Do I have MS or some other condition?

Here is My Question:
I don't have a diagnosis of MS, but am having multiple symptoms that make me worried I might have this condition. I don't have health insurance so I can't see a doctor unless I can really justify sinking thousands of dollars into testing. I was just wondering if these symptoms are concerning so I can be sure it's worth going into medical debt to get checked out.

At first I thought this was probably just a pinched nerve or something but I have been in constant pain/discomfort for over three months so I'm starting to get worried that this is something else.

Here is a (very long, so sorry) list of my symptoms:

- pain in upper back between my shoulder blades going down left arm. The pain is burning, stabbing, or shocking (though sometimes is a persistent deep aching) and sometimes I can feel the muscles in the neck/back/shoulder contracting (feels like "locking up") and becoming hard and painful. Worst overnight and right after waking up in the morning.

-Tried ice, heat, icyhot, massage, rest, Tylenol, ibuprofen, stretching, etc. But nothing has helped

-I can feel a nerve pulling when I try to look down, bend down, turn my head, or move my arm. I cannot tilt my head back to look up at the ceiling. Sometimes it just hurts but other times I physically can't do it and need to tilt my head with my hands. At it's worst I also need to physically tilt my head to the side or turn my head down with my hands.

-with both the pain from my muscles and the nerve pulling sensation, my body jolts forward slightly when I feel them, almost like wincing but more pronounced. It usually stops after a few seconds.

-If it's not pain then it's numbness and tingling and generally uncomfortable. 24/7. It never stops. It just gets either better or worse depending on the day/week.

-I can't sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time because there is no comfortable position to be in, no matter if it's standing or sitting or laying down. The pain isn't unbearable (though at times I couldn't even raise myself up to get out of bed and had to have my wife physically lift me out of bed, so the worst of it comes and goes).

-even though I do have strength in my left arm it feels weaker than usual and gets fatigued almost immediately when I raise it up, or I can't lift/grip things as easily when my muscles do that contracting thing, due to pain. Example: I couldn't lift a pan out of the sink this morning with my left arm but could with my right. (this post was shortened as it is unable to fit due to word length constraint)

Answer:
Thank you for the in-depth observation of your symptoms. The diagnostic process in neurology is complex and depends a great deal on your age, past medical, surgical and family history and examination; but at a minimum it sounds like you have a problem involving the lower part of your cervical spine on the left side. This could be as simple as arthritis or a disc compressing a nerve root or even the spinal cord, or as complex as MS or even a tumor. Most of the common causes I've mentioned are very treatable, especially when evaluated early before the condition progresses too much. It is not too late to purchase health insurance on the exchange in your state or sign up for Medicaid if you fall under the income limit. Open enrollment through the affordable care act is underway until the middle of December, so you will need to hurry. For Medicaid you can sign up at any time during the year. Neither option will exclude you because of a pre-existing condition. 
Good luck

Revere P (Rip) Kinkel, MDProfessor of Neurosciences
Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program
University of California San Diego