Q: I am suffering from pain in all the bones of my body from the past one year. I have to tie thread on my legs to get relief. I also get pain in the chest bone occasionally. The doctor gave me some iron and multivitamin supplements saying that the chest pain could be due to acidity. The pain has not reduced. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because of the discomfort. What could be the possible problem and what should I do?

A:Actually many possible causes for these symptoms exist and usually nothing sinister exists. However, it is advisable that you have the following tests done: ESR Blood sugar S. Calcium S. alkaline phosphatase Peripheral smear. If these are normal, a bone scan may be done in selective situations.