3 years of pain, no answers
I (26f) have been struggling with chronic pain for over 3 years now. It all started when I woke up in Oct. 2021 feeling like I had slept wrong on my left shoulder\neck. No injuries at this time to point to, or previously. It got worse throughout the day and over a week until I went to the doctor because my range of motion was extremely limited. I was recommended PT to help with the issue, and told it would clear up soon.
Since then, the pain has spread. It is now constantly in both shoulders, my neck, upper back, and sometimes in my hips, knees, and wrists. I cannot sleep most nights, I get 3-4 hours if I’m lucky. I do not have a moment of being awake where I just forget the pain is there, like sometimes I don’t focus on it as much but it is always there. Some days it is so bad that I cannot work (I have been sent home because it is obvious I am in great pain), I cannot form a thought and I just have to lie down waiting for it to pass. I dropped about 60 pounds without intention or any changes to my lifestyle. My pain is worsened by being on my feet for long periods of time, or any sort of exertion that requires lifting or carrying (ex: I will be in extreme pain the day after holding my friends baby for too long of periods). Exercise can help, but there is a fine line between moving my body and causing a huge flare up. Ibuprofen does not even begin to touch the pain, I have a medical marijuana card through my state but even that dulls it at most.
I did PT twice and will now be going back a third time due to losing my range of motion and strength in my arms and shoulders. I have seen a sports medicine specialist, a spine specialist, and a rheumatologist with zero answers. My regular dr and pain specialist are doing the best they can (routine workouts, osteopathic manipulation, massages, steroid shots, dry needling, yoga, medications, etc etc) but we are mostly putting a bandaid on the issue and not addressing the main cause… because we still don’t know what it is. My labs come back normal, my scans show that I have inflammation and chronic bursitis, but apparently that just means nothing. I am so exhausted, this is not the life I pictured for myself and it scares me to think things could just get worse. I know answers don’t necessarily mean a “cure”, but it would give us better ways to work with this pain and manage it. I’m just so frustrated. I want to sleep again. I want to be happy and excited and full of energy again. I feel like I’ve been robbed of my life. I don’t really expect an answer from here, I am just hoping for anyone to understand. I’ve felt super isolated in this because of my age and not having a “reason” or diagnosis to point to.