I've had intermitent extremely sharp pains that can occur anywhere on my body. What is this?

Question

Neurontin, a nerve medicine, has been effective in stopping these pains, but my doctors, and even neurologist, haven't been able to tell me what causes this. The pains typically only last 5-20 seconds, but are extremely sharp, like jerk me out of my seat sharp. Sometimes I will have less painful "episodes" where the pain will linger on and off for hours. The pains typically occur in one area in a day, but have occured in several areas in a day, and even in more than one location on my body at a time. They happen in joints, muscles, ear lobes, toes, hand, virtually ANYwhere on my body.

Answer 1

You need to see a doctor of rheumatology because it sounds like you have Fibromyalgia.

Here is a brief list of common symptoms of this disease:

Chronic pain throughout the body
Burning, numbness and tingling
Tenderness when pressure is placed on or around the neck, elbows, hips, thighs and knees.
Sleep disorders
Chronic fatigue or exhaustion
Depression
Anxiety
Facial Pain
Jaw Pain (TMJ)
Memory Loss
Irritable Bowel
Tension or Migraine Headaches
High sensitivity to foods and medications (allergic type reaction).
Minimal tolerance to heat and cold
High sensitivity to bright lights and sounds
Hair Loss

Because symptoms develop gradually, this disease is often misdiagnosed. It is often diagnosed as a repetitive strain injury; sleep disorder condition, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis or any other type of medical problem. Based on the American College of Rheumatology a person is diagnosed with Fibromylagia when he or she suffers pain throughout the body for at least three months and has 11 out of 18 tender points present.

Answer 2

There are 2 considerations here. One would suggest a highly inflamed neural system. The other would be fibro-myalgia. The first one would be treatable with manipulative therapy. The fibro-myalgia would be somewhat more difficult, as it involves the immune system of the body.

You may want to do a bit of research on both conditions and see where you fit into the picture.. Plenty of information online. Just go to search.