Costochondritis what a nightmare!

I don't know if anyone will read this, any way I'm 26 and I got Ill with the flu that left me with one hell of a violent cough this was 13th December after a few weeks of coughing I started to get the worst pains in my right rib (22nd December) it hurt to breathe,move, talk, and coughing or sneezing made me feel like my body was being torn apart rib first! Never felt pain like it. The hospital saw me listened to my symptoms he could barely touch my rib (it hurt that much) he said I had a torn muscle, he gave me strong co-codamel (paracetamol or ibuprofen wasn't even touching the pain) the new co-codamel didn't help either, they just made me Ill (vomitting and itching everywhere) so I couldn't continue with those, my GP saw me & he said he didn't exactly know what was wrong and said maybe I've just pulled the muscle, he gave me different tablets (they also didn't work also made me ill came off them) saw my GP a third time (a different doctor) he also said he didn't know what the problem was, so he sent me for an X-ray, that came back all clear (thank god!) it's now the 13th January had this pain a while now It's not getting any better, I do have good days where the pain is less and easier to move but it's constantly there! I've been resting in bed so long as I've been signed off work for 3 weeks now, I'm trying to do little things to keep me and my body working! (Lol) I went for a walk for the first time in a couple of weeks it went okay but the day after the pain was more intense, I was back struggling to get out of bed because it hurt so much, it reduces me to tears sometimes (maybe I'm just too sensitive!) anyway I called my doctor (spoke to a Third and different doctor) and she finally says she thinks I have this costochondritis, told me to take it easy and just build myself up slowly with doing activity etc .. Keep taking pain killers, they don't really help though so I hate the idea of taking them, they keep affecting my stomach, it's worrying me that this thing is never going to get better, it's knocked my confidence massively, I work so hard to fight my anxiety and with this thing keeping me indoors for so long and not going to work I've become so secluded and got myself into a mess I feel horrible, I feel left out and forgotten by many, (is it stupid to be feeling like this?? Does anyone else ever feel like this because of it?) did anyone have tests and scans done before they were officially diagnosed with costochondritis? Also does anyone carry on with things even if it hurts and causes more pain? For example working out/gym/running etc can we carry on doing stuff, do you think we can make it worse at all? This is one of my worries, as I really want to lose weight and work out I had this all planned last month and now I'm stuck in bed probably gaining more weight and getting more depressed, I just have so much anxiety about this, and it would be really nice to talk to someone who's going through the same thing who understands.

Thank you for reading (if anyone does actually read this)

Finally a forum for this! Had costo for about a year. Thought I was having a heart attack. Several hours of a&e later and I get this diagnosis! Possibly

Linked to the hep b vaccine I needed for work my body didn't agree and has been screwed ever since. General tight chest (I find yawning helps open it up) also sharp pain under my left breast at times. Hence thinking heart attack. Spent a week abroad last month and the heat did wonders I didn't suffer once! Found since being back in the uk and we have had the wet and muggy British weather we all love my chest has flared up again and is especially tight...does anyone else suffer more when the weather changes? I take ibruprofen which helps a little. Do admit I smoke less than 10 a day which doesn't help but I'm cutting down. Any tips to manage the bad days? Can't find a comfy sleeping position without my chest feeling like it's in a vice sometimes

I was recently diagnosed with this crappy thing costochondritis. My doctor asked me if I did anything strenuous lately. I told her yup I he-manned all the groceries in one shot up 3 flights of stairs twice in a month. I rough house with my husky and when I take her out she pulls so hard and quick that it catches me off guard. the symptoms I have I will start from the beginning. First time it hit I though uh oh this is the big one (heart attack) plus panic attack. I was rushed to the er they did blood ekg x ray it all came back clear. second time rushed to er same thing but this doctor said everything is ok BUT I am sending you to the cardiac clinic. (panic attack lol) stress test and ultra sound on lungs heart and everything around that area. Came back clean I was told my heart is beating very strong there is no cardiac issues. He agreed with my family doctor about the costo. So here are my things I go thru when it hits me. it starts as a dull pain in my left chest turns icy and hot at the same time. travels across my chest and down into my stomach I even get it in my legs (rare). This has been going on a month now and I was told here take these naproxen you'll be fine. The naproxen I looked up is and makes it worse with all the side effects so I take one only when it is bad bad. Night time is the worst because u lay there and worry and think about it so u panic and it causes a flare up. On top of this I was just told I am having what my doctor calls baby strokes WTFF! I don't have time for all this crap and I read these forums and a lot of ppl say it's gonna be here for a while and most doctors know squat about it so they misdiagnose. there are times I get so worked up I think great my wife is gonna find me in the morning dead on the pull out couch. Sorry but you have to admit you yourselves get worked up about this sometimes it's natural. I wish you all the best and I hope you recover very very soon from this s****y thing. I am glad I found this group or whatever it's called. God Bless U All. if anyone else has the symptoms I do please please let me know it would ease my mind a bit. and I am going for a vascular screening and more blood work for the baby strokes. My wife has assured me baby ones will not kill me lol well have a good one all.

jacqui60919...I don't have symptoms of Costo...at least I don't think so, but I do have a dry nagging cough which has been going on for a long time now. I truly can't blame the medications (ACE) because I had the cough prior to the medication, but I will admit, it's possible the ACE is making it worse. The tickly feeling comes through the middle of my chest, up into my throat & I MUST cough..there's no way around it. The cough of course is not productive, but there are times when it sounds as though it is. I also can hear a wheeze.

Some days are worse than others. At times, I have a very warm to burning sensation in the centre of my chest just behind the breastbone. I'm at wit's end with it.

Hello! I know this is old but my experience with Costo has been similar to you guys ! I’ve had symptoms where the pain radiates from the left side sometimes to the right and to my shoulder blades. I have difficult taking deep breaths because I’m so inflammed and I have actually went to the E R and everything came up normal . Some other unusual symptoms include a low grade fever and pressure on esophagus .

I have had my share of run-a-round with this debilitating dx. I got a cold while on a 2 week vacation in Florida. The cold subsided but i was left with a cough that would not stop. Activity seemed to exacerbate it so of course I was checked for Cardiac problems which came back with all negative results. The pulmonologist on my case did a Bronchoscopy and that was a month of hell, it made the cough worse and my stomach was so aggrivated, I didn't regain my appetite for a month. Mean while, every specialist I was referred to drained my account and still had a negative dx. Finally after 2 years I went to a D.O. that dx me the first visit with Costo. He got me in for an injection, that was good for 6 weeks. I am having another flare up now and it is going on 2 1/2 years. The diagnosis helps but the coarse does not fit the textbook. I have spells of shortness of air, at times it feels like someone is strangling me around the throat, I have muscle tightness from my ear to my shoulder that reaches to the front of my chest and to my back, and my stomach is also involved. Some mornings I wake up nauseated. I have gone through several months where I would vomit daily. The symptoms all seem to be part of the original problem but all the specialists want to look at them individually and not at the big picture. I have only 1 position I can sleep in, otherwise I awaken because I stop breathing or it feels like my right side from the ear to the chest is asleep. If I get short of air I have to mouth breath because of the tightness in my throat. Not to mention the obvious chest pain. Mine is on the right side and I am right handed so my flare-ups are almost constant. 

I have costo ..it comes and goes .. the first attack was 2012 right after gallbladder removal surgury .. in this 5 years I have this costo thing 😢Every six months I had it for a couple days it went away by its own ..All my xray blood work came normal except for Esr ..so they sent me to rheumatologist but she couldn’t find something   .didn’t know wtf is this until this last attack that I searched online and found myself..I talked to my Dr and he said yes 😂 lets change our seats Lol.. 

every time i get this attack it’s a pain in my right side under my ribs + sholder and very bad pain on sternum and breath shortness + flu like symptoms + back ache.+ painc attack and insomnia at 3 am wth??

I got a note pad and wrote the information about this pain :

When i get the attack :

After flu ( like 2 weeks after flu) 

In cold weather 

Stressful times 

After eating fatty foods 

Heavy work ( streches . Lifting heavy stuff )

What make me feel better:

*number one and the most important is walking or resting in warm water /pool

*Stop drinking coffee 

*Taking ibuprofen 

**taking anti stress meds like clonazepam 

*Rest

*taking some sunbathe 

*drinking ginger tea

Hot pad

(The funny thing last year I got this attack and it was kind of bad but my son asked me to take him to water park .. we went to knotts soak city in orange county and I was walking in the warm water and when i came back home the pain was gone ) so i found out that this water traphy is one of the best way to help )

I too know your pain. I was never diagnosed with costochondritis, but I believe this is a condition that I have. I was driving on Christmas Eve and began to feel a pain in my chest and I also thought I was having a heart attack. I went to the ER, had tests done, including an EKG and they told me everything was fine with my heart. Turns out it was a panic attack. But I have been feeling this pain on and off ever since. Mainly on my right side upper breast bone. Sometimes it will travel into my shoulder and arm- which is why I thought I was dying lol. I’ve read up on some forums with people experiencing similar symptoms. This pain has given me some major anxiety, always thinking it could potentially be my heart. About a month after the ER visit -with the continuation of the pain- I visited my family docor and he told me it was anxiety. Yes, I get that I definitely have anxiety but the anxiety is caused from this pain! It’s definitely reassuring to press on my chest when I get the pain and I feel a tenderness. Because I have read that that implies it is not specifically heart related. But this whole thing has been so stressful and uncomfortable. It’s been five months. I’ve read some people’s stories who have had it for weeks. Some years. It’s just scary! And not talked about often. So it’s good to know there are other people experiencing this s**t. Also, why does it tense up while driving?? It happens to me too!!

Last night I just ordered something called the back pod..it was invented by a guy from New Zealand..I've read the reviews and just about everyone says this thing works..he says it starts with the ribs near the spine being locked up, then puts pressure on the sternum..it makes sense..I get it on Saturday, and am really looking forward to how it goes...fyi..check out the back pod video on youtube.