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Hello,
I am trying to find ideas as to what could possibly be wrong with me. I keep getting sent to specialists who just throw their hands up in the air. It's time to take things into my own hands and for me to take charge. I will start at the beginning.
The pain started when I was 12 years old and was isolated to my right knee. It swelled and I started walking with a limp. This lasted until I was 14. I had xrays done that showed nothing. The only thing the doctors said to do was take ibuprophen. Like I said at 14 it disappeared as quick as it appeared. I'd describe the pain as a 10 on a 1-10 scale and it interferred with eating and sleeping. I'd go days without sleep because of the pain. It had an undetermined cause.
Around the same time the knee pain started I started having sharp constant abdominal pain on my right side. It was often mistaken by doctors as appendicitis or just menstrual cramps. This pain wasnt an "all the time" pain it would just happen randomly and last maybe a day or two at a time. At 20 I had a laporoscopy performed which revealed nothing but an adhesion that was removed at the time of the procedure. However, the pain has not stopped.
Other symptoms that have appeared since I was 12 till now (I am 21 now) started with the pain moving to my left knee but it's not as intense. My right knee now locks and slips out of place. The joints in my right hand started getting stiff around the time I was 17 which has since moved to my left hand as well and is now accompanied by pain. Now, I sometimes have trouble using my right hand. It's hard to explain I guess it tires easily and I sometimes have trouble grasping objects with or without pain. I have pain in both wrists, both elbows, and both ankles. I have also been diagnosed with Restless Leg Syndrom and Chronic Fatigue Syndrom.
Some other things that may be related but may not be are migraines and I also get what I call "split second headaches". They are right above my right ear and are excrutiating. They last about a second but are the worst imaginable pain. Sometimes I will have one and not have another but sometimes I'll have 3-5 in a row. Also, when I was 18 the nerves in my eyes swelled and I developed a nastagmus in my right eye. Two weeks after that appointment I went to a neuropthmologist who said the swelling in my eyes went down and the nastagmus disappeared.
The only abnormal blood test I had was a few months ago a postive ANA with a titer of 1:320 homogenous pattern that was in november. I had another one in february and it was the same. I was suspected of having lupus or rheumatoid arthritis but the lupus panel as well as rheumatoid panel were both in the normal/negative range. I have also had more x-rays performed on my hands and knees and they showed no signs of damage or arthritis. The rheumatologist said he doesnt suspect any kind of connective tissue disease. Fibromyalgia was suspected by a primary care doctor but he said he really didnt want to "call it that". But another doctor has said she didnt think it was fibromyalgia.
I'm just wanting to know if anything I said has stood out to anybody so I can inform my doctor and finally have a diagnosis. I'm 21 years old (female) and these symptoms started when I was 12.
Also, I have what my doctor calls "flare-ups". They leave me in pain in all my joints, headache, nausea (from the pain probably), and horrible fatigue.
So, please let me know if you have any ideas.
I am trying to find ideas as to what could possibly be wrong with me. I keep getting sent to specialists who just throw their hands up in the air. It's time to take things into my own hands and for me to take charge. I will start at the beginning.
The pain started when I was 12 years old and was isolated to my right knee. It swelled and I started walking with a limp. This lasted until I was 14. I had xrays done that showed nothing. The only thing the doctors said to do was take ibuprophen. Like I said at 14 it disappeared as quick as it appeared. I'd describe the pain as a 10 on a 1-10 scale and it interferred with eating and sleeping. I'd go days without sleep because of the pain. It had an undetermined cause.
Around the same time the knee pain started I started having sharp constant abdominal pain on my right side. It was often mistaken by doctors as appendicitis or just menstrual cramps. This pain wasnt an "all the time" pain it would just happen randomly and last maybe a day or two at a time. At 20 I had a laporoscopy performed which revealed nothing but an adhesion that was removed at the time of the procedure. However, the pain has not stopped.
Other symptoms that have appeared since I was 12 till now (I am 21 now) started with the pain moving to my left knee but it's not as intense. My right knee now locks and slips out of place. The joints in my right hand started getting stiff around the time I was 17 which has since moved to my left hand as well and is now accompanied by pain. Now, I sometimes have trouble using my right hand. It's hard to explain I guess it tires easily and I sometimes have trouble grasping objects with or without pain. I have pain in both wrists, both elbows, and both ankles. I have also been diagnosed with Restless Leg Syndrom and Chronic Fatigue Syndrom.
Some other things that may be related but may not be are migraines and I also get what I call "split second headaches". They are right above my right ear and are excrutiating. They last about a second but are the worst imaginable pain. Sometimes I will have one and not have another but sometimes I'll have 3-5 in a row. Also, when I was 18 the nerves in my eyes swelled and I developed a nastagmus in my right eye. Two weeks after that appointment I went to a neuropthmologist who said the swelling in my eyes went down and the nastagmus disappeared.
The only abnormal blood test I had was a few months ago a postive ANA with a titer of 1:320 homogenous pattern that was in november. I had another one in february and it was the same. I was suspected of having lupus or rheumatoid arthritis but the lupus panel as well as rheumatoid panel were both in the normal/negative range. I have also had more x-rays performed on my hands and knees and they showed no signs of damage or arthritis. The rheumatologist said he doesnt suspect any kind of connective tissue disease. Fibromyalgia was suspected by a primary care doctor but he said he really didnt want to "call it that". But another doctor has said she didnt think it was fibromyalgia.
I'm just wanting to know if anything I said has stood out to anybody so I can inform my doctor and finally have a diagnosis. I'm 21 years old (female) and these symptoms started when I was 12.
Also, I have what my doctor calls "flare-ups". They leave me in pain in all my joints, headache, nausea (from the pain probably), and horrible fatigue.
So, please let me know if you have any ideas.