Wow I had no idea I would get this kind of information right away. You all are by far the most helpful bunch I've run across so far.

Anyways, to elaborate more based off of what you've all said...

So I sat down with my guitar just to see how I've come to hold it out of habit while playing. My left wrist while fretting, depending on where on the neck I was, varied greatly in it's inclination. Unless I was up on the 15+ frets on the lighter strings (G B & E) my wrist in conjunction to my arm usually formed anywhere from a 45 degree angle to a near 90 degree angle depending on how low on the neck I was.

I watched some videos on youtube of some prominent guitarists and NONE of them held their guitars like this. For a reason? Obviously. Upon further review, I noticed that many of them held their picks with their thumb and the SIDE of their index finger, not point of finger to thumb like I do. The picking motion is dramatically different as well as the way professional musicians that I studied hold their fretting hands. I hope I'm on to something and nearly all of you mentioned analyzing my technique. Maybe I shouldn't have skipped the teacher when I first started :)

More specifics on me. I'm in college and still under my dad's medical insurance so afforable medical treatment isn't an issue. I am from the US though, you are right. I play mostly metal type music though the acoustic works for the girlfriend so I usually spend time with lighter music too :) I use heavy picks, ones that don't give at all. Do you you think it would do me some good to play with thinner ones that flex a little? Funny thing about the piano/keys is that my mom moved a keyboard into my room for storage between the time I left for school in july and now when I've come home for break. I disregarded it because of my current state but I'll check it out tonight. Must have been a sign I guess.

As for cortisone shots...I'll have to look into it I've heard good things many times.

On january 2nd I'll be seeing a chiropractor that specializes in sports medicine. He treated me before with ultrasound and these electric pulse things. He's the one who said to play through the pain gently. I'll have to ask him about cortisone shots and see if he can examine if the bones in my wrists are alligned properlly.

No one commented on glucosamine and company, any thoughts on that?