Whole body dull muscle aches. Any ideas

Your a bit young but I wonder if you have polymyalgia rheumatica. It's an autoimmune disorder that involves a lot of inflammation. It's this inflammation that causes the pain which is why your regular pain medicine does not work. The appropriate treatment for PMR is steroids. It typically affects people 50 and older but there have been known cases of people as young as 30ish that had it. The problem is convincing a doctor that you really do have it when your under 50. there is two tests that are typically run to see if you have it. Those two tests are called C-reactive protein and your sed rate (ESR). They may not have been run earlier since its not in your standard line of testing.

I had both of those tests. High sensitivity CRP was .5 mg/L and ESR was in normal range.

Like amkoffee I subscribe to both the arthritis and PMR topics. We both suffer/ have suffered from both conditions. In my case the arthritis is on-going, PMR is in remission ( for 6 years. )

My PMR was originally diagnosed as arthritis but I wasn't convinced as the pain was different and very much what you have described. It felt as though both bones and muscles were involved and was constant. The light bulb moment for a different doctor was when I said that, unusually, I had lost weight. Just 4 hours after taking the 30 mgs. of Prednisolone ( Prednisone in US )the pain had gone completely. That seemed to confirm the diagnosis as far as my GP was concerned. Both my ESR and CRP were very high. Unfortunately "normal" levels do not necessarily mean that PMR can be ruled out; around 20% of PMR patients' levels are not raised.

I remember remarking to my GP that I was a poor advertisement for a healthy lifestyle. Never overweight, very active, never smoked, low alcohol intake. He just replied that PMR was not life style related.

My story just shows that PMR is not easily diagnosed; so many variables. There are no definitive tests. There is another regular subscriber to the PMR topic who was undiagnosed for five years. I don't know what finally convinced her doctors that it was PMR.

Are you able to see a different doctor who might see things differently? You may need to be very insistent. Many, if not most, doctors are very wary of prescribing steroids but if it IS PMR they are all that will work. Best wishes and will be very interested to hear how you get on.

hi pat, how much potassium rich foods do you eat, and don't i mean bananas .Creatine powder .vitamin c,plus you on any meds .

hi have read on sarcopenia just might be touch of that.

I don't know a lot about it but have you been evaluated for fibromyalgia? What I do know is it causes widespread pain and that it is notoriously difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to arthritis, but without the obvious joint and bone deterioration. It also is not as prevalent in men, as you might already know. From the little I know, researchers have made some strides in developing tests to identify physiological characteristics of fibromyalgia. I would be interested to hear what your experience is with this condition as a possible diagnosis.

I'm sorry for your constant pain. I defifitely have "arthur" (osteoarthritis) and cervical spine disease, so I know pain. The important thing about getting a correct diagnosis is it puts you on the path to getting the right combo of meds and other treatments that allow you to function. Please write again and let us know.

stop taking ibuprofen, get a body brace, i been using ambien, the moment it kicks in, i feel no pain, can you sleep? i cannot sleep with so much pain/discomfort, do you have constipation/bloating? i feel like stomach is sending pulses to my body when changing posture or the intestines are moving.

I don't have any trouble sleeping - I just take ibuprofen before bed because I ache less when waking. I have recently been taking creatine monohydrate for the past 2 weeks because it was recommended for fibromyalga. I've noticed a significant reduction in muscle pain. I'd recommend trying this to others with muscle pain. I'll give it a month and see if it keeps improving.