Weird health issues (getting old too young!)

Machismo

So I am 28 with a normal job, wife, and a 1 year old. Strangely, I am getting some weird health stuff lately that got me worried and some of these remind me of old age stuff too much. I have worked out regularly for the last 7 years, but the last year has been pretty sporadic due to the baby, new house, and work.

-joints: they feel weaker and are experiencing pain more frequently. I went back to working out and on the third day, I couldn't do a push up. This wasn't due to lack of strength in the muscles, but the joint felt like it was going to shatter. We have a heavy security door at work and for the last week, it hurts to push it open!
-I suspect I've been developing carpal tunnel over the last year or two and the symptoms have been getting noticeably worse.
-Numb/tingling in the leg:for a few days my foot was numb and tingly like it fell asleep, except it never recovered. I went to the clinic at work and saw a doctor. They took some blood to see if it might be a vitamin issue. They suspect it might simply be a pinched nerve.
-cold/sinus infection: I am developing my third sinus infection since January 1st. This is getting stupid. I could attribute this to my baby boy being in a day care, but I normally don't get sick this much.
-Always tired:probably due to having a baby that is either teething, sick, both, or just wants to play at 2:30 AM.

Its getting weird. Am I just oversensitive to all this stuff? Am I just experiencing what it is like to hit 30? Is some gland about to burst from my chest and eat my eyes for neglecting it?

Would I be paranoid to make another appointment to see the doctor again and just lay it all out like above?

As a small note, (when it rains it pours) I doubt I will be able to do anything but work and sleep starting Monday, so seeing specialists will be... fun if I need to.

Fantasma

Sounds like you are developing some sort of Arthritis (Inflammation of the Joints). It is always good idea to see a real specialist and not just a common doctor. The tiredness and sinus infection makes me consider autoimmune issues.

I could be all wrong, so don't take my comments very seriously. By the way, do you take vitamins and proteins ?, I consume at least a small amount of vitamin C.

Djeet

Which joint hurt during the push-ups? Perhaps it's related to whatever posture/habit that is contributing to carpal tunnel?

At face value it just sounds like you could be having a bad couple of months. However joint pain, numbness, and fatigue could be symptoms of of something serious (do not look online to self-diagnose, this would be a mistake); only a doctor could really determine if these things are related. Either way you should be looking up a general practitioner or family practice doctor to serve as your primary care physician so that you're getting regular check-ups and a medical history is being built-up by a doctor/practice instead of a collection of clinic visits; this person/practice can also serve as a someone to consult when you're not sure if you should make an appointment.


Having had a serious illness earlier this year I can tell you that not having a primary care physician means you need to run around a lot more, have multiple visits, spend a lot more money, and get a lot sicker before you get to the point where you might be admitted to a hospital.

DoraB

It DOES sound like arthritis, at least as far as the joints go, and in as much as what you're experiencing sounds similar to what my husband deals with. (He's 36.) But all the rest of the stuff might just mean you're not getting enough of what your body needs now that you're getting older and a baby is putting demands on you in addition to that... in other words, while what you were eating and how much you slept/exercised might have been perfect a few years ago, now that your body is dealing with so much more stress and expending so much more energy you might need to put more into it. I don't think you would be paranoid to see a doctor and outline everything you've said here... you might just need a nutritional specialist or some sort of supplement.

(For what it's worth as far as getting sick more frequently, it COULD definitely be your kid bringing home germs and whatever else from the others at the daycare and your body could just be too tired these days to fight it off as well as it might normally have done. I know whenever I'm stressed out and tired I get sick a lot more easily, even "second hand" illnesses.)

In my opinion, if you're not feeling your best, and it persists enough to concern you, then there's nothing wrong whatsoever with going to a doctor. That's what they're there for!

spool32

What you have is a bunch of probably unrelated things that, taken together, seem like a systemic problem. The main thing you have is a baby, and I think the rest of the comments have neglected that most important of facts altogether.

-joints: you should talk to a specialist about this. However, see below re: CTS. Do your knees hurt as badly as your wrists? Do your shoulders? Ankles? You know mentioned pushing yourself and doors, both of which are wrist-related. It might not be anything more than...

-Carpal Tunnel: You might be having this. It came on slowly for me but by the time I did something, my arms would ache from the elbow down to my fingertips. I switched to an ergo mouse and keyboard, and changed how I sit. Within three weeks the pain started going away, but my wrists still pop a lot if I put pressure on them, even after 2 years. I suspect if I did some specific strength training for them, I'd get 100% better but I've not done it. In short, consider ditching your keyboard and mouse for true ergo ones - I suggest the Logitech MX for the mouse, and I like the Microsoft Natural keyboard. Your typing speed will go to shit for a couple of weeks, but you'll recover. Also, you have a baby. He weighs some pounds, and you're carrying him around a lot, very carefully so as not to break him. This is going to impact your wrists and arms a lot more than you think! If you stopped carrying around a fragile 10-20lb object all the time, you'd probably see your wrist issues vanish in a few weeks. Good luck with that solution, though... go for the ergo keyboard instead.

-numb leg: you have a baby. You're sleeping for shit and, just as your doctor said, probably pinched something. One thing you should watch out for.. are you regularly putting your knees and ankles in stress positions for long periods of time? Things like hooking them around the base of your chair when you're at the PC? If so, stop it... feet flat on the floor, back straight. Again, you're not getting any sleep, so these things begin to take their toll and aren't getting "repaired" at night.

-cold/sinus: you have a kid in daycare. Get used to it, because this is your life as long as he's there. Yes, I'm dead serious, it won't stop for years and won't even lessen until he's in 2nd or 3rd grade. There's nothing you can do except stop taking him there. Especially since you're not sleeping well, you're going to be more prone to infection.

-always tired: This is the core of your problem, and all the other stuff is going to flow from it. You're getting no sleep because of your baby. Basically, this is your life for the next few months, maybe the next year or two. Try and get your rest when you can, take naps when you get a chance, and recognize that with reduced and interrupted sleep everything else will seem harder, from relationships to work to health.

If you could get 2 weeks of solid rest, most of your issues would go away, but you're not going to get that. Instead, just face it... you're going to fall to bits for a while. There's not much you can do about it - get as much rest as you can and eat healthy and wash your hands a lot. The rest is just time... when he sleeps through the night regularly (and who knows when that could be... might be next week, might be when he's 4yrs old) you'll start feeling better.

Machismo

Thanks for the advice. Went to the clinic to see the doctor. He's the guy I've been seeing for the last few years and have all my records. He's also pretty good.

They took some blood for some tests. He did advise that it could be carpal tunnel. He advised that I rest more, but knew based on my lifestyle (both work and home) that that is far easier said than done. I should have answers on the blood work tomorrow (mainly points out several arthritic type issues based on protein levels or something).
He also suggested that my tendons may have gotten weaker from lack of exercise lately and increasing sensitivity to carpal tunnel and leading to the joint issue. He recommended doing some rubber band exercises for a while to try and strengthen that. I may have simply stressed those tendons and haven't had the chance to recover.

Weird shit, but at least he and all those nurses are looking for answers now.
Thanks.

schuss

also check for lyme disease. It can cause all those symptoms.

ahava

first instincts was to get your RA factor checked for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Second was Lymes disease with it being both auto immune and being evil on joints. Third thought was the carpal tunnel.

But it really could just be over tiredness and lack of energy and exercise.

Wait for the blood tests to come back and see what the doctor says. Hopefully he did a full workup plus the RA Factor and the lymes test.

Good luck dude!

JohnnyCache

what is a 'normal job'? Office work?

Zeon

Could also be diabetes, with the tiredness and joint pain but especially the numbness in the extremeties. The blood test will sort that out though, as they always always check for high blood sugar on a blood test these days. Even if youre not fat and eat well, you could get diabetes. Every time i go to the doctor they tell me im at risk because i have high blood sugar, but its been like that my entire life. Its partially genetic, and my grandfather is also hyperglycemic. If you have any relatives with diabetes, it would be worth at least asking about the next time you see the doctor.

Robman

Could be scurvy

spool32

So many people in this thread have never cared for a 1yr old kid...

The simplest answer is usually the correct one.