When I was younger and going through my first puberty, whenever I complained of aches and pains my mother would reply with "it's just growing pains" and I'd be like ... -_-

Now I'm starting to wonder if it is actually real. I ache D= so much, all the time. I don't feel ill...it's not like a flu ache, it's more like I just had a hard workout at the gym, which I can assure you I haven't all I do is college (IT course) and housework

All my muscles ache and my joints ache, especially my shoulders. The arches of my feet hurt a lot too, and I have actually gone up in shoe size - I used to be a 4/5 now I'm a 6/7 depending on the brand.

Am I growing? Has anyone else experienced this? Or is there something actually wrong with me >.>

I always thought growing pains were from bones, but then my mom told me that the sharp pains I got at the backs of my knees were growing pains.

huh, you just reminded me when I was young I used to get bad aches in my legs (mainly at night) and my mum would say the same thing, if their not then I wonder what that was.

take it from someone who grew very rapidly they are real, when i was 8 i started growing six inches every month triple the speed of normal kids and it hurt, the pain is your bones and muscles stretching as they grow

Growing pains are the body's reaction to the epiphyseal plates of the long bones as they lengthen.  Sometimes muscle strain can be the same kind of pain.

Back in my elementary years, I would get horrible pains at night for days at a time...then wake up several inches taller 
They're a real thing, but some people get them and some don't. I always enjoyed having them more than I hated the pain, just because it meant I could move up in line (they had us line up by height in class to go anywhere).
Since your shoe size has gotten larger, it is possible to some extent that they are growing pains. However, you should definitely at least mention it to your doctor.

I have a friend that was born with a hormonal deficiency. At the age of 15, he was MAYBE 5'2''. He got on hormones, he grew 6-7" in just half a year or so, and he said he experienced a lot of pain, with his bones growing faster than his skin and muscles could catch up. So yeah, growing pain is an actual thing.

Interesting thanks everyone, I was always convinced that my mother was just talking out her behind I didn't really grow much for my first puberty to be fair. I look pretty much exactly the same now as I did when I was 13 (Just...fatter xD) ...I actually still have a pair of vans from that long ago and it makes me a little sad that they don't fit any more. I had an obscenely large collection of shoes and they're all too small now.

We used to line up in school by height too I was second to last for the first couple of years and then eventually ended up last, where I then stayed xD

I wish I had taken pre-T measurements so I could know for sure but I'm pretty certain my pecs and biceps/triceps/forearms have increased in size...I can actually feel a difference when I flex now and feel some firmness...whereas before my arms were just soft and flabby. It would be fabulous if this shoulder pain was them broadening, but I feel this may just be wishful thinking, surely I'm too old for that to happen.

I should probably start going back to the gym to take advantage of this, but I'm so freakin' exhausted and achey as it is >.>

I get muscle cramps from the T. It sucks sometimes because it feels like the muscle is tightening all by itself. It feels creepy.

I get cramps a lot in my legs lately, out of the blue I'll be sitting on the couch watching TV and BAM my calfs feel like they're going to fold in on themselves xD

I get those nasty cramps in my calves too.  I found that putting a teaspoon of Marmite in hot water, and drinking it helps relive the cramps.

I would assume that's because of the potassium content?

I would say so.

Oh, so it is potassium that helps with muscle cramps, then? Last night I had such a strong muscle cramp in my left calf that I woke up in the middle of the night screaming from the pain, haha, and then it felt like I'd exercised the muscle when I woke up in the morning. I guess I'll have to eat more bananas...

Magnesium is good for cramp easing - potassium is potentially troublesome if you have too much of it.

Apple cider vinegar (organic,unfiltered,with the "mother" in it) is great for preventing muscle cramps. I would keep notice of cramps, especially in the legs because testosterone increases the risks of deep vein thrombosis. If it persists for more than a week I'd definitely ask my doctor about it. As someone who has had a pulmonary embolism due to surgery, I can attest to the fact that blood clots are no joke.

Don't worry I have a big history of DVT and clots in the family so I'm always on the look out for the signs and so is my doctor.