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Costochondritis pain and discomfort

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shelle7belle
shelle7belle

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

19 likes, 370 replies

370 Replies

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  • jillybean1785
    jillybean1785 shelle7belle

    Posted

    Hi Russ.. I also get pain in my back, I go to physio and get ultra sound. It seems to help for a while afterwards, I also use a hotwater bottle on my back which really helps, I can't use deep heat patches because my skin is too sensitive with them but the hotwater bottle really helps. 

    Unfortunately none of us really know what is going on with it all, we are all just reading other peoples experiences of it. The Naproxine does helps Sinaed, you need to take it for a long period of time, and make sure you take it just morning and night because it lasts for 12 hours. Try taking paracetamol 500 aswell throughout the day which I find helps to relieve pain. 

    Russ, if you type Costochondritis into google and read up on it, it is very interesting, because it says that doing too much exercise can influence the symptoms and flayer things up. So it is all about just managing your own symptoms and working out what sets everything off. It is life changing but once you know what works, and if you don't feel any pain then it is worth the life change in the end :-) 

    • sinead_34836
      sinead_34836 jillybean1785

      Posted

      Hi Jillybean,

      My Doc has told me to take one Naproxin a day, so maybe I should double up on te dosage and see if that helps.  Hot water bottle I always found great but this time, its not doing the trick.

      Thanks for advice.

      Sinead

  • jillybean1785
    jillybean1785 shelle7belle

    Posted

    Hi Sinaed,st remember Naproxine only lasts 12 hours and it is not good for your stomach to take doses too close together. Morning and night so say 7am and then again at 7pm.  Mine went today, feels like my rib cage actually moves sometimes. It is so weird. X
  • Russ11108
    Russ11108 shelle7belle

    Posted

    hi guys,

    went to the docs this morning and he wants me to go see the cardioligist again because he feels that the tight chest pain on the left side is not the same/related to the sharp stabbing pains i sometimes have.  yesterday afternoon while watching some tv the left side of my chest felt so tight and the pain was horrible like a crushing type of pain.  my wife asked if i was feeling ok because i was as white as a sheet.  i had that horrible feeling that something bad was gonna happen and i needed to move somewhere, anywhere but at the same time felt i couldn't if that makes sense.  this went on for a about 10 mins then started to ease off.  has anyone else experianced this kind of attack?  

    its happend a few times to me and they seem to be getting worse and happening more and more.  when it happens i feel like i dont want to talk to anyone and get quite snappy with people during and after.  i know alot of this sounds very much like a panic attack and its most likely part of it but its the chest tightness and pain that kicks it all off.  

    Now the doc wants to refer me again it makes be assume their is something seriously wrong with my heart and those horrible thoughts are swimming round my head again : (

    like most of you guys i just want to sorted but its seems you have to pressure your docs for what feels like forever to get the answers you need.

    good luck to you all 

    • jillybean1785
      jillybean1785 Russ11108

      Posted

      Hi Russ, 

      I have had this kind of pain a few times, sometimes I get it in my side, on the front of my chest. Normally the side pain happens if I have eaten too quickly or had a large meal, did this pain happen after eating, maybe half an hour to 45 mins after eating? 

      I have come to the conclusion, that if the muscles have to work too hard to digest the food they just tighten up. Have you tried taking Naproxine? I take 2 lots daily 2 in the morning and two at night, and it has helped alot. I just watch the pace that I eat at and don't eat strong sauces because that sets it off also. 

      I hope this might help, as what your doctor is suggesting does not sound fun. 

      Let me know if any of these have triggered the pain you have gotten. 

    • Russ11108
      Russ11108 jillybean1785

      Posted

      hi jillybean1785,

      i do remember eating not too long before the pain/attack occured.  maybe this has something to do with it.  when you have this do you feel a tight kind of pain? not your usual stabbing sharp pain? I also wonder if posture has anything to do with it? was a lazy sunday for me so i pretty much did nothing all day.

      I have been perscribed naproxine but was advised only to take 1 twice a day, maybe upping the dose might help out?

    • jillybean1785
      jillybean1785 Russ11108

      Posted

      Hey Russ, 

      Yes it was a very tight pain as if my muscles had gone into spasm. Couldn't move from the sofa until the pain had eased off and it brings tears to your eyes too. 

      If you type Chostocondritis into google, it comes up with a really helpful guidance on how to deal with it. It says siting for long periods of time can trigger symptoms, and doing too much can trigger symptoms, so it's findingthe balance of what your body can let you do. Try sitting with your feet resting on something too as it takes preasure off your muscles when you sit. 

      My mum is a pharmacist and she told me to take two Naproxine one in the morning before i leave for work 7am ish and another two in the evening at 7pm. As long as you take it with your breakfast then that wont affect your stomach, you just can't take them without food. 

      Look up Costochondritis on google and there is a really helpful page about managing the symptoms. It has been a godsend for me. 

      Let me know if all this works for you. 

  • margaret04107
    margaret04107 shelle7belle

    Posted

    I have had an ECG and loads of blood tests all came up negative. However I am sat doing nothing and suddenly I got this pain under my left breast. I put some heat on it and it sent but it has come back quite worried
    • jillybean1785
      jillybean1785 margaret04107

      Posted

      Hi Margaret, have a look at my previous comments, hope there will be something helpful in there, try icing it instead of heat. For instance mine is flayering up tonight so I have taken naproxine and trying to rest but make sure I am getting up every so often to move around. It does tend to come back, but once you know how to control it with pain relief then it does become easier. I work as a nursery nurse so I have to avoid lifting etc so I work with the older kids, but today I was in babies and doing movements I haven't done for a while and it has set things off, but I know that in an hour or so the antinflametaries will have helped. Hope all this helps 
  • margaret04107
    margaret04107 shelle7belle

    Posted

    Thank u. Since typing my message I was sick and the pain just disappeared I was so thankful. Never had it before so it may have been indigestion but I am not a fast eater and it was a very light meal.  Thanks for all your suggestions they were helpful.
  • alexandra14453
    alexandra14453 shelle7belle

    Posted

    I'm glad I found this website because I've been baffled as to what has been wrong with me for the past week. I got a cold about 2 weeks ago which lasted a few days then developed a cough. The cough got worse and worse and has been really horrible, I'd say the worst cough I've ever had. I'd have violent coughing fits every few hours and wasn't getting any sleep. I went to the gp 3 times as they kept just telling me it would go eventually and that theres nothing much they could do. The 2nd and 3rd gps gave me antibiotics to take as they said I sounded chesty. Have taken those and my cough is better but still there. However now for the past week I have been feeling soooo achy around my ribs. At first I thought it was cos I was sleeping in a funny angle but it's feeling worse everyday. Hurts so much when I breathe or make the slightest movement. I searched online and concluded it must be costochondritis and that its just inflammation from the coughing and the virus. Have never had this before though and not sure how to treat is apart from taking ibuprofen. I'm reluctant to go back to gp as find them dismissive and I always come out feeling like a hyperchondriac. So will just see it through and self medicate, but its reassuring to know many other people seem to ve suffering from similar things. 
    • zumbashan
      zumbashan alexandra14453

      Posted

      Hi, I'm a fitness instructor and normally don't get very ill, even when a bad flu is going around.  This January, however, was quite different.  I came down with the flu (that my doctor in Los Angeles said was highly contagious, by the way, and wasn't touched by this year's flu vaccine) and almost instantly contracted bronchitis and sinusitis.  I was very ill with a high fever and felt miserable for weeks.  I went through two rounds of strong antibiotics for the bacterial infection and also took Tami flu which helped my flu symptoms within 24 hours.  I am still coughing, however, and it's been over 2 months.  I had to go back to teaching fitness because I couldn't afford to stop and also because I wanted to be with my students.  I've been using a cortisone-based inhaler, a humidifier and elderberry extract from Norm's Farms for respiratory relief.  About a week ago, I coughed...just a normal cough.  Nothing epic.  Instantly I felt a tug in my rib cage and there it was...a pulled muscle, or so I thought.  It happened out of the blue because I'd been coughing so violently in the past and this was only a light cough whilst standing in the kitchen.  Now, the pain persists and I'm having trouble taking a breath or sitting up in bed without a lot of discomfort.  The pain is definitely on the outside of my rib cage below my left breast.  When I push on it or am hugged, it's very sensitive, too.  I'm going to try icing it, massage, chiropractic adjustment, reflexology, copper penny taped over area with ice (read this idea here on this forum...?)...I'll repost an update but please feel free to remind me.
  • judy07760
    judy07760 shelle7belle

    Posted

    i am from usa in. mytests on ribs n other are normal but not my stomach i just had 7 operations since 05 one 3 weeks ago for s.tomach pain and other problems. i feel your pain im only 52. i dont sleep much or nap either bc of pain.
  • nancy36508
    nancy36508 shelle7belle

    Posted

    I am 65 years old and have had sharp pain under my left breast for almost a year now.  I have been to so many specialists and had a lot of testing, but they either tell me nothing is wrong or that it is costo chondritis.  I've been to the ER several times because I was scared that it could be my heart.  All they tell me to take is Tylenol or Advil.  One doctor prescribed desiprimine for pain, which I tried but it did not help.  My go has prescribed Prozac because he thinks I have anxiety, but I am not going to take that.  It is so frustrating to be in pain almost all the time.  I can't even sleep on my stomach because it hurts.  Has anyone else had this experience?
    • jillybean1785
      jillybean1785 nancy36508

      Posted

      Hi Nancy, 

      Through reading everyones experiences it seems to be not unusual for it to bother us at night time, so annoying when you want to get a good night sleep, and have to work out a comfortable position first. 

      I have had costo chondritis for a couple of years now, maybe longer, and it has been pretty constant for the last six months. I get times where I feel none and then I do everyday things and it triggers it because I forget if I haven't had the pain for a long time. It sometimes affects me either on my middle of my sterum or on my left side around my ribs, so depending on where the pain is I can't put preasure on the area. It is all to do with the muscle inflamtation in the area, if you try icing the area where you feel the pain before you go to bed each night and try taking Naproxine too, then it should hopefully make a difference. My mum is a pharmacist and she has been my saviour for advice. So I am willing to pass on her advice as it has helped me so I want others to benifit too. 

      If ice doesn't help try sleeping on a hotwater bottle. :-) muslce rub has been good for me too.

      Let me know how you get on 

      x

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