Chronic Grinding Joint Pain

[MissComunikation]

I've had chronic pain for more than 3 years now. I fell asleep wrong in the car, woke up with a crick in my neck, and have been on a downward spiral since then.  I'm only 22 and appear to be in good health otherwise. I've seen 3 orthopaedic doctors, 2 chiropractors, 3 physical therapists, 1 neurologist, 1 pain specialist, and 2 internal medicine doctors. I've had x-rays and an MRI. I've tried ultram, vicodin, excedrin, tylenol, muscle relaxer, and herbs/vitamins. I am allergic to advil, so I can't try that. I have been tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, and rotator cuff injury...all negative. All of the doctors agree that I am EXCEPTIONALLY hypermobile. Besides that though, they throw up their hands and say they have no idea what's wrong with me.

My shoulders, shoulder blades, upper back, and neck joints constantly grind and slip out of place. I can crack them back, but they will slip again 5 seconds later. I have an undeniable compulsion 24/7 to twist and stretch and wiggle myself back into alignment.  I got worse after seeing the chiropractors. I think, since I'm so hypermobile and have such lax joints, that made the joint even LESS stable. It's like my ligaments/tendons are too loose to hold my joints together. I feel like I'm literally falling apart...

I'm in constant pain, stabbing, burning, grinding. Sometimes it feels like someone stuck a knife in between my joints and won't take it out. At this very moment, I feel like I want to rip my head off and set it back on the way it’s supposed to be!  I'm worse when I'm sitting for long periods of time (though nothing makes it better except lying on a heating pad, and even then it only subsides, not disappears). On the pain scale (0-10 with 10 being the worst), I'm never below a 6 and can hit a 9 on an exceptionally bad day.

I have yet to meet anyone else with these symptoms. I'm tired of trying to motivate my doctors to FIX ME! Not to mention, I don't know where else to go! I’m researching EDS, but I don’t feel like that is what I have (according to the list of symptoms).  I’m still going to go to a geneticist to check out the possibility though.  

Is there anyone out there experiencing the same symptoms as me?

[oneofthecrowd]

I wish it was gender-centric - only to narrow-down that as a factor, not to be misogynistic - but if we're all feeling similar things, I'm afraid it's not.  I'm a 37-year-old man.  I developed the joint pains 11 months ago seemingly overnight (or over a few days) and chalked it up to a cold-like virus or something (though I didn't feel sick in any way other than the pains).

I have no issues with muscles; just joints: elbows and shoulders more than anything but like others here, elsewhere in other joints too.  I have full strength in all muscles but the joints cause issues.

For the pain?  I take no pain relievers.  It's just something I have come to acknowledge in my day-to-day.  Plus, if the pain is never relieved, it's never coming back; that is to say: I prefer a constant pain rather than alleviating it and then feeling it intensify again later.  Some days, though it hurts at the 9 level of 1-10, I can almost forget it's abnormal to feel the pain.  I do take something, however:  Though I know it may not help some people, I take glucosamine and chondroitin, and tart-cherry powder in capsules.  I found that those help with the crunchiness and make my joints feel a bit more slippery, which helps with the pain but I'm more concerned with preventing damage than preventing pain.

Only 6 doctors for me thus far.  I still have the bone scan to do but all blood work is normal.  I'm not sure how x-rays can come back perfectly normal when we can feel - and sometimes hear - the crunch.  Very odd.

Lyme disease?  Certainly possible, though I do not recall any rashes (though perhaps they were on my back, my head, or so minor that I didn't notice).  However, yes, the symptoms for late-stage Lyme are very similar to what I am experiencing.  Lyme tests reveal nothing but I read someplace that the Lyme disease bacteria may actually be encapsulated in body proteins in a dormant state within the joints - not detected in blood but causing direct issues within the joints.  I don't know if pulling joint fluid out and testing that would reveal anything; I'm not a doctor.  Just thought I'd mention it.  I saw it here:

http://hbotoday.com/treatment/lymedisease.shtml

In the section titled: "Devastating Survival Tactic?"

Best wishes to all of you.

[timerouscat]

No, I did not have any gastrointestinal issues, but my pain too is getting worse.  I now can't sleep very well at night due to not being able to find a constant position without pain.  
Did anyone notice their pain intensify during or after pregnancy?  I find it interesting that we are all female and that is when my symptoms went on hyper-drive!
I have ANOTHER appointment with a back doctor and am scheduled for another X-ray, but am not very optomistic (I'm afraid of getting my hopes up that this one will be able tell me what is wrong.)  
I heard an ad for a Back Center, has anyone had any luck with one?  My pain has been in my L4, L5 discs, my hip joints which sends achey feelings down my legs.  I am now starting to feel the same in my shoulder blades and the joint popping/cruching is getting more pronounced.

[MissComunikation]

Do any of you suffer from gastrointestinal problems?  Bad stomach cramping and IBS-like symptoms?  Just curious if that might be related...

[MissComunikation]

It's been one year, almost to the date, since I began this forum...and still no change for the better.  I did find it very encouraging though to see that I'm not CRAZY like all the doctors would like to believe, and that other people are also experiencing these bizarre symptoms.

It has begun to "spread" to my hands and hips now.  My finger joints hurt when I'm using them in a repetitive manner for a period of time.  But they also hurt more when it rains or when cold weather sets in.  That last part goes for all of my joints!  Cold air definitely makes it worse.

I do go to a massage therapist now every three weeks or so.  It makes it more bearable but does not last or improve my condition.  The second I get off that table, I'm already starting to fall apart again!  I'm almost 24 now but my massage therapist describes the muscles in my neck/shoulders/back to be equivalent to those of a 55-year-old, stock exchange, business man who sits behind a desk at a computer all day!  Great, right!?

I have given up going to doctors, mostly because they have no idea what's going on, but also because I was without health insurance this past spring and summer.  That's when I started seeing a massage therapist and just paying out of pocket.  I will say that it keeps me from getting the the "Screaming Point" and would recommend it to someone to keep them sane for the time being.

I did have an orthopedic doctor who thought it might be myofascial pain, but he turned out to be wrong.  I do truly believe it's one of two things:

1)  A pinched nerve (hard to find, more easily fixed)

2)  Lyme's Disease (Check out the symptoms; I have SO many of them.  Unfortunately, very difficult to diagnose.)

Any success on y'all's end????  Please say yes!!!

[jess_80]

I have lower back pain as well and surprise surprise in the L4, L5.  I have been going to a pain management doctor for 3 years now.  I've had shots, pills, a procedure where they burn the disk back together, physical therapy, and a chiropractor (worst thing ever!).  Nothing really helped until a few months ago.  Just recently I had to switch doctors within the clinic because of schedule conflicts and the new doctor gave me the shots.  It was the worst shots I have ever had to endure yet and I didn't understand why it hurt so much more than every time before.  I couldn't move the next 2 days without being in extreme pain.  After that I felt almost immediate relief.  The only thing I can think is that finally the medicine from the shot went into the right area.  It actually lasted for a few months.  I'm now having pain again, but still nothing like before.  I'm going to go back and get more shots and pray he gets the right spots again!  

Now all my other joints crack, pop, and grind.  Occassionally it hurts but for the most part it feels good, which is not really a good thing.  I am beginning to worry though, because it is not good for a 28 year old to sound like an old person.  I'm thinking of going to a specialist for arthritis.

[java_thyme]

Hello! Late last night I came across this site while attempting to look up pain. I forget now exactly what I put in the search, regardless it landed me here. I read your posts and started to cry. One reason, I hate to see people in chronic pan. I understand that aspect 99%. The other 1% is I'm not in each of your shoes to know exactly what pain it is you are feeling. But, pain is pain, moderate or severe. The other part of  reason I cried is because when I read the posts, I felt like someone took over my body and wrote for me. I was elated to read there are others with the same pain I have and unable to get answers. Not happy you have pain,but I think you understand what it is I'm trying to say?

I slipped on ice 4 yrs ago. I didn't go all the way down, but did the dance move to keep from falling. Ever since I have been in chronic pain, and it's only getting worse instead of better. I have tried so many different medication, injections etc. I had an appointment at the "pain clinic" here today, they again tweeked my meds a bit. All I can do is let them, as they can't seem to figure out why I'm in so much pain. I have moderate DD, a small bulge in a disk, and Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction.  The effected discs are L4, L5 and S1. The typical for low back pain. It's frustrating living with this day and and day out. My friends and family try to understand, but I have told them the only way they are going to fully understand what it is I go through day to day is to have the pain themselves. No, I don't wish this pain on anyone, but sometimes I wish my family and friends could live with this for just one day.  

Please let me know if you find anything new. I'm going to look up the myofascial a bit. See what I can find out.

Warm & well wishes to you

Jen