I am fourteen and have regular joint/ muscular pain. And I know it's not growing pains...?

Question

So I'm turning fourteen this Friday and for the past 5 to six months I have been getting joint pain. At first it started out very infrequent, and just dull pains I would complain about to my parents. They have progressively gotten worse however. My wrists and ankles had been hurting to the point of tears about 5 months ago, and was enough to distract me during classwork.
Recently my knees and ankles have been hurting similarly, at one point my knees hurt so much it hurt to walk. I regularly complain of joint pain, as it is always there dull and faint but I have spasms.

With my muscular pain it is in my chest area. I have had muscule spasms in my chest that has made it hard to breathe, and somewhat dizzy. It is not as frequent as it used to be, it is now once every two weeks. The muscle in my calves have also been starting to behave similarly, and I have fallen down due to them giving way under me numerous times in the last month.
Is this "normal"?

I am not anorexic and/or bulemic. I love to eat, and I eat fairly healthy too. Trust me when I say I love to eat.

Answer 1

First of all include minerals like calcium, potassium and other one in your diet because they play an important in maintaining the health of bone and muscles. Citrus fruits and vegetables are the main source of minerals. Taking, some of the supplements in you diet for the support of joints and muscles. For further information please see the following link.
http://www.herbsmd.com/store/joint-support.asp

Answer 2

You should go see a doctor. They can run some simple blood tests to make sure that you don't have arthritis or other common joint diseases. You are growing, but joint pain shouldn't be that severe. I used to have bad growing pains but they were never that serious. If you are active a lot and playing a lot of demanding/contact sports, then it could explain some of the symptoms, but not all.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

Is not a normal function of the body, for anyone. I would wonder why your parents have not had you examined when it first started.

This could be caused from many different things but is not abating. Indicating you are in a progressively advancing stage of whatever condition you are afflicted with.

You may want to advise your folks of a few of the problems that could be involved. In case you have not done a search for such conditions.

Fibro-myalgia, immune deficiency, arthritis, maple sugar disease, the list can continue to grow but, something needs to be done to arrest what ever it is.

Growing pains is a condition that is thrown out when there is no obvious reason for having pain. Is not something to be taken seriously as it is intended to get the doc off the hook, hoping it will resolve itself with time.

My only hope is; we have presented enough information to have your folks take this matter seriously and get some answers. You may even want to print this off and give it to them to analyse and then take some action. You are too young to be a victim of inattention, for a condition which may prove to be quite serious.

Answer 4

There are SOOOOO many things that will cause symptoms similar to those you have described. Anything from an infection, disease, or even allergy.

Talk your parents into getting you to the doc's office for some testing. Expect this to extend over a period of time. It's very rare to get an accurate diagnosis on just one visit... expect this to take possibly a year or longer, so plan on regular follow up visits.

Start a diary. List your symptoms as they occur, and what you were doing or had been doing prior to that....it may help them track down what is going on. I will also note - it is very easy for others to not pay attention to us, when we complain about pain - they don't feel it. A diary may help to make it more obvious, as to just how often, and how severely, you are experiencing pain. Doctors often ask "How much pain are you in? Rate it on a scale of 1 to 10... 10 being the most pain you can imagine" Keep a record of your pain levels in the diary too, and take it with you to the doc's. This is as important as someone with high blood pressure keeping track of their bp on a regular basis.

Also explore your options for pain management. Drugs are not always the best method. Ibuprofen, for example, is often used as a 'first choice' for serious pain treatment... but it also has a side effect of actually drying out your joints...so, that's exactly the wrong kind of medicine to give someone suffering from some forms of arthritis. (Been there - done that) Narcotic pain killers are not as effective over time... so it takes more of it, to achieve the same results, and many are addictive. It's best to avoid these for as long as possible, and limit their use as much as possible - especially if pain is going to be a part of one's future (fibromyalgia, arthritis, etc.)

It's not fun, and it is a lot of work, but you need to be an active participant in determining what is happening. (It took my doctors/specialists almost 2 years to figure out what wasn't happening to me... we ruled out different things over time, like MS, RA, fibromyalgia, allergies, infections, even different kinds of poisoning, or exposure to chemicals- because many of these things have very similar symptoms)

Good Luck

Answer 5

First thing I'd ask you as a 14 year old; are you anorexic and/or bulemic?

Both of these disorders will cause all the symptoms you are saying you have. Many teens get into anorexia and bulemia thinking it's this great weight control method and/or to control their emotional issues, none of which it does long term. Both cause severe pain as you starve more and more and/or throw up. Both lead to low potassium levels that can kill you.

Both starvation and vomiting will cause a loss of Potassium and no, you can't just take over the counter pills to replace it, it takes prescriptions and being monitored. Too much potassium can kill a person, so you must be monitored by a doctor.

Eating disorders will cause all the pain you are speaking of, especially in young people, because their bodies are still growing, so it's easy to get depleted of much needed nutrients. Taking vitamins will not resolve this problem either.

Next, if you do not starve, do not vomit, then you may need to ask your parents to take you to see a Adolesent doctor who deals with arthritist in children and adolesents. A normal primary care doctor will miss such diagnosis often for years. WHY? Because they will blame it on emotions or growing pains, which if you did not know, there is really such pain from growing, it's not all in your head and some kids do have serious pain at different stages of growth. Good nutrition can help if that is the cause. STAY away from Caffiene products. WHY? Most people are not aware that Caffiene will make most pain much worse. It also uses up Calcium and low calcium leads to teeth and joint pain.

What can you do to help joint pain right now. Eat tons of raw, uncooked veges, and make sure you drink at least eight ounces of milk a day or more, 2% is fine, doesn't have to be whole milk. Eat a yoghart a day as well if your parents will buy it for you, eat the natural kinds, not the ones high in sugar. One that most kind say tastes good is called Mountain Meadow or Meadows. Cut back on fats from fried foods, fatty meats, especially lunch type meats that are pre-packed. Walk each day even though it's painful. Avoid running if you are having joint pain. Running can actually cause joint pain and is common in people who are on track teams.

I'd highly suggest you get your parents to at least get you a blood test that looks at your potassium levels. The spasms in your calves and chest and the chest pain, can be caused by low potassium. I know, been there, had that problem.

If you are anorexic or bulemic, stop while you can, as this is just a beginning of the horrible things you'll live through the longer you starve and or vomit. It's what anorexics and bulemic's seldom talk about with others. Also, for every month you starve and/or vomit, you age your internal organs, about six months, from what studies have shown. So even while you outwardly look young, your internal organs will age at a much faster rate then if you were not anorexic or bulemic.

I'm 42, didn't take care of my body, was Anorexic for years and now my body is in horrible pain 24 hours a day, doesn't allow me to do much because of other illnesses, many of which can be directly linked to having been anorexic.

Be honest with yourself if you are anorexia and with your parents and doctors. If you are, tell your parents I'm telling them to get you into a youth treatment program that specializes in eating disorders and has a good success rate. WHY? Because community hospital psych programs for anorexic fail 90% of the time and use up a person's insurance for psychiatric care in just a few short months. By the time the person and their family realize they should have sought help elsewhere, they have used up all their psychiatric insurance. Having used it up, they are then stuck with going to a community hospital, as they no longer have insurance to cover an inpatient stay in a specialized treatment center.

I wish you the best whatever the cause of your pain and muscle spasms may be.

If mom and dad don't listen after you talk with them, show them this. Tellt hem I said if you have an eating disorder and they ignore it, it will never get better, your body and your life with suffer. If you are physically ill and they don't at least get some basic blood work done, how would they feel a few months from now if you landed in the hospital in serious condition from something that if found now, could easily be treated.

Go speak with your parents again. Talk to them as you'd desire to be talked to. With respect and a list of your symptoms and how long you've had them and if each one has got worse over time.

If they are poor and have no insurance, tell them that there is usually a County Health Department most places in the USA. You could probably get a blood test done through them. If not, they can often arrange for it to be done for free if your family can't afford to pay.

Take care!

Answer 6

ur fine, when i was 13 and half, i got shooting pains in my knees like crazy. I had to go to the ER one night it was so bad. Chest pains are normal also. Calf cramps occur all the time, however those are not growing pains, they are your muscles tightening up randomly.

if you do track or cross country, or alot of running, almost all of the things you listed are not un normal at all, however they willoccur more often if you are running alot.

when you get the calf cramp, point your toe at your body, it will go away instantly.

try taking some pain medication.

asprin=bad,
but take it if you want

good luck

Answer 7

No it is not normal, get to your doctor ASAP and described as you did in this questions all your symptoms and how they have progressed or changed.