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21 Year Old with Joint Pain

Posted , 9 users are following.

azee0107
azee0107

I'm a 21 year old female and I've been having joint pain for about the past 2-3 years but it recently started getting worse & affecting more joints. Most of my joint pain is in my knees but it recently started in my shoulders, feet, and hands. The pain is the worst ache I've ever experienced and it happens both when I'm up and moving and also when I'm sitting or lying down. I've been putting off going to the doctor because I've mentioned it before to my doctor and she just kind of blew it off (because of my age) but it's gotten so painful lately that I feel like I need to figure something out now. I don't have any swelling or redness in my joints, just a severe aching pain. I am on omeprozole for GERD and I also have the impalanon birth control in my arm (not sure if that's relevant).

1 like, 16 replies

16 Replies

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  • Anhaga
    Anhaga azee0107

    Posted

    If your doctor isn't paying attention to you, bring along a trusted companion (family member, friend, clergyperson?) who will just sit there, quietly taking notes.  Will concentrate the doctor's mind no end.  It helps if it's someone who knows how the pain is affecting your life.  Good luck!

  • Anhaga
    Anhaga azee0107

    Posted

    I looked up the possible side effects of the birth control you are using and there is an incredibly long list, so I wouldn't discount that this is the cause of your problems - nor should your doctor.

    • azee0107
      azee0107 Anhaga

      Posted

      I just switched to the implanon after being on the depo shot for a few years. I had mentioned to my doctor that I thought maybe my joint pain was from the depo shot but she didn't think it was. I'm not sure what could be causing my pain though, I know arthritis and similar conditions aren't very common in people my age.

  • loxie
    loxie azee0107

    Posted

    So sorry to hear someone as young as you has this type of pain.  Please ask your doctor about the omeprazole you are taking also.  My partner who has a hiatus hernia and takes this has recently been taken off it by his doctor as it was causing all sorts of major side effect problems, although not specifically joint pain but it would be worth asking anyhow.

    The previous post suggesting you take someone with you to see your doctor is a good idea - they may be able to remind you to ask questions you forget as they will be less emotionally involved in the matter, or at least make sure that the doctor understands your concerns.  Try to persuade your doctor for a rheumatology referral - a rheumatologist will be the best person to understand the issues and try to find a diagnosis/remedy.  Good luck hon.

  • Anhaga
    Anhaga azee0107

    Posted

    On another forum I follow a lot of people seem to have troubl with omeprozole.  They are often advised to take zantac (ranitidine) instead.  An older medication, just as effective but works a different way and has fewer side effects.
  • wknight
    wknight azee0107

    Posted

    Ask to change to Lanzoprozole which is a more modern drug

    Go see a different doctor 

    Hate to ask but are you overweight? Do you take much exercise? What sort of job/activity are you doing during the day, could that be the cause. 

    • loxie
      loxie wknight

      Posted

      unfortunately lanzoprazole has very much the same issues as omeprazole, my partner was on that first and got changed to omeprazole but same things happened.  He got told to take zantac (ranitidine) for one month but he got just 2 weeks into it and was waking at night in total agony struggling to breath etc., so called doc and said he was giving up on zantac and going back to lanzoprazole as even with side effects it was less agony - cant win eh!.
    • azee0107
      azee0107 wknight

      Posted

      I'm definitely not over weight, I weigh about 120 pounds. I exercise a couple times a week, that's when the pain in my knees gets even worse. My job doesn't involve a huge amount of bending/lifting.

  • sabrina12374
    sabrina12374 azee0107

    Posted

    Hi amber don't worry your not alone on this I started getting these problems when I was 22 I'm now 35 I've been arguing with my doctors about it for years as they said I was too young for these sorts of problems they just kept sending me to physio and giving me diclofenac which you cant get anymore. But one of the physios I seen 2 1/2 years ago asked me have you ever seen a rheumatologist and I said no so she told me to see a different doctor and tell them my physio has said I should see one also to get tested for anemia because it shows up high and low levels of iron and if its high and your not taking supplements then its usually caused by high levels of inflammation in the body which can be caused by things such as arthritis. I've now been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my knees an abnormality in my neck which also give me pain in shoulders and top of back also I had impingement syndrome in my right shoulder which they've just operated on so you need to keep pushing your doctor try to see a rheumatologist and I find zapain and ibrofen help for my pains but give me an upset stomach so I take omeprazole for it and there fine for me. I hope this helps you cause I know how frustrating it is to be in pain and no one listens to you I suffered for along time before I got results good luck x

  • bob11697
    bob11697 azee0107

    Posted

    Hi amber

    I to was suffering for years with considerable pain which my doctor attributed to all kinds of repetitive stress

    My advice would be to get the blood test to rule it out.the longer you wait the more progressive it gets.mine went undetected for many years and my score was180

    When results came back.l hope this helps and good luck

  • matracos44438
    matracos44438 azee0107

    Posted

    It is very difficult to deal with joint pain, especially when the pain affects other parts of your body. Suffering from joint pain at this early stage, has been common these days, due to sleeping on the wrong mattress and unhealthy lifestyle changes.

    Sleeping on a wrong mattress can really affect your joints and back as well. It is mainly due to the misalignment of your spine. There are many people who come across this issue. Some consult the doctor and get medications, while others try changing their mattress.

    You can have a doctor consulting your issue, regarding the joint pain. Is your mattress older than 7 years? Why am asking this is coz, for some people, changing their old mattress had resulted in great relief from joint ache. If you are having the TM (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder), I suggest, you change your mattress to Intellibed. It's a hefty layer of waffle-shaped gel mattress, made of medical grade materials. These are one of the best mattresses that can give you a solution for your joint pains.

    The reviews on Intellibed says it all. A user said that “she was struggling to stand for more than 10 minutes, and unable to sit. When she had this new Intellibed, she found drastic changes within a week. The first night was just an adjustment, the second night was also the same. But then when she started using it for a week, she felt the real difference. Now, its been 7 months and she wakes up fully energized, without any pain int he morning.

    It's just an option that I have mentioned. You can take a doctor's opinion to know what the actual reason is and ask if a mattress can have a solution. You can also check online for a good mattress for joint pain. Selecting a mattress is purely a matter of personal choice.  

    • azee0107
      azee0107 matracos44438

      Posted

      My mattress is less than 6 months old so I don't think that has anything to do with my pain.

  • azee0107
    azee0107

    Posted

    Just an update --

    I went to the doctor and was told that it's very likely that I have viral arthritis. They tested my blood for inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, etc and they all came back normal. It's been about 1 week since I went to the doctor and now the pain has spread to my hips and lower back; it feels like my SI joints are what's aching so bad. My doctor told me to wait 2 months to see if the pain resolves since she thinks it is viral arthritis but the pain is just so painful I'm not sure I can wait that long. I've tried taking aleve for it and it does absolutely nothing to relieve the pain and discomfort. My doctor told me that if its not better in a couple months they would test me for Lyme disease but I'm not so sure that's what it is. I'm just getting frustrated because I'm getting basically no answers besides "take aleve".

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga azee0107

      Posted

      For a year I went to my doctor (a new doctor, my own having retired) with pain and growing inability to do simple things like wash my hair or turn enough to see out the back window when backing up the car.  She kept prescribing celebrex, which I wouldn't take because I thought it a dangerous drug and besides I wanted to know what was the cause of my pain.  I was in my mid-60s and I think she thought I was just a hypochodriac old woman.  However she left the practice and the next doctor I saw took a look at the same test results, sent me for more and within a week I had a diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica and a prescription for steroids.  Miracle drug, but one has to wean to a low dose very carefully as the side effects can be serious.  So keep on at your doctors.  Take someone with you if you think they aren't listening.  That often helps.  BTW the chances you have PMR are virtually nil as it is a disease of older people, I'm just describing my experience trying to get a diagnosis.

      Is your diet well balanced?  Are you getting enough magnesium, for example?  Apparently in some countries if someone presents with unexplained generalized pain a magnesium supplement is the first thing suggested.  Just don't take too much or it will give you the runs!  Check the literature and find out what might be the best kind.  There is a book about it which includes the name of the mineral plus the word miracle.  My way of eluding the automatic moderation!  

      Also try eating fermented foods, like yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, some hard cheeses, or Brie, etc.  Avoid refined sugar and grains.

      It's odd, if they think there's a chance it's Lyme, that they don't want to test you for it for two more months.

      Good Luck!

  • edgar_67579
    edgar_67579 azee0107

    Posted

    I'm a 21 year old male, I'm 6"2 177 ish so I know it isn't weight that is my problem, I exercise every now and then and I have the same problem, severe pain in my knees, ankles and wrists. Please let me know what your problem is, maybe it's mine too

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