Costochondritis pain and discomfort

Bones, joints and muscles
1

Im 31 and was diagnosed with costochondritis about a year ago. Its kinda lasted the whole year, but recently, over the past few months its been really bad....went back to my gp twice in the last 2 weeks because was convinced it was something more serious.

The main tenderness has been on my left lower rib cage, just under my breast, but now I have pains on my upper right breast plate. My gp has requested ecg/chest xray and blood test to reassure me that there is nothing seriously wrong (still awaiting to have these tests done, but should be anytime soon) hence the reason im on this forum as even tho my gp actually said to me 'I will fall off the back of my chair ifit is anything more serious...I still can't stop worrying as the pain is so bad.

Im getting so anxious about it too, especially at night just before bed, then find it so difficult to sleep, the more anxious I get the worse the pains seems.

Does anyone else find themselves pushing onto the pain when it hurts? This is probably making it worse I know, but can't help wanting to hold the pain!

Im really glad to have read all the discussions on this forum, it really is giving me some reassurance that it isn't just me and that something that isnt life threatening can be so uncomfortable and painful sad

2

This urge to hold the pain is called Guarding, it means you are feeling quite severe pain

3

Thnx for replying,that does make sense...but also feel like im just checking that the pain is actually on my rib bones and knowhere else as so worried I've been misdiagnosed and that its probably getting worse. But suppose I'll just have to wait for my tests to be done for complete reassurance.

4

Have you been taking Aspirin, Ibuprofen or Diclofenac for a long while ??? You might have a Stomach Ulcer from it, it hurts like having a stitch from running

5

I am meant to of had this but when i went on the symptom checker all the symptoms i put down it toldf me to call an ambulance as it though i was having a heart attack my doctor is adamant that it was neither this or angina.

so.......................................................what is it?

6

I too have costochondritis, after several trips to A&E, and after countless ECG's and an x-ray the doctor thought it was costochondirits, so relieved it isn't anything worse! I understand how painful it can be, what have you tried to use or take for the pain?

I'm only 21 and already know what if feels like to have a heart attack, oh the joy

7

I too was diagnosed with this condition recently, but mine only took two trips to the doctors at first they thought it was a urine infection, but the pain came back and I saw a different doctor who said it was costachondritis ( she told me about this site) she also said if medication does'nt help she would send me for scan to check my gall bladder, but I have been on strong anti-infamatries for a few days and fingers crossed they seem to be working, they have really helped with the pain, but I have had a couple of good days before then the pain comes back frown

8

I have had costochondritis for over 20 years. I get some relief from wheat packs(heat) and ice packs. Using anti-inflammatories for more than a few days is asking for trouble. My first attack of costochondritis was brought on after vigorous swimming in a public pool.

I strongly believe absolute rest from sports or gym for at least 3 months is essential to avoid this becoming chronic like mine. I tried to ignore the pain and "play on" which in hindsight was a disaster.

9

hi i suffered with this for almost four years from 2008, after chest xrays, blood tests etc and left on anti- inflammatries and co- drydomol my doctor finally decided to send me to physio in 2012 it was amazing very painful but well worth it, the physio also used some ultrasound treatment on my back as she couldnt use it on the chest area because she didnt want to use it too close to my heart , i have to say i have had a year now with almost no pain at all litlle twinges here and there but thats all, its a awful condition and i feel for all of you who are suffering with it ,

sadly now a year on i have now got frozen shoulder so now the whole process of pain starts again ,

just wondering if there is any chance there could be any relation to this as both are muscular pain !

10

Hi gina6, I'm not sure if my symptoms are Costachondritis now as from what I've read about on here and other sites, the pain I've been getting is not in the right place for this condition, after blood tests my doctor is now treating me for a bactiaral infection, and is sending me for a scan to check my gallbladder as well, but I stopped goin to the gym for a couple of weeks as it says exercise can make it worse, and when I did try the gym again this week, after about 30 mins i got the pain back but not as bad, I think that's because I've been on anti-imflamatries and antibiotics, but my ribs now feel as if they are brusied, like when you have fell down the stairs or somthing like that, so I don't know what to think! My doctor wants to see me again when I've finished my course of medication, but I can't see her for another 3 weeks as she is goin on holiday.

11

hi dawn , its hard to tell i guess all i know is mine started with chest pain which got the doctors panicking so much they called an ambulance as the symptoms are so similar to a heart attack, i knew it wasnt though, also the first time i had it i couldnt speak as basically any movement in the chest hurt , i was told it was caused by inflamation between the breast bone and ribs i had pain anywhere from the bottom of my ribs all the way into my shoulder bones, like you say it can feel like your ribs are bruised or even like you cant breath from tightening in the ribs, the first time i had it it lasted 2 months, the doctor said it could last up to 18 months on and off but that i would never have it as bad again, he was right the next time i had it about 6 months later it wasnt quite as bad but still enough for me to need a month of work, it gradually got better and i could go sometime months without even a twinge but when it did come back it was always the chest pain and then moving around the ribs shoulders etc. it lasted 4 years and i do believe the physio was the answer it was painful but if you can deal with it, it will help.

have you got pain killers ? i was given co - drydomol they did help, maybe you could see another doctor , doesnt hurt to get a second opinion ? especially if you are worried i wouldnt leave it 3 weeks and you cant stay in pain. try heat pads or ice that can help too

hope this helps let me know how you get on

12

Hello all

I am just wondering if what the doctor told me is right as i had no pain under the rib cage......but i do from time to time get that pain and the only way to mask it is to push it (called Guarding) but when i told them of this before they said that it was caused by my daughter when i was carrying her befre birth.

what do you make of this then

13

difficult to know really p123 as i said in my thread i was told its inflammation between the ribs and breast bone but can affect any area from the bottom of the ribs into the shoulders

ive had had 4 children and never heard of this guarding , how old is your daughter ?

14

Hi all,

I am 19 and in July recently suffered from costochrondritis which apparently, I have read is also linked to severe panic attacks for about 2 weeks. I still suffer with aches however it has lessened with time. I had been going to the gym running and experiencing a pain in my left side (located by the 5th and 6th rib) which the doctor told me was a 'stitch' however I knew it was more than that. I suffered from pain in my chest, what felt like something was sitting on my chest and pain in my side, also tingling which I'm told is quite common. After ECGs and Chest X Rays I was then told it was costo, however I have had it for 6 months now.

Can anybody tell me how to treat it and what exercise I can do?

Thanks

15

Firstly, I feel for anyone that has this - it is nasty. I have recently been diagnosed with costochondritis, following chest infection. I have good days and terrible days. On one good day I can go for a decent walk, but then a couple of days later I had about half a dozen, what I call "chest crushes" ( the feeling you are having a heart attack because the diaphram is trying to expand against inflamed joints/cartlidge in your ribs/sternum) in one shop. I am currently resting and taking Naproxen. I am hoping that when this is gone, I can share my experience on here with how I did it and how long it took.

What I do know is if you feel this heart attack sensation - Don't panic or be scared, this will make you feel worse than you need to be, its not actually life threatning and your other organs, including your heart are not being afffected. Just relax, calm down, take time on your breathing and it will subside in about ten minutes, try not to guard it, just mentally soak up the pain and just try relax.

If you feel flutterings in your chest, ( or what I describe as pac man running around in there )its the nerve endings kicking off - take paracetamol to calm it down - this could take about 45 mins. I have found that positioning affects it, so if you are sitting and feeling pain, walk around the house a bit, jiggle about, lie down or sit, the opposite of what you were doing to find relief - I know its hard but getting stressed, paniciky and anxiety wont help you much....so I am hoping by reading this, you have a friend, who knows what it is like and can tell you what I do know, to help out.

I have had ECG, been told it has nothing to do with the heart, an Xray wont show anything. So dont waste time worrying about these things if you have a Costocondritis diagnosis. It is inflammation of the rib joints and/or cartlidge and can manifest as dull pain, random stabbing pains, sharp pain and the feeling of having a heart attack, nerve endings causing fluttering sensations and trouble breathing, although you canbreathe - there is enough oxygen going in, it just hurts to breathe and you take shallow breaths to compensate or your body will only allow shallow breathing - but you wont stop breathing- so relax.

16

Hi All,

I can empathize with all of you my condition (costochondritis) started about 10 years ago during a very stressful period of my life. It seems like any type of stress or agitation will set this off. My pains have been all throughout my front lower chest and sometimes stretches to the lower back on my left side. Some of the other triggers that I stay away from are alcohol, cigarettes, and high fat foods.

When I stick to a balanced diet and I'm in better shape, I have far less painful instances from costo.

My job is extremely stressful and I tend to have moments of panic where I feel like my chest is caving in. The pain is almost unbearable, but taking deep breaths to calm things down eases some of the pain. I just started doing yoga, but it really hasn't been long enough to tell how effective it is. It seems like anything calming will help. Also try chamomile, valerian root, lemon balm, or other relaxing herbs. They have worked for me. Beware that some of these herbs will make you drowsy.

I wish you all the best in the battle against costochondritis!

17

Ok update from post 16th March - I am a lot better. I basically laid down for a week and did nothing as suggested by another postie on this site and took as higher dose of anti inflammatories as I could.

Back at work now and managed a whole week. It is now saturday and I have a slight chest tightness but then I was stuck in a half hour traffic jam which didnt help. I have found out to avoid caffeine. My occupational health specialist at work advises taking "devils claw" .

Also recommended are vitamins like evening primrose oil and zinc for general bone/muscle and general strength boosting. Avoid stress, lifting, sudden movements and the like. A blood test revealed I have some infection and inflamation left in the body - so not out of the woods yet. My next test tommorow is if I can go for a long walk without crushing chest pain. Kind of nervous but I have to test myself now and see how much better this really is. I am still taking 500mg ibroprofen every 4 hours and using algesal muscle cream which has been a godsend on the top of my chest when it felt heavy.

Will post again in a fortnight. Hope my info helps.

18

Evening - fellow sufferer, I sincerely hope anyone reading this gets to a conclusion of their pain in the quickest way possible. My situation was that approx 6 weeks ago I was taken into A&E (it followed a nasty cough). Usual tests carried out (echo scan, bloods, ecgs, chest xray) but i was eventually diagnosed as having likely costochondritis or some sort of myaglia.

I am a fit (ish) 43 year old male and must admit the last few weeks have been the longest and scariest of my life! For me the pain varies in location (can be in the central breast bone, moves slightly above left and right breast and then sometimes down into the rib region on either side). However I dont get excruitating pain more of an indigestion and a bruising type feeling but the last weeks have been made much worse by the nausea and dizziness sensation that seems to be with me every second of the day (could this be stress?).

I have been in to see a couple of private specialists for cardiology and lung checks but they've not found anything untoward and neither have prescribed anything other than rest and ibruprofen.

I dont really know what to do next and whether I should go back to see my GP again (have been 4 or 5 times already) and demand some sort of ECG stress test as I've noticed that my dizziness increases greatly with any form of movement. Am I definitely suffering from Condo?

Ps. Both the specialists felt my sore areas and they werent particularly painful when touched so it was diagnosed as a "mild form of costochondritis"

19

It seems I was either miss-diagnosed on this condition last year, or I am extremely lucky as I have only had the pain once for a few weeks and it has not re-occurred again since, however I do sympathise with all of you that do suffer with this condition sad

20

Hello All,

I as well have been diagnosed with costochondritis. I am a healthy(ish) 27 year old... I do smoke and have had some stress in the past few months...so when I first had the sharp pain in the right side of my chest just slightly above my breast I thought I was having a heart attack (fully aware heart attacks typically take place on the left side, this is what this pain felt like, or so I assumed as I have never had a heart attack). I lived with the pain for approx a week and when it had first began is was isolated. Therefore, I wasn't TOO concerned as I have had pains down my chest in the past brought on by stress.

This bout lasted a week and began to make me nervous as I didn't know what it was. First my GP was concerned I had a possible blood clot in the lung therefore shipped me to the ER for an ECG, XRAY and blood work. Everything came back clean as a whistle and they told me I was suffering from anxiety.

I left the hospital with discomfort and pain and they sent me home with a low dose of anti-inflam - These did absolutely nothing! Advil extra strength was doing more for me at this point. I gave up on the anti-imflams and stuck to advil when I was desperate and keeling over. Particularly before bed....Everything seems to be worse before bed right?! Ugh.

On Tuesday this week ( now three weeks into my misdiagnosed "anxiety" ) I started to do my research and realized there was no way in hell I was suffering from a three week anxiety attack.

I took myself back to Emerg and demanded an answer. I explained that my pain had worsened it was no longer in one isolated spot but rather radiated through my chest... into my upper back, collar bones and shoulder bones. I literally feel like my muscles are ceasing up and seems impossible to move quickly. If I could describe arthritis and what paralyzed feels like, this would be it.

The doctor on Tuesday night explained that what I was complaining of, considering ALL of my tests came back clear was costochondritis. So low and behold, I am now among the many humans out there with this awful condition.

He prescribed a low dose of morphine (5mg) which he said to take twice a day as needed... I obviously cannot function at work on morphine so I only take ONE at bed time, it seems to put me to sleep quickly and without pain. When I wake up in the morning it all begins again. I have tried to relax, calmed my breathing, even yoga. Nothing at this point has helped. Maybe I should take some time off and stay in bed?

Yesterday (three days after the last doctor visit) I have lost my voice. Could be completely unrelated however, I have a feeling it isn't. Has anyone had this happen to them? The only logical thing I can think of is that I am so swollen it could possibly be putting pressure on my diaphragm, vocal cords etc?

I constantly feel like my back needs to be "cracked" however it is so high up I cannot just stretch and do it myself. The pain that radiates through my chest affects the mirroring spot on my back and is unbelievably uncomfortable. I feel like the only relief I get is by putting pressure on the sore "bruised" spots that hurt, which i know will just irritate it more.

Any advice would be completely appreciated!

I will do anything to help get rid of some of this pain and get back to normal. sad

Help.