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Is it really just ageing/ getting older? How is this supposed to work? How is everyone else doing this?

Edit: thank you all very much for your time, thoughts and effort to reply to this. I really appreciate it and I try to find a new doctor. Your questions and encouragement were very helpful and made me realise that my symptoms are too strong, considering my lifestyle. For those who asked questions, here are the answers: I eat healthy, we cook fresh, colourful food almost every day, only drink water, coffee, tea, no alcohol, no smoking, no fast food. I walk my dog several times a day and when I’m doing something where I have to sit for an extended period of time, I take a little walk evey hour or so and also use a standing desk attachment to change my position. I sleep on a really good mattress (my partner struggled with our last one so we invested in a good pair of matresses, matching our body type) I have a healthy weight on the lower end of the scale. I had to cut back my exercise that I was doing for twelve years due to the pain, switched to light Yoga and streching until even that became unbearable.
Thinking about all this together, I think my fear of not being taken serious made me believing my current GP.

I’m in my mid twenties. My body seems struggling, since May/ June, so some time then I went to my GP. His response: “everyone experiences symptoms of their ageing body at a different time, seems like you just experience it earlier…” This was around May/ June, it just tends to get worse. Which leads to the questions featured in the title. My body hurts, like, a lot. Especially my low back/ sacrum. My knees, shoulders, wrists, ankels. My hands are swollen in the morning and they hurt, I can’t unscrew any lids or bottle caps, sometimes can’t even write anymore as my fingers are very stiff. As the rest of my body. I can’t reach for anything on the ground in the morning, it makes everything so difficult. I can’t really bend over to tie my shoes or pick something up. I can’t do my regular activities even though I really want to do my sports like climbing which I really like. I do like being active and want to stay fit. But it just hurts too much. At the same time, resting somehow makes it even worse. I’m exhausted, but need to constantly move around on a low level. How is everyone else doing this if this is what ageing feels like? How am I supposed to have kids or even just live like this, as I always just hear that with an ageing body, everything just gets harder every year? I really do appreciate everyone who reads this. Thank you in advance for answering if you have any tips on how you manage this

BlackRing ,

Nope. Not normal sounding to me. Even your doctor says it’s not normal if you think about it, he thinks it’s early. As everyone else states, second opinion time.

Everything you listed, I get, but at a mere fraction, save for the swelling, nothing here. Beyond seeing another doctor for a second opinion, it sounds like you’re physically fit, which is more troubling. I am kind of fit, and sometimes my back hurts. What makes it go away? Working out my core muscles in a regimen after a few weeks. Staying active.

I am 40 fwiw, and you sound far worse off than I feel. See another physician.

braindefragger ,

You don’t need to ask strangers on the internet about your health. The only thing you need to do is learn how to get a second opinion from another doctor.

RiderExMachina ,

I’ve started having issues recently, too. After a work injury, I finally saw my GP, who recommended Physical Therapy, which has basically just been a guided workout with some yoga moves worked in over the course of an hour.

It hasn’t fixed my pain yet, but it’s made it better, and my pain was explained in a way that makes sense (my shoulders and core weren’t as strong as they should have been, placing undue burden on some of my backmuscles).

If you don’t want to go to PT, I’d strongly recommend just slowly doing 10-15 minutes of simple stretching like what you might have done in Gym as a kid. Stretch to the point of mild discomfort, not pain, doing each stretch 3 tines for 10 seconds. It might be worth looking into some basic yoga poses that target your particular pains (or the ones that you want to target first).

I’ll bet you’ll notice good results after a week. If not, definitely go see your GP again.

Obligatory “I am not a doctor”

Kanzar ,

Putting aside whether it’s normal for you to be experiencing aging so early*, you should still see another PCP because they didn’t manage your actual concern: “I am experiencing issues functioning day to day life, and would like a plan to manage this”.

It would have been one thing if the doctor had said “yup, just you, so let’s get you into an assisted living arrangement now”, or “I’m fairly certain this is just your shitty genes, but to rule out anything else, let’s send you for X tests and see the Y specialist”.

From your post, it doesn’t sound like that was the case.

*The joke goes that after thirty you don’t get injured, you get permanent disabilities.

frank ,

I had some chronic shoulder pain for years. Primary physician was like “yeah that sucks”. 2 specialists were like “yeah, old collarbone injury I guess? Take Advil”

Years later, third specialist opinion found a missing ligament and did surgery.

Moral of the story is that you should get a few opinions here, maybe the first isn’t right

subignition ,
@subignition@fedia.io avatar

Missing ligament? Like because of genetics or something? That's wild

frank ,

Actually, missing because of a high-side on a motorcycle years ago. I did break some bones, but also tore through the ligament. Well, I guess it died from lack of being attached or whatever and was gone by the time they got an MRI on it

It allowed the bicep to regularly pop out of the humeral groove, which I assure you was not pleasant

Cephalotrocity , (edited )

Seek a second opinion. That doctor is not listening to you. Something other than aging is going on and it should be properly investigated.

edit: is severe arthritis in your family (or any other bone/joint disease)? Are you exposed to large or long term doses of chemical(s) or radiation in your life through work or living environment (industrial zone nearby/upwind, or very old home). These are things I’d be considering.

upsiforgot OP ,

Thank you for your answer, I appreciate everyone wo is taking the time and effort. Well, my brother has spondylitis ankylosans. I asked my doc about it (my mother always warned us to have in our mind when something comes up) but he said that this is not related and my symptoms wouldn’t match as I am too young. He also stated that it especially has nothing to do with low back pain. Other than that, no chemicals, no radiation (we live in a area where this actually can be a problem so it is quite common to check for it and we never had any elevated levels) I’m not working in a high stress environment, no heavy lifting or something like that and I move quit regularly during the day

SacralPlexus ,

It’s really interesting to me that you have provided this additional clue because ankylosing spondylitis was literally the first thing that popped into my head reading your story. I agree with others that your story sounds much more than typical aging symptoms and you should seek the opinion of another physician.

upsiforgot OP ,

Yeah well my GP just shoved this aside and I didn’t do any reasearch about it, because I try to avoid reading about symptoms etc. in order not to get ‘biased’, like interpeting too much or influencing my diagnosis (does this make sense?) but as you were asking about it it came back to my mind. Maybe I should check in with a specialist as I just now tried to find some information and it seems to fit really good, it even matches some minor other problems I had earlier (and my GP himself diagnosed me with)

SacralPlexus ,

Even if it ends up NOT being ankylosing spondylitis exactly - you should know that there are some hereditary factors that predispose to AS but also to other, similar conditions which are collectively called “inflammatory spondyloarthropathies.” Given your brother’s diagnosis you probably have a higher chance of one of these conditions because of your shared genetics. So yeah absolutely ask another physician until someone investigates your symptoms!

upsiforgot OP ,

Thank you for this insight. I really don’t want to be sick but if there is something, especially something that could be treated, I’d like to know. My GPs response somehow made me feel like I was overreacting but with so many people reacting so differently, I’ll try to take myself serious and get that checked out!

bradboimler ,

I would definitely get a second or third opinion if I were you

I am a man in my late forties and I can tell my body is running down. But, um, I don’t deal with constant pain. Swelling. I can do everything I want to do.

CaptDust ,

I’m entering 40s and this doesn’t sound normal to me. Get a second opinion if your doctor is writing it off. Don’t get me wrong, as I got older my joints are sore and pop in the morning. My back can’t handle some sports I used to enjoy. You’re too young to be struggling with jars and shoes in my completely uninformed nonprofessional opinion.

some_guy ,

Times a thousand. I’m older and have beat the shit out of my body with drugs (ended early 20s) and alcohol (still) and don’t get enough exercise and I wake up feeling reasonably good. What has been described here is outside of normal aging. Good luck!

Also, give up on that doctor. Reminds me of one that assumed I had a hemorrhoid without checking it and I actually had an abscess of infection. Emergency room doc told me that had I waited any longer for a second opinion I’d have had to get checked in to deal with it. Your current doctor is dangerously unqualified.

JackDark ,

No, this is not normal. I would honestly look for a different general practitioner. I would start by just getting a full blood work panel done if you haven’t had that yet, and hopefully that will provide some insights right off the bat.

promitheas ,
@promitheas@programming.dev avatar

What you do for work might be a factor, but i dont think pain to that extent is normal. I would stress to your doctor that basic tasks are painful and that youd like to get checked out anyway. Youve got nothing to lose by getting it checked, only to gain. Im in my mid 20s too and while i get aches in my knees/back occasionally its not debilitating as you describe it.

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