Matt Dart

Hello everyone. Beginning a few months ago, I've gotten many strange symptoms that after much frustration, self research, and many doctor visits, is still a problem continuing to negatively affect my life. I was posting hoping some one might be able to offer some insight, or advice.

First about me:

I'm a 22 year old male, 160 pounds, 5'11, fairly tall, fairly skinny, fairly inshape despite almost no exercise (bad, I know)
Eat extremely well (good mix of diet, takes vitamins, eats lots of fish, relatively little junk food, love Japanese food)
Quite poor sleeping habits, working a lot (Studying engineering at school and a lot of personal research hobbies on the side)
Living in Eastern Canada
Often stressed, but not enough to really have a huge mental impact
Known allergies: penacillin
Never had surgery, never had any major chronic illness
Diseases in family: Diabetes and arthritis on father's side

Here's a list of every symptom I can think of that I have:


-My body has become very VERY snappy. Almost every joint (tendon? something?) in my entire body is extremely cracky and makes a cracking noise at even the slightest movement. This is particularily true of my left shoulder, and the joints connecting my pelvis bone to my legs. This was never painful, but is getting progressively worse and is becoming quite painful.
-I don't feel well almost all the time. I feel drowsy often, and am unable to complete an entire day of work without becoming exhausted. I just feel sick and strange.
-My left hip joint is extremely strange. When I walk, it snaps every step I take, and I can feel something moving inside (tendons? The bursa surrounding the joint? No idea...). This does not hurt, however.
-When I lift my arm up above my head, the tendons in my arm snap loudly sometimes.
-Recently, When I twist my wrist or arm around, I can feel the tendons (I think they're tendons) in my arm in the bicep area making a scraping sensation. If I feel my arm while doing this, I can feel them popping around in my arm. This did not hurt for a long time, but has become rather sore lately.
-My eyes are very strange... Blurry a lot, Sore, I have a sharp pain jutting from my right eye to the back of my head sometimes. Also, they often 'flicker', like, shake and pulsate. I could describe it as the same sensation as a bug trying to crawl out under my eye lid.. Almost every time it happens I freak out and its really quite frightening.
-Concentration problems
-Sometimes moving around makes my insides feel really aweful... its as if all my insides are caving in or something... The tendons (or muscles or whatever is there) between my two shoulders feel very tight and painful often.
-Leg muscle cramps
-Usually on days off I feel relatively well. Especially when I have two days off in a row, the second day I usually feel fine.
-Headaches - these headaches are at the back of my head usually
-Pain around my heart (happens fairly often...)
-Shortness of breath
-Palpatations
-Recently, on particulairily bad days I feel a numbness in my face, always on the left side, same side as the cracking shoulder.
-These symptoms seem to come in full and really hit me sometimes, then die off for some period. They tend to be much worst when: 1. I am stressed 2. I have not gotten a good sleep or 3. I drink something with caffeine in it.

Things I DON'T have:
-irregularities in blood cell count
-any swelling of any sort
-nausea
-memory loss
-sensitivity to cold / heat
-headaches, heart problems
-rheumatoid factor and any signs that could point to rheumatoid arthrytis in my blood

Sorry for the long post everyone, but this is something I'm thoroughly worried about.

The sore chest started over a year and a half ago, and everything else maybe.. 8-9 months ago.

History with doctors:

The pain in my chest around my heart was the first thing that happened. I of course was very concerned because of the proximity to my heart, so went to the hospital many times and had many X-rays and blood tests. Each time they told me that there was nothing wrong. They thought maybe "pleurisy". I was usually sent home with medicine or nothing

Following this was the muscle cracking. I've gone to the doctor countless times and had many X-rays of bones and chest X-rays.. There is never any result. Always, everything is perfect.
I've had many extensive blood tests. Everything is perfect. No rheumatoid factor, no diabetes, no anything. I've had an ultrasound of my stomach-abominal area - nothing

(One thing they did find... a kidney stone. I have no idea how long its been there, and I have not passed it yet. Could this be related??)

Anyway, my pain and fatigue and frustration will not go away so I have done a ton of my own research.

I came up with:

Lupus - the doctor said "unlikely" without any real reason given..
ALS - the doctor (and many others) said unlikely, does not resemble ALS, etc
diabetes - tests revealed I do not have diabetes
rheumatoid arthritis - no rheumatoid factor
Fibromyalgia - again, told by doctor that it was unlikely
Bursitis - This sort of seems like bursitis, but ALL over my body... bursitis is not like this right? I don't think it is bursitis.

I really have no idea.. But recently I was thinking about multiple schlerosis.. I do live in a high risk area and the symptoms seems reasonably matching. Judging by the symptoms, in my opinion (based on limited knowledge of course), it seems like a neurological disease or a disease of the connective tissue. MS seems very broad and difficult to diagnosis. Can anyone offer me any help?? Any advice/help/anything, no matter how little would be great.

I apologize for the long post, but I really am concerned about this and it is progressively getting worse. I intend to see the doctor yet again once my final exams end, but I don't know what I'll say this time other than the same things I've said before.

Thank you to anyone and everyone for any comments

--Matt