with the immune system, perhaps involving both genetic and environmental factors) , arthritis(rheumatoid,gout or infective),hyperthyroidism and in cases of viral infections.

Is there any other accompanying feature like fever,cough,cold,weight loss,sore throat etc?Sometimes ongoing infections in the body can cause infective arthritis leading to widespread joint and muscle pain.

Complete physical examination along with investigations like ESR blood, platelet count Rheumatoid factor, creatine kinase,electromyography,thyroid profile and muscle biopsy may be needed to make a diagnosis.Pls consult a physician for that.Till that time,he can have non steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic(pain reliever) like ibuprofen or diclofenac.
Hope it helped. Take care and pls do keep me posted on how your boyfriend is doing.

[jcbls33]

sorry to hear your bf is experiencing those symptoms. it can be confusing and frustrating with no one giving answers.  Those are some symptoms i have experienced.  

I would suggest looking into LYME DISEASE.  It is the great mimicker and can be misdiagnosed as many other diseases. symptoms can come and go and be different.  The testing for it can be inaccurate. the IGENEX test is the most accurate.  good luck.  any questions.

[jcbls33]

I have lyme disease.  my aunt has had lyme for over 13 years but didnt know it. she was misdiagnosed with depression, fibromyalga (fibromyalgia), TMJ, ADD, arthritis, sleep insomnia, head aches, etc.  so i hope if someone you do care about does have lyme, they know about it and don't have to live a lie like she did for so long. I took me two years before I knew.