What could these symptoms be?

[TheHighQueenOfTheFarRealm]

Teenage boy, slim, active, phone kept downstairs overnight, blood tests are all clear.
Symptoms are -
V tired, sometimes needs a nap after school.
Complains of joint pains and muscle aches in limbs constantly.
Finds it really hard to get up even after a full nights sleep.

Does have GCSEs this year so I can't rule out stress but I don't think this is likely?

Vitamin d levels were fine but could it be another vitamin deficiency?

Vitamin d was my first thought, when you say fine, what level were they? What other tests were done?

You need to discuss this with your GP.

Were iron and B12 checked?

Could be long COVID/post-viral anything.
Could be low mood or stress.
Could be an auto immune thing.
Could be allergies (mould, food, feathers, pets) or hayfever (some people basically have hay fever year round).
Could be glandular fever.

Could be something sinister or nothing.

These symptoms are very difficult. If they are a child still, ask for a phone call with the GP and have a frank conversation about the whole range of things it could be and ask for further tests.

Chronic fatigue?

Thyroid and ANA bloods would be ones I’d be asking for.

How long has it been going on ? I’ve had some sort of virus for two weeks with similar symptoms

Iron was checked and was fine. Vitamin B12 wasn't checked.

The aching limbs has been going on for a while. I put it down to football training 3 times a week but he hasn't played for a while and the pains are still there.
It's mostly his knees so we're awaiting scan results.

The tiredness has been for the past few months but really increased after a virus in January so could currently be partially post viral.

In the knees? Has he been checked for Osgood Schlatters?

Growing pains?

Growing pains? I remember going through phases of being exhausted as a teenager, with really achy joints and legs.

Low ferritin. I had all those symptoms including terrible leg pain, but wasn't actually anaemic.

Thanks everyone. Just googled Osgood Schlatters.
I don't think it's growing pains as he seemed to have stopped growing at 14.
Ferritin was ok too.

I'll ask for the thyroid and ana bloods.

Diabetes?

Diabetes or a food intolerance did cross my mind but he doesn't need to go toilet as often as would be expected.
The gp did ask a lot of questions but don't seem to know where to head with it.

Is he hypermobile?

I just googled hyper mobile and I don't think he is if you're referring to spraining or dislocating his joints easily.

I've recently been diagnosed with B12 deficiency and the main symptoms were horrendous fatigue and exhaustion and aching limbs/joints so would definitely be worth getting this checked. Hope you get sorted asap x

Fibromyalgia?

Thyroid definitely worth checking

B12 deficiency. It could be being made worse by post viral symptoms too.

Honestly op I would be insistent that the leg pain and fatigue are investigated further by the doctor.

Thanks again everyone. I'm intending to go back to the gp and get further tests. I find the gp more responsive if I say 'can you test for this and this' so this thread has been useful for that.

@TheHighQueenOfTheFarRealm Not necessarily sprains/dislocations, hypermobility is just the proper term for 'double jointedness', so it's whether his joints have a bigger range of motion than normal

But I'm asking because it's common for conditions like Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome to start being symptomatic in the teenage years, and they can cause symptoms like you're describing. And they can then go on to cause sprains/dislocations

My daughter had similar (including sleeping) but it was general leg pain. She had all sorts of bloods that came back normal as well. She did have low ferritin at one point too but the tablets she had for that didn’t make the pain any better, so that was just coincidence.

We were fobbed off by our old GP after a good few appointments (I had already moved surgeries because of him but left the kids there as they didn’t go much).

Anyway, I switched her (and my son) to my new surgery and she was referred straightaway to MSK to see a physio. She was diagnosed as having hypermobile hips, knees and ankles. I’d never have thought it because she didn’t seem to fit the criteria I’d seen online. The physio gave her some exercises and they really helped her. She still uses them now, though not as much. She also saw a podiatrist who gave her insoles and that has really helped too.

I don’t think it was linked in hindsight but I can never be sure, but she also suffered alopecia a few months prior to the pain starting in her legs. She lost all her hair. That has now completely grown back.

Thyroid or Long Covid

Has he had full bone profile and calcium? Caused bad leg pains in my son and fatigue.