About an hour ago, I woke up and immediately noticed a mild "growing pain" type of pain in both of my hands and arms. I've had severe stabbing pain in my lower back and other places before, as well as "pins and needles" type of pain in my feet and hands and even face on and off, but this is a new one. It feels like I should call it a mild pain since it's not a stabbing/shocking type, but it feels so deep in my bones and Tylenol is not helping at all so far. (I only take Tylenol because aspirin and ibuprofen flare up my acid reflux. I hope it goes away, but I don't know what to do. It feels as if it is becoming increasingly painful. The best description I can give is that it feels like the bones of both of my arms are being slowly crushed by a steam roller, from fingers to shoulders, with the pain radiating less intensely to my chest and jaw.
I am a 35-year-old male. Yesterday I did almost literally nothing--I just lay around in bed watching TV--so it doesn't seem like I did anything to physically aggravate my body.
A brief recent background: Three years ago I had a sudden onset of a constellation of symptoms that led me to my doctor, and then neurologists to determine whether I could have Lyme, MS or something else. The symptoms that came and went are extensive so I won't list them all here.
Tests I had 2 and 3 years ago, respectively, include CBCs, STDs, MRIs (brain, C-, T-, L-spine), EMGs, EEGs, and evoked potentials. I also saw a neuro-ophthalmologist at my neurologist's direction. The only unusual test results were: 1) mild disc compression in my L5-S1; 2) mild arthritis in my cervical spine; 3) "abnormally brisk 4+/5+ with clonus" bilateral knee-jerk reflexes; and 4) a "blurry optic disc margin" in my right eye. After multiple doctors dismissed me and said there was nothing more they could do, but suggested I try to relax or even see a psychologist, I ended up going to a psychiatrist, who I still see. She immediately ordered (2 years ago) blood tests including ANA, a thyroid panel, and testosterone and free testosterone. All were normal. She ordered them in part because my sister has Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
I don't know if those things are related to this pain. Over the past 12-18 months, the majority of random symptoms have improved or gone away; I occasionally have foot numbness, even more rarely the "pins and needles" pain, and vision and coordination problems come and go, but not as frequently as in the past. I only mention these things because they were so bizarre. After I adapted to the MS-type symptoms (I'm using that for shorthand so I don't overwhelm this post with a list of symptoms), I did about a year ago begin experiencing new random symptoms involving pain that may or may not be worth mentioning: over Christmas (2012), I had such severe pain in both of my shoulders and elbows that I basically just sat in a chair like an elderly person all throughout the holidays with my family. The shoulder pain improved a bit, but the elbow pain persisted for months. Although I was hesitant to see anymore doctors, I saw an RA specialist last fall at a coworker's suggestion, and then RA said that aside from the cervical arthritis, the elbow pain was in the lower/inner biceps and not in my actual joints...she didn't do any lab tests, just a visual overview. She also diagnosed an inflamed tendon I have in my hand as Dupuytren's Syndrome rather than the tenosynovitis I was told it is (by a regular doctor) when I was in my mid-20s.
In any case, she, too basically told me to move along, which I've done. I do wonder from time to time if all this is caused by anxiety because I do have a stressful job, but then I have mornings like these during which the pain is so severe and seems to come out of nowhere that it's impossible to ignore. I am 35 years old, but sometimes I have to live as if I am in my 70s because of symptoms like this. After all the poking and prodding and zapping and, frankly, being insulted and dismissed by doctors, I am not anxious to go see another one since I feel pretty sure about the outcome by now, but GOD my arms and hands are hurting right now. I just don't know where else to go.