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Pain everywhere, all day all night, have had no answers although have had extensive tests, please help?

I know this is lengthy, but PLEASE give it a read, I desperately need help as I feel like giving up... I'm 17, and ever since the age of younger than 3 I have apparently been complaining of "body pains". We (myself, family, doctors) used to regard these as simple "growing pains" until I reached the age of about 14 when they became much, much worse. I would like to point out at this stage that I am otherwise completely healthy, I have no allergies, no genetic issues in the family, nothing else that could give a clue as to what I have. Ever since 3 years ago or so, I have experienced the same pains throughout my body, that are always there, whether as a "background pain" or really raging through me. I'll present you with a common scenario: my left hip begins to have a dull ache, which seems to spread to my thigh bone but the pain becomes a more sharp, stabbing pain. It then becomes painful to walk on my left knee, and both it and my left ankle will then become weak, making it impossible to walk up the stairs. I often have to crawl around my house (as ridiculous as this may seem) because the pain is so excrutiating. Another example, would be that my shoulder would begin to ache, which spreads to my upper arm bone, then my elbow, then my forearm, then wrist and fingers, and the whole arm becomes heavy and aching, and I cannot lift it. I have sat in class on a number of occasions literally unable to lifts my arms as the feel as though they are glued to the desk. All the while, there is pain. Now, the pain can exist in only one area i.e. my left wrist (for some reason my left side is effected much worse than the right, although it also happens on both sides) but the worst happens when the pains occurs everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean all of the areas I have described above, including my shins, toes and back also, on both sides of my body. It's quite normal for me to cry myself to sleep at night because, to me, it feels like how I would imagine the "cruciatus curse" to feel (if you're a Harry Potter fan). No medication seems to have an effect (including standard Iboprofen, Nurofen, paracetamol - and prescribed painkillers such as co-codamol, lodine and various dosages of codeine), and doctors are simply baffled. I have had x-rays, blood tests, MRI scans, full body scans, you name it, and nothing seems to come up. Physiotherapy also had no effect, but I'm currently considering accupuncture or hypnotherapy, to see whether it's a psychological problem. The next step would be to take some sort of opium to manage the pain, but I don't want to go down that route, particularly since I'm so young. I have spent too many hours/days/weeks researching into my symptoms, but have found no one has a similar story to tell. If you have any advice or suggestions I would be SO grateful, because it's terrifying to know that even the professionals don't know how to help me. Thank you. I also have hypermobility syndrome: I score 9/9 on the Beighton score, so I can do all of the following: Placing flat hands on the floor with straight legs Left knee bending backward Right knee bending backward Left elbow bending backward Right elbow bending backward Left thumb touching the forearm Right thumb touching the forearm Left little finger bending backward past 90 degrees Right little finger bending backward past 90 degrees. Thanks for your responses.

Public Comments

1. I have noo idea...you should look up a doctor that is well known for diagnoses in muscle/ joint pain.
2. Wow... I have had a problem with chronic pain, that started up in my 20's, after a bad accident and a long time in the hospital. I have found some stuff out about pain, and how it works, and you are right... doctors who have never actually BEEN in chronic pain really do not have a clue, and the ones who have are mostly not doctors anymore. I am going to guess you have already had the whole autoimmune screen, and that turned up nothing? If you haven't, then go see a rheumatologist and DO that. Stuff that matters: SLEEP. If you do not get good sleep, no matter what it takes to get it, opiates or whatever... If you do not sleep well, you hurt. Pick a bedtime and stick to it. Do NOTHING else in your bed but sleep. Black out the windows and take out the light bulbs so it is dark to sleep (your hormones sleep you better in true darkness - no lighted clocks). Take a nice bath, and go directly to bed. GET UP at a set time 9 hours later... whether you have slept or not, NEVER NAP. Believe it, it works. In a week, you will be getting a solid night's sleep every night. EXERCISE. Yeah, it hurts. Do it anyway. Join a yoga group, preferably in the evening, because it will help you SLEEP, and it will make you STRONG - and STRENGTH also counts. When you are a lot better, try weight lifting or circuit training to keep you strong and fit. VITAMINS: Take a decent regular potency multivitamin with minerals twice a day, something like Centrum, balance but not overboard. Being in pain is stressful, and it uses up your vitamins... Put them back. Eat decently. Drink water. SPANDEX: Somehow a little compression everywhere makes it all more bearable, and it also prevents stimulation of your skin, which can feedback in chronic pain loops, and set stuff off. What you are trying to do is starve those loops until they quit working. NOBODY REALLY KNOWS MUCH ABOUT HOW BODIES WORK... The stuff your doctor knows is just the tip of the iceberg. Pain loops are known to self-reinforce, and they are at the spinal level, at each vertebra, not generally in your head itself... Some antidepressants tend to blunt it a bit, but i have not had real good luck with them on the long haul. The rebound when you quit taking them is bad, and there are side effects. The stuff above really DID work for me, and gave me my life back. Finally... pain is a fact of life, but suffering is optional. Do not think about it. Become a compulsive reader, or knit, or walk (I do all three). Do not think about the pain, or the trouble or limitations it causes... Do not fret about it, just swallow what you must, and get as much life as you can anyway. I have found a decent rule of thumb to be this: Does it get me more, or less, life? Apply it to everything, rest, food, activity, drugs you may find you actually do need to take. Opiates also interrupt the self reinforcing loop of pain. Just to be OUT of pain for awhile allows you to relax, get better sleep, better circulation, and start over. Drugs are only a moral issue if they are getting you LESS life. I still intermittently use opiates, but no longer need them regularly... Usually when i have been stupid or willful and overextended myself... but then i have broken bits. You, being otherwise in good shape, may get out of this scott free :) Good luck! You are not the only one, but I would advise avoiding support groups... they are whine fests that focus on feeling your pain. LOTS of us out there, not bothering to ask our doctors anymore, and the ones who are coping are doing about what I do :)
3. have tolfenamic acid
4. You have probably heard of and researched fibromyalgia -- a syndrome that causes long-term, body-wide pain in joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. Some of your symptoms also sound like they could be caused by SI Joint Dysfunction, which is the medical term for pain in the SI joint. The SI (sacroiliac) joints are where your "tailbone" joins with your hips. SI joint pain can be especially bad when walking up stairs or getting in & out of the car. Because there are two SI joints (left and right), SI joint pain is often localized on the right or left side of your lower back, often radiating into your hip, buttock, groin, or down to the knee. The SI joint area is also one of the main nerve centers of the body. Inflammation of the SI joints can affect the sciatic nerve that runs in front of the SI joint, so SI joint dysfunction is often misdiagnosed as sciatica (a stabbing nerve pain in the buttocks and radiating down the leg). SI Joint Dysfunction can be difficult to diagnose, even with x-rays & MRI. Your doctor will likely just prescribe painkillers, but that is not a long term solution. Chiropractic and massage sometimes help, but these are temporary fixes, and they can become expensive and time consuming without ever solving the underlying problem. Fortunately, you can strengthen & stabilize your SI joints with some simple Pilates-based movements. Check out the website below for more information. Good luck!