Not sure if this is the right forum for costochondritis?

For the last 13 years or so (I am 28) I have had horrible chest pains. They come and go, sometimes I will go weeks without it, other times I will have 10 "attacks" or more a day for weeks at a time. I have been to so many doctors about this and have never gotten an answer. When I was younger I was told it was probably growing pains, now I am told it is heartburn.   I have had pretty bad heartburn in the past and this is completely different. Anyway, it has gotten really bad the past few days, and today has been terrible. I have had over 8 "attacks" in the past 2 hours and for the first time ever the pain is still there in between, it is very dull, but hasn't gone away completely like it has always in the past. It feels like someone is squeezing my heart and if I take a deep breath (or really any kind of breath other than very shallow) the pain gets so intense I feel like I must be dying. Often the pain radiates through my left ribs and wraps around a little to my back. It feels like my whole left side is one big cramp. This doesn't happen every time though, most of the time it is just the pain in my heart.

So today I went online and asked at one of those sites where you can ask an expert and the nurse got back to me and said it sounds like costochondritis to him. I have never heard of this before and when I went looking I found some posts here about it. I have had EKGs, an unltrasound, wore a heart monitor for 24 hours, and nothing has ever come from any of it. And no doctor has ever mentioned this condition.

Does costochondritis fit my symptoms? Is there anything I can do? Any type of doctor you would recommend? The pain is so bad today and I am not sure what things set it off, but today is just another day, nothing has happened different than any other day. I did read on here a few people said rain seems to make it worse? It has been really rainy today and yesterday here.

Any help would be wonderful! Thanks.

Hot showers, Bed Buddy or rice bags that  you heat in the microwave give off moist heat.  Moist heat feels wonderful on those muscles.  Also gentle stretching exercises help, too.  You can find a link to them in the Fibro 101 thread...the second thread on this forum.  They are done sitting down but they help stretch the muscles and keep them more flexible.

I'm glad you did see the doctor and have heart problems ruled out.  I did too.  But, I don't understand what you meant when you said your heart hurt.  I don't have that feeling.  It's just my whole diaphram that hurts.  Sometimes it's just my rib cage and back that hurt.  It varies with me.

I hope this has helped you some.  Let us know how you are doing.  We really do care!

Sherrine