Nerve / joint / muscle symptoms ?

[mandi1369420]

Hello everyone. I've had nerve pain for the past 2 years, starting in my feet, and working it's way up slowly. I get shooting pains in my arms and legs, pains in my joints, and numbness and tingling in my arms and legs. I also get muscle cramps/stiffness and visible muscle twitches throughout my body. It all seem to be very random, with pains moving around a lot. Also sometimes experiencing what feels like.. well, someone giving me a huge hug, with a ton of pressure. At first I though maybe it was bronchitis or something similar, but it's my actual ribs or muscles on my ribs that just get extremely tender. my memory has also sucked lately. My sciatica is the biggest inconvenience, as I have 2 toddlers and it makes it so hard to do things throughout the day. I have a lot of migraines, and also a shooting pain through my face at time, which causes my eyelid to twitch for a minute. This is so painful. My loss of dexterity and weakness in my arms makes it difficult to lift or do things with my hands. Oh, and sometimes I feel almost okay. Kind of like it's going into remission at times. But these remissions seem to be getting shorter. My GP recommended a rheumatologist, so that's who I'm seeing first. I've seen him once, and he had me go for a ton of blood testing. He's testing for auto-immune disorders, diabetes, HIV, etc..  I am homozygous for factor v thrombophillia, and he thinks this is what's causing my neuropathy. He says that the factor v is keeping my nerves from getting enough oxygen.  He also says that he will not give me pain meds, because I "don't need them." This is total crap because I'm in a ton of pain on a daily basis. I didn't make a big deal out of it though, because I'm more concerned about just finding out what is wrong.
Does anyone know if factor v can contribute to neuropathy? He seems to think it's a great possibility, but I can't find one piece of information that thinks those two things together. I'm just waiting on my bloodwork now, I'm hoping that I might get some of the results before christmas. I had an ana test done with a former doctor before I had moved, and it was positive, 1:160 speckled patten. My former doctor suspected Lupus, but then ruled it out without telling me why. So, I don't know.

I'm young, I don't do drugs, I drink maybe once per month, and I was fairly active before all of this started.  Thanks in advance for any input!!

[mandi1369420]

I received my test result, but i havent spoken to the doctor yet. The nurse was nice enough to tell me the results but said that I had to speak to the dr to find out any more. And he isnt in today. So my vitamin d is low, but that's been an ongoing problem. I was put on vit d supplements before, and it didnt really help the symptoms. I also have a 'slightly high' rhuematoid factor, of 31. I'm hoping the doctor will be in soon to call me, or ill just have to wait until the 7th to talk to him at my appointment.
Since my mom has RA, it kinda of worries me.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Unexplained aches and pains coming on and off could be due to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, H pylori infection, anemia, liver disorders, diabetes, hypothyroidism, Vit B12 or Vit D deficiency and due to calcium or magnesium deficiency. I would suggest you get the blood levels of the following checked if they have not already been checked: potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, vitamin B complex, or vitamins B1, B3, or B6 and Vitamin D. Generally deficiencies of any of the above can cause muscle twitching and spasms in localized or generalized areas of the body. Get your kidney function, parathyroid gland function and adrenal function tests done because these affect the electrolyte balance in the body. Stress, alcohol, caffeine and fatigue all cause similar symptoms. Hence if you take alcohol or coffee then cut this down. Sleep at regular hours and see if it helps. Certain sleep disorders and peripheral nerve disorders due to diabetes or hypothyroidism can also be the cause. This needs a comprehensive investigation. Consult a doctor please. Take care!

[mandi1369420]

Thanks for much for replying. It's nice to know someone knows what I'm going through! I'll update with my results when I get them.  B12 makes sense. I'll get some supplements and see if it helps. Doctors can be so rude, can't they? My first doctor I went to pretty much blew me off, and definitely acted like he thought I was faking. I'm going to keep at it, and I'll see a neurologist if this doctor can't figure it out. I'm hoping it's not MS, but it's a possibility. At this point I'd just be happy to find out what it is, regardless of whether it's bad news or not. I read that heat makes MS symptoms worse, is this true? Hot baths help me temporarily.

[mstanfordrn42]

Oh my, I had to stop and make sure this wasn't my posting!!!!  I was struck with severe neuropathy this past summer and couldn't get any doctor to investigate the reason why.  I researched and discovered vitamin b12 causes it.  I started taking neurontin, cymbalta and super b complex vitamins and the pain went away.  However, I requested to have B 12 level drawn a few months later and my level was so low that I am now on shots.  I so understand your pain.  I went to four doctors with no relief.  Its like they didn't care.  My pain was debilitating from June to Sept.  I too had positive ANA test several years back.  They couldn't ever figure out what was wrong.  Until three years ago.  I was diagnosed with MS.  Hang in there and be persistent with doctors.  Let me know what you find out.