[black_amethyst]

Hi I'm new to this forum but I truly understand how it feels to live with pain and how frustrating it can be when you are unsure or the root cause of the pain. I'm 22 and I have been experiencing widespread pain for about 6 years now. Particularly upper back, legs, knees, etc. I also find it absolutely strenuous to maintain good posture while sitting and standing which is alarming to me. If I put my shoulders back, my shoulder cracks loudly and it is literally excruciating to sit up straight. Also I have been having twitching in my face, lips and major muscles, along with issues swallowing. I used to be a great athlete but now it's a feat to just run down the street, which makes it' hard to see myself deteriorate physically. After evaluating all my symptoms I started to believe that this may be something neurological, such as MS. Anyone else have a similar experience? Sorry for the laundry list of ailments but any thoughts are appreciated.

[Skeezyks]

Hello black_amethyst: I'm sorry I do not have any suggestions for you as to what may be causing the symptoms you're experiencing. You didn't mention if you have had this evaluated medically. Are you familiar with PsychCentral's sister website NeuroTalk?

NeuroTalk Support Groups

There are many very knowledgeable members on NT. If what you're experiencing is neurological, someone on NT might have some suggestions to offer.

[LucyG]

The first thing that jumped out at me is your muscle twitches which is a symptom of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium keeps the muscles relaxed so they don't twitch, and it helps control pain the same way.

Here's a good article on the symptoms of low magnesium:

Symptoms of Low Magnesium | Ancient Minerals

Have you seen a chiropractor about your pain? That's where I'd start.

[eyesclosed]

what sports did u play ever take blow to the head TBI the nerve trigamenial has a lot to do with the symptoms

[PandorasAquarium]

Yup, what everyone else said.

Also, fibromyalgia has widespread pain. Could be something to look into.

I have Myofascial Pain Syndrome with another laundry list of diagnoses. The MPS is like having charley horses that never go away often in muscles i didn't even know i had. The theory is that my other issues caused pathological trauma to regions. When surgery removed the source of the trauma, my nervous system remembered the pain and didn't understand it was over. So it continues to send signals to the region which cause my muscles to tense automatically, even while sleeping. Then they never relax. The pain radiates outward. So say I had a growth in my pelvis. The muscles tense, then more around those tense and try to compensate until my abdomen is always tense, then my flank and hipflexors, then low back, thighs... so the pain can be distant from the trauma.AKA referred pain. I may not even feel the pain at the source, only where a wayward muscle is pinching a nerve.

A good place to start would be a GP or PCP. Then perhaps a chiropractor, physical therapist, or specialist is your GP can narrow down the source. In the meantime think of your body as being traumatized by the pain. Give it excellent nutrition, be extremely patient with it, and be gentle and forgiving. Stress releases hormones that will only make things worse. So try not to fret about tomorrow. You can only change today. Focus on today and on giving your body optimal care. Best of luck.

[BelleValentine]

A rheumatologist is one who diagnoses Fibro, or should. Its not just trigger points! Vitamin def can cause it too. I have Anti-Phosoholipid Syndrome *sticky blood* which mimics MS in symptoms. took 28 years for them to find this, through a rheumatologist. We are our best advocates, keep a journal it helps, times and activities if it helps or gets worse, etc so you have something to give them. I wish you the best, sending you positivity and strength!

I battle chronic pain also. I live mostly in bed, or in a recliner. I use heating pads, ice packs and my husband does some stretches in me he learned in a chronic pain class. I do have some verifiable illnesses such as cervical spinal stenosis, slipped disk and other things but much cannot be explained and one doctor will tell me it's in my head, the next will say it's fibromyalgia and not in my head, followed by another who says fibromyalgia is in people's heads, and the next will say that fibromyalgia is not in my head and is a real illness. I feel I'm loosing my mind and don't know what to think but I sure know how I feel and it's too much to be expected to bare.

I hope since writing this you've gotten some acceptable answers but if not, I would like to share a video with you which might help you feel less alone.

Jennifer Brea: What happens when you have a disease doctors can't diagnose | TED Talk | TED.com

[smallbluefish]

hi black_amethyst, thank you for sharing this! I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain. I have some similar experiences--I'm around the same age and have had chronic pain in several different areas for a long time. I get really frustrated too because I don't know where the chronic pain is coming from, and several doctors' visits / tests etc. don't seem to come up with anything.

I think I've also become more paranoid about health-related stuff now, because on one hand I feel like I'm imagining my pain, on the other hand I know something's up but can't tell what, and can't manage it because I don't know what it is. and I don't know if this happens to you, but sometimes my age becomes an issue--one doctor didn't take me very seriously because I'm young, and some doctors attribute it all to school stress (which is part of it, but definitely not all or even most of it )

I wish I had resources to share, but what I can say is that you're definitely not alone in this! hope today's better than the others.