costochondritis HELP!

Hi Ian / "Ruffo"..........I totally know what you are talking about. My husband has been so discussed (and depressed) as well over this. He has been fighting this since Oct. 2007 and has been to SO MANY Dr.s - The Costochondritis is inflammation of the cartilage that attaches to the ribs. My husband has also been to ER twice. He has had every test immaginable - Digestive Scans, Nuclear Bone Scans, Heart Tests, Xrays, CT scans, Cameras shoved down him to look around, including all the meds the doctors have prescribed. At times he felt way over medicated. He has tried all sorts of Nerve Blocking Meds, Anti Inflammatory's, and Other Pain Meds. Also was prescribed Oxycodone 7.5 mg. along with Naproxen (that combination) seems to be working the best and he only takes one of each of those two meds in the morning and heads to work, unfortunately by about 6:00/ 6:30 pm he is just dragging ! Before these two meds, the Rheumatologist he went to looked at him and said cortisone shots would help. First they gave him 7 small shots in the rib / cartilage area, it did nothing and in 2 days was back in just as much pain as before. Then they went to his backside and injected his back in 4 places. That helped for less than a week. They put him on Prednisone for a short while to no avail. While at the Rheumatolgist and going thru tests, they found out my husband has Rheumatoid arthritis and Psoriatic Arthritis in addtion to the Costochondritis. During the Bone Scan they found he has some deterioration in his spine and Spinal Stenosis was also diagnosed. He has gone thru acupuncture, chiropractics, cold laser therapy, and physical therapy. He has used moist heat packs, ice packs, massage, and rest. It seems that laying down always seems to give him some relief and a full nights sleep helps as well. Bob is 57 years old so is much older than you but he used to be a healthy man until this all started. The funny thing (well, it's not really funny) is that when it started back in 07' he went to a gastrointerologist and that doctor did a couple of tests and told him he a couple of gall stones and needed his gallbladder out and that once that was done, his pain would be gone. The pain he was having started on his left side but the gallbladder is on his right !! The doctor said it was Referred Pain !! Well, the surgery was in May 2008 and he felt no better, just continued to get worse after that. That's when they put the camera down him to see what was going on. He was also finding that he would have more pain after he ate (within just a few minutes). That's why we were going thru all of this. He does have a history of having had heartburn over the years and can't tolerate too spicey of food so they just wanted to check all of this out. They said his Duodenum was slightly irritated and gave him some more meds for that and sent him home. They gave him omeprazole. It's to be taken on an as needed basis. He tries not to take that too much but does chew on tums when he thinks it might help. It just seems to be so complicated and is a chain reaction.....one thing leads to another. Back to the Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis that he has (it also causes limited mobility especially in his fingers, hips, knees, toes and spine). The Arthritis doctor at Scripps in La Jolla, Ca (and he went for a second opinion) wants to put him on an injectible arthritis med that we give him here at home. We really are not too buzzed about doing this since there are other risks / side affects to consider, but in order to go on them - he has had to be tested for TB. There are 3 tests they perform, the blood test came out positive (so guess what....they put him on more meds - an anti biotic and a B6 supplement) until the other tests can be confirmed. Well, the xray came out negative and the bubble / skin test came out negative so they took him off of the anti biotic BUT because it shows in his blood, it just means it exists but is inactive. Because it exists, he no longer is able to go on the injectible. Meanwhile all of this is going on he still has the Costochondiritis. One of the doctors asked what he did for a living!!! Ha ! Ha ! STRESS CITY !! I think that doctor in ER was correct, stress has alot to do with must of this. My husband is in the trade show and convention business and has been for 20 years. In addition, we bought some out of state property and manage it ourself and I work from home doing that while he is at work. Bookkeeping, taxes, insurance, mortgage payments and LIFE keep us and him TOO BUSY that we are wondering what we have created. He gets up and works, goes to work, comes home to work and go to bed. Meanwhile he feels like crap. I told him he needs to slow it down and slow us down. It has done on a number on our (what once was) a normal and content life as well as our getting close if you know what I mean. I can't even hug him he hurts so bad. I too am depressed. It's really sad. I'm hoping we can get this all figured out one day and soon. I hate to see him get any worse over the future years. I wish you luck and please do the same for us. Thank you for your post Ian.
Cleo

  I hope so (on behalf of my husband) Thank you Sheila.  You are right about being happy to know atleast that it's not his heart !      Take care and have a good week.

Cleo

That's a great idea. Thank you Ms. Wright.

Thank you Kara. I will tell Bob. Good luck and stay healthy. You are right about what our thoughts can do !!
Take care.
cleo

 

 

After reading all the posts regarding Costochondritis I really feel for you.  My child was diagnosed by her pediatrician January 2009, at age 13, with Costochondritis. The condition has only gotten worse over time and I find it to be very debilitating.  She has had the numerous doctors and appointments... pediatric rheumatologist, pulmonologist (checking for asthma and pulmonary functions test), Pain Management Physiatrists, having nuclear bone scan, echocardiogram, ultra sound, X-Rays, CT, MRI, multiple blood test checking all different levels and things I wouldn’t even know about, numerous medications, physical therapy….I am sure I am leaving some of the many appointments out…my point is we have been searching for something to make this better.  Currently in November 2010 she received 7 shots in chest from Pain Management doctor and takes three different meds a day. It is so hard because it is diagnosed through symptoms; there is no blood test to tell you this is what you have.  Also, there is really no good treatment.  We were told 2 weeks to 2 months with the initial diagnoses and it is going on two years.  My child has had to walk away from the sport she loves, sand he has been harassed by teachers and other students that do not understand this illness.  I believe it has created anxiety because the pain scares her.  We have ended up in emergency room for pain treatment several times because we could not get the pain to calm down, which we call a flare up. We know a flare up when the pain hurts so bad it radiates to her back and she can hardly walk due to pain. There she receives x-ray, toradol, morphine, steroids, and anti-nausea meds through IV.  When the pain is really bad her chest will swell in the sternum area and actually change color to a hint of blue, almost indicating slight bruising.  She works on homework and sits with an ice pack.  This is a child who could never sit still, always was in sports, very competitive, and it has changed her life, and ours as well.  It is so hard for a mother to watch her child struggle.  Even when she is in pain I cannot even rub her chest for her.  I just lay by her side and stroke her hair.  I hope they are able to come up with a better treatment and/or cure for this someday!!!!!

Hi,

While I have not been diagnosted with FM or Costo yet, I know exactly how you feel. 4 years ago I was getting panic attacks, the rapid heartbeat, and chest pain from 8am to when I went to sleep. Every day for over 5 months with no answers from doctors.

It would feel like someone is squeezing my heart in their hands and out of no where, I feel like I wont be able to take my next breath and I'm having trouble getting enough air in. I have actually fainted from these episodes twice and been to the ER multiple times.

LuvsCars, I also discovered that I have curved ribs, so this may help me in the future. As for dealing with it, at first I was the same as you, thinking in my head that what if this is a heart attack, at 25 it was hard to wrap my head around. Eventually it got to be too much and I finally surrendered. I told myself that if the episode was that much worse and it killed me, then thats the hand I was delt. I'm not suicidal, I just stopped letting it run my thoughts and life. I confronted each one that came when it came and not at other times. Learning relaxation techniques (breathing,yoga.etc) and going to a group chronic illness therapy really helped me in controlling it.

I wish everyone the best in dealing with this condition, it seems at least you know what it is, I just thought I was going crazy.

Lindsay