Hi,
Up until the 20th of October 2019 i was a fit and healthy 30 year old man with no issues and took no medication, On the 20th i received the flu vaccine for the first time in my life, 3 days later chest pain started which has remained until this day. I now cannot do any physical activity due to the pain in my body, even walking or standing for ten minutes has my body in agony.
It started with pain on the left side of my chest and back which then spread to the left side of my stomach. As months have passed it has now spread the the right side of my chest and stomach. GPs and Hospitals are not able to tell me what is wrong with me however the only tests i have received are blood tests, chest x ray and ECG which all come back normal.
I have been given lots of medication from Naproxen, Citalopram, Amitriptyline, Pregabalin, Iboprufen, Co-Codamol, Omeprazole, Esomeprazole and countless courses of antibiotics.
I have been on antibiotics for almost 14 weeks as this is the only thing which seems to relieve some pain and stop the pain spreading. I have just received another 6 week course of antibiotics which i really don't want to take as i cant imagine the damage they must be doing to my body, however anytime i stop taking them the pain comes back ten times worse and starts to spread again.
I have done a lot of research online and think it could possibly be something like Bacterial Costochodritis? The reason i think this is because like i said the pain spreads daily all over my body when not taking antibiotics, but when i start taking them it seems to halt the process of the pain spreading. There are some pressure spots on my chest where i can apply pressure with one finger and feel intense pain.
I would really like some help from anyone i have tried so many times and no one can help me i no longer know where to turn.
Some questions i have are..
Would a CT or MRI scan help in finding the cause of the pain?
Are there any other tests that you could recommend?
why are the antibiotics helping with the pain?
what are the long term effects the use of these antibiotics will have on my body?
are there any specialists you can recommend me to see?
I have already seen a respiratory specialist and he does not think it is my lungs.
i have attached a photo a highlighted in black the bones/areas where i feel the most pain and burning sensations.
Thanks to anyone who reads this and anyone who replys.
Kind Regards
Richard
My costo started 9 yrs ago and the pain moves all around my upper body and arms, I also have Tierze syndrome similar ro Costo☹. My attacks are triggered by any virus that may be around or stress. Nothing really works as a constant but i have found that taking a large dose of Turmeric with black pepper daily really helps, i have been taking 1500mg for 3yrs now, i have accepted that the condition is chronic and not curable but has been manageable with the Turmeric. I feel you pain i really do, hope this advice may be of some help to you, cheers Rosemarie
My costo started 9 yrs ago and the pain moves all around my upper body and arms, I also have Tierze syndrome similar ro Costo☹. My attacks are triggered by any virus that may be around or stress. Nothing really works as a constant but i have found that taking a large dose of Turmeric with black pepper daily really helps, i have been taking 1500mg for 3yrs now, i have accepted that the condition is chronic and not curable but has been manageable with the Turmeric. I feel you pain i really do, hope this advice may be of some help to you, cheers Rosemarie
My costo started 9 yrs ago and the pain moves all around my upper body and arms, I also have Tierze syndrome similar ro Costo☹. My attacks are triggered by any virus that may be around or stress. Nothing really works as a constant but i have found that taking a large dose of Turmeric with black pepper daily really helps, i have been taking 1500mg for 3yrs now, i have accepted that the condition is chronic and not curable but has been manageable with the Turmeric. I feel you pain i really do, hope this advice may be of some help to you, cheers Rosemarie
I know you connect your condition to the flu shot. Is there anything else you can think of that happened around that time, such as any physical activity or exertion? Have you seen an osteopath or physiotherapist?
thanks for your reply im very sorry to hear about your condition. can i please ask some questions which could be helpful to me..
what tests did you have to diagnose costo?
have the pains always been around the same areas or has it spread any?
does costo give you bad stomach pain?
do you get pains up the side of your body/chest or isit just front and back?
has a course of antibiotics ever helped with the pain?
if youve ever had a chest x ray can you see the inflammation from your costo? as ive had 4 chest x ray and they say no inflammation however when i read online they say x rays are not reliable to diagnose a lot of things.
and lastly does it sound to you like i may have some sort of costo?
sorry to bombard you with questions if you dont want to answer any i understand. I just cant seem to get any help from hospitals so i have to try and diagnose myself now. At least if i had been diagnosed with something i could start to accept it and treat it.. for the past 6 months ive just been in pain all day everyday and dont know why.
Thanks again Rosemarie
Thanks for your reply Paula.
The answer to that is no. Some doctors i seen have also asked similar questions but to be honest for the past year or so i have not been active at all.. I work from home and havent been playing any sports or working out or anything like that. The only thing that changed at that time was i had the flu jag three days before.
They have tried me on Amitriptyline & Pregablin for nerve damage but they made no change.
Do you know if a CT or MRI or any sort of test could help me?
Thanks again
Hi Richard,
I don’t know whether an MRI or CT scan would show anything, because I’m not a doctor. What I do know from personal experience is that costo can cause a LOT of physical pain (and anxiety), and that it can often be the result of a structural problem, such as rib misalignment (classic in costo). I basically was ‘fixed’ by an osteopath, although it did take several sessions. But the relief was immediate. I would strongly suggest that you see an osteopath or physiotherapist (I recommend starting with osteopathy), and ask them is they are familiar with costcochondritis. Also, watch this video by a New Zealand physiotherapist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ve6nNVdWc
I did purchase the backpod and it helped somewhat, but my osteopath really was responsible for the ‘magic’. She (the osteopath) is both a board-certified osteopath and registered physiotherapist, kind of a dream combination! I don’t know where you live, but I hope that you can find someone close. Even if you have to pay out of pocket, it’s well worth it. Please let me know how it goes.
Paula
Hi Richard, this is quite a long journey, i will begin. For some time i had a nagging ache at the top of my back above my shoulder blade close to my neck. i am
a GP receptionist, one day i happened to mention to an eminent doctor whom in his past career had been a heart surgeon at Hartfield about this pain, he immediately pressed his index and middle finger hard in that area and the pain was so severe i nearly screamed, he then said its a painful condition but not serious or life threatening, its Costo Chondritis. I had a weekend away booked so went ahead and travelled to my destination, the first night there i can only describe what happened to me next felt like a heart attack, it wasn’t it was obviously the costo making itself at home in my body as various upper body and arm pain to varying degrees have been present ever since ,and have graduated to Tierze Syndrome. I have not exp any stomach pain. Anti biotics wont help if you do have costo as it is inflammation and NOT a bacterial infection for which abx are used. No I have never had an xray Costo wouldnt be diagnosed that way, i feel very grateful to the Gp that diagnosed me as i havent had to undergo the myriad of tests some people go through with no firm diagnosis at the end. As i mentioned in my earlier reply the only thing i have found that helps, (doesn’t cure as this is a chronic condition) is a large daily dose of Turmeric. Sometimes i am pain free then i will get a flare up generally caused by a virus which is why the flu jab would have caused you problems, i would never have a flu jab again for that reason , stress and tiredness is also something that causes it to flare up. Hope this reply is of some use Rosemarie
hi Richard
Just found your post and sounds very familiar as i get flare ups like this to and usually a cranial osteopath has sorted it out in one session. Had it for a month now as all clinics are closed. Charcoal tablets seem to help!