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Chronic costochondritis

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Posted 7/4/2014 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
Hi
I have had costochondritis for 8 months now. It started Togo away with physical therapy but came back right after I stopped. Ocassionally I have share pain under breast or on rib cage sometimes to point where I can hardly breathe. Now I'm also having tenderness and pain in my wrists I hae been on anti inflammatories the whole time, but pain has never completely stopped. It's not frequent. Sometimes the pain seems to go lower by my stomach and lately I have been having pain in my bones. What is going on?
Katie
Posted 7/5/2014 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Katie & welcome to the forum. From what I understand about your problem it is a condition that will go away for a while & then come back. Currently I do not know if we have any current members with this condition. I do know we have had members in the past that were dx'd with it. I would suggest that you use our search feature here at the forum & read up on those posts to see what others tried to get some relief & how successful those treatments were.

I have to wonder if this stomach pain might be from the anti-inflamms you have been taking. They can be pretty tough on the stomach. As for the pain in the bones this is something maybe you need to run by your dr to see what he/she thinks is going on there.

Its a holiday & things are usually slow at the forum so please keep checking back. Take care.
Posted 7/5/2014 8:05 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Katie and welcome to the CP forum! Sorry to hear about the costo. The thing to remember about this disorder is there's no definitive test to prove it is or isn't that and diagnosis is based solely on symptoms and how they display. So if your not showing symptoms of costo months out but still having issues it's possible something else is going on. You need to be reevaluated and other things ruled out and maybe you can get a better picture.

Good luck
Posted 7/5/2014 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
That's the thing is that I am still having symptoms of the costo. I am still having randomn pains under my rib cage usually one side at a time. It is usually the left side. But now I'm getting tender and pain in my joints too. I also don't have as much energy. I wonder if ts costochondritis and fibromyalgia?
Katie
Posted 7/5/2014 4:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Katie-

I'm sorry what you are going thru.

Five weeks ago I called an ambulance because of pain under my left breast at the top of my rib cage. $15,000 later (joy!) I they diagnosed me with costo and pleurisy.

First week, I took a steroid pack and pain pills and it felt a little better. Second week, it came back with a vengeance! Tried to rest and apply heat and took Aleve. Week three back to doc I went for torridol and more pain pills.

I'm off everything now. There are certain days that I hurt and others I don't. It doesn't make sense to me. There was no reason for me to get costo- I wasn't sick, no virus, no bacteria, nothing! And there is no reason why I hurt on one day but not on others.

I've talked to many people who have costo and yes they also all had fibro!!! I mentioned possible fibro to my doc and as you know, a fibro diagnosis is one of elimination from other ailments. We decided to document everything physical over the next six months to see if I do have fibro.

What stinks is basically nothing can be done for either as a magic cure. It's lifestyle changes with pain management.

I hope you feel better.
Michele
Posted 7/6/2014 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Katie,
First, I agree with CheleL/Michele, said, most people with costo also have fibro along with it. I was dx'd with fibro and then the costo flaired up. A good moist heating pad curled up and hugging it next to your chest sure can feel good, relaxation techniques can help as stress will make you feel worse. Also, try finding a good rheumatoid arthritis doctor as they do treat fibro, that would be your starting point with a good RA doc. You'll go through a lot of bloodwork but that'll rule out other things and when you get your diagnosis you'll feel better as a good RA doctor will help you to get on the correct treatment for you.

But, like CheleL/Michele also, said there is no cure.

However, you can get good days with a better understanding of your disease and by learning what to do to keep it at bay and learn more about it, also search the internet for support groups in your area, There is a support group in Houston, TX. Google: Fibromyalgia assoications in (Place your location) then hit the search key. (FMAH = Fibromyalgia Association of Houston)...It's a great group and they have guest speakers, massage therapists, different doctors, chiropractors, breathing techniques, ect...)

Hope this info helps and many well wishes to you.
Posted 7/7/2014 8:18 AM (GMT 0)
I have costo due to autoimmune diseases and I know how much you can hurt. I tell my drs that I'll never know if I'm having a heart attack since my chest always hurts.

I actually have something called Tietze Syndrome. Many drs call it costo since the treatment is the same. The main difference is that Tietze will cause redness and swelling in addition to the pain. Every couple of months I get cortisone injections along the sternum at the little spaces where the ribs meet up. Definitely not fun, but it allows me to take a deep breathe. PT did ultrasound around the area and I have a TENS unit. My dr also had me to modified pushups by standing up and placing my hands on either side of a corner in the room. This was to stretch the muscles since we tend to brace and splint ourselves when in pain.

I don't know if any of this will be of help to you since we have costo due to different reasons, but I hope you can find something that will help. For the majority of people, this illness will come and go. We keep hoping that it will "burn itself out", but it's been over a decade. If you continue to have this pain, you need to have a dr that will work to find the reason and who will also develop a pain management plan. Having an illness where is hurts to breathe totally blows(come on-you gotta find humor somewhere!).
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