since september 2013 iv been having chest problems on and off, anything from couple hours pain to 4 days pain. iv been to and from the doctors and hospital. iv tried different hospitals, iv tried different doctors, and its not getting to the point they are getting sick of seeing me and feels like they can not be bothered with me. but this week has been the worse, im now on day 4 of pain through out the day, iv been the the hospital twice and doctors 5 times and still dont know what else to do. they keep giving me painkillers and anti-depressants but they are not helping at all. i know im not streesed or anything. and they said it was costochondritis or tietze syndrome, but i dont do anything that can inflame my cartilage. i can be sat watching tv and bang straight in pain. can anyone help??
Hello Beth. I was having a strange unknown pain years ago,, I gave up on the doctors and found an acupuncture doctor, who put pins in my ears, diagnosed the area of my problem, stuck a few more pins in me and next day it was gone never to return. NO drugs needed, hope you will try this, good luck .... jay
all the doctors are saying its anxiety. but i know its not. but they wont do any more test, im really giving up. doctors are showing that theybarebgetting sick to death of me going in, but i dont know what else to do, when im in the pain i dont know what to do because it is pain ful. what did the acupuncture doctor say it was??
Beth, what tests have had done? I have had a similar problem for about 13 months.
ECG, MRI on my neck, blood test, 2 x-rays, thats it
What is your age? My pain is in sternum area and chest. I suggest you find a primary care physician that believes in you. Physicians these days are too quick to dismiss patients' pain as anxiety. I would suggest a CT of the Chest. Mine showed that I had Osteoarthritis of the sternomanubrial joint and which accounts for my pain.
im 18, my pain is on mostly my left side on the top of my breast and really deep inside, and its a sharp stabbing and like i have a huge fat person sat on me. but because doc's done what tests they think are efficant they wont do any more checks and put it down to anxiety.
i had the doc call me today and i broke down in tears because they wont do anything else, and she said because im upset its anxiety... which really gets on my nerves cause i know its not, i have a brill life own house, brill partner, beautiful puppy that will not leave my side this week cause he knows there is something wrong, he brought be round on tuesday mornign when i passed out. it seems my partner is the only one in my family that understands me, and he knows its not anxiety, but there is defo something wrong
She said it was a piece of bone or cartilage pressing on a nerve (accident damage) Must be driving you mad with the anxiety verdicts, get yourself to someone and somewhere else, a person that will help you ...
its driving me mad saying its that cause i know its not, my puppy knows something is wrong as he is forever by my side, he is like my life saver, spes when i passed out tuesday, he brought me round. but im just giving up cause ots like no one understands
I have a hiatas hernia and get pain in my left chest that some get and it can be confused as a heart atack. Just in case your pain is related, try indegestion remedies and see if it helps, no harm done if it doesn,t.
Have you tried anything for acid reflux? Acid reflux can cause pain in that area. I would also encourage you to keep a diary of your pain...(what makes it worse, better, time of pain, etc.) Find a new physician, bring a copy of your tests. I would also encourage you to exercise if able, or walk every day. You stated this has been going on for 2 years. Is it continuous every day pain or is it a once or twice a week pain? When you speak to these physicians try to be unemotional.....but be demanding and prepared.
Iv tried indigestion tablets and they don't make an effect 
This week iv started a food diary and see if any food effects or drink, and time of the day, but there is no pattern, I have the pain all the time but its a dull pain that I have just got use to now but I get it really bad but I never when it will be really bad last couple of times I been to the doctors iv taken my partner as he has seen me have them really bad and is use to me having them. And he told them hard that something needs to be done. But that never changed their minds to do more tests
hi Beth just read your post about chest pain. I have had this type of pain for a couple of years now and had all the tests, CT scan, MRI, camera down, ultrasound, barium swallow and many more including 3 cortizone injections into my sternum. All the tests were clear and the injections didnt work. I too can be sat on the sofa not doing anything and the pain will come on. What i find is if I go out for a walk or go to the gym the pain eases only for it to come back shortly after, which at first I thought it was in my mind but it started waking me at night time as well so that rules out the mind games bit. on my last visit to the docs he suggested acupuncture so with nothing to lose Im going to book an appointment. Hope you get better soon I will let you know about the acupuncture
Couple of people have said acupuncture has worked. When I get the pain and uts really bad I cant do anything, normally I don't feel my legs or feet but when I'm doing something like walking etc its fine but if I sloe down or stop, oh my it hurts I'm just sick to death of people saying its anxiety, when I know its not as I know my own body. I do hope you get yours sorted, let me know what they say 
thanks Beth I will keep you posted
Costro is a demon man i comes and goes even when your doing nothing and create illilusions of heart attacks causing massive painc attacks all the time, BELIEVE me ive been there several times. but i can tell you some pointers i have picked up over the years. My Costrochondritis journey started in 2008 went to the Emergency room on base they told me it was most likely acid reflux, so they gave me a gi cocktail and called it a night. That was the tip of the ice berg I was back in the er within 5 hours telling them it damn sure was not “acid reflux” even though I currently have a medium hiatal hernia I know what heartburn feels like and having a new stabbing chest pain. After months of pleading with dr.s in the navy (All military Docs treat every known illness with Ibuprofen) to try a different path it was time for my discharge to reserve duty since then I’d bet I’ve been in the ER 20 times since 2012 for excruciating chest pain. Finally after all the gastologist and 5 different cardiologists clearing me of heart problems and countless other test the DR’s ran out of ideas so like most of yall I took matters into my own hands and resorted to Google and self diagnosed myself with extreme costrochondritis and chest pain. After I brought this condition up with Dr’s they were like well that seems to make the most sense and It took all those er trips and countless docs and I’m the person to bust the mystery. I can tell yall what has and has not worked for me. I have been fighting costro for years it seems to come alive when winter rolls around but this winter it was worse than ever spent 3 days inpatient in va hospital and they sent me home with extreme pain pills. Once again took matters into my own hands and the only person besides a witch Dr I hadn’t consulted was a Chiropractor and pain management specialist, after a brief bio of me they noticed my t6 rim from my thoracic area was out of place a little, that rib sublexation from it being out causes that rib meeting in the sternum to cause costro to increase 20X, once they popped it back in it was like heaven but very short lived. Then we began a pain regimen and routine chiro visits for the ribs and sternum.
1.Anything warm “Sauna,Steam room, Heating pad, shower aimed directly at sternum
2. Loose clothing don’t wear tight clothes that naturally pull your shoulders forward . Posture is a very big deal with costro when you slouch forward at a computer chair or watching tv you tend to pull your shoulders forward and more pressure on the sternum, plus that extra strain pulls on those thoracic ribs that connect to the sternum ( So try your hardest to correct yourself or buy a brace online)
3. Voltagren gel is a good anti inflammatory gel and Blue emu gel has worked for me when applied regulary and neither one of them stink. Havent had much luck at all with the menthol gels like icy hot and Biofreeze.
4. Gabapentin and Amytriptiline , Etolac, Naproxen, and Hydrocodone with Tylenol, have not worked one bit for myself
5. Meloxicam and other stronger anti inflam drugs such as celebrex work best in my opinion that way you don’t have to rely on narcotics for pain.
6. Best of all consult a chiropractor and see how bad you are mis aligned all this pain could be from a out of place rib. The pain management specialist can insert corticoid steroids like prednisone or synthetic stronger versions of it into the intercostal region in sternum and usually helps me for weeks at a time and if you choose they can do cortisone in the sternum as well.
Hope this has really helped a few of you, especially the ones that know there is something wrong with your body causing all the extreme pain and anxiety telling yourself it’s a dang heart attack! You just have to try and relax and find a good regimine and learn to live with it. Try and stay warm
Thank you for your advise, I will defo start things, recently I was in hospital as had pain in left side, turns out I had a cist on my Overy since having this iv not had the pain, so I'm hoping that's it now I shall keep you up to date haha thanks again for advise x
Beth and others I feel for everyone !!!! I started to get chest pain 5-6 years ago very long story I'll make as short as I can ended up in E R with what was said to be a panic attack which I had never had one before !!! The first time is the worst .. This happend after I had an x ray from my doctor saying my lungs and heart were fine .. They did an ekg blood work and chest x ray at the hospital Which all came back normal as can Be.... They asked me to follow up with my dr as it could be anxiety or muscular at the time I agree it was anxiety .. I was fine for about 2 months , I started to get chest pain again worse but not awful .. But my anxiety kept rising , he said I lnow nothing is wrong w your heart but let's send you for a c t scan of the heart w dye to put my mind at ease.. Came back healthy as can be he said .. That was all 5 years ago .. I do have anxiety which xanax does help me when it's bad but lately bc of my chest pain being worse my anxiety has been worse . Making my life non enjoyable .. It always helped when I had a friend crack my back , and go to the chiro but it's short lived .. I have found a great Massage therapist who says its chostro and does bring the most relief but that only lasts a few days and then it's back to being painful and I see him every month .. I still was doubtful it was costro but recently it hurts to press on the area hurts to move my shoulders I get arm pain neck pain which are all symptoms on the left side ! Bc of the pain my anxiety has been off the walls lately even though I believe i know what it is .. Like someone started wearing shorts or hoodies or a seat belt bothers me bc any movement I feel pain which makes me think it's my heart it's a viscous cycle ... I did also start bio feed back which helps control my breathing and helps if you don't know anything about that look it up I was very skeptic about it but it's great ..... Heat does help as well ! Try and live to the fullest and I hope we all can feel better