HELP! Chest pains, numb and tingling sensations, trapped nerve, costochondritis. And remedies?
Posted , 16 users are following.
Spoiler: This may be a long post.
Hello. I just wanted to start by saying my doctor told me to check out this site- first to read up on Costo and after lots of reading, I am way more informed on what it is, so thanks to anyone out there who has posted or shared their experiences as it has helped me out a lot.
My experience seems totally similar which is reassuring but I thought I'd post, outline it all to keep up to date on any solotions or remedies.
I'm 27, male and have been having these weird symptoms since about April this year.
I, like most, have been under a lot of stress. In the past 12 months about 6 hugely traumatic things have happened in quick succession within my family (depression, divorce, 3 huge deaths in the space of 3 months) after which, the symptoms kicked in.
At work, in April, my left foot went numb, not fully numb, but felt like pins and needles or that my left shoe was tied too tight. My foot has been in varying degrees of this since then. I also experience tingly sensation in my left arm, hand,neck and side of my face. Like many people with costo, I thought "well, that'll be a heart attack then." I had some tests done, all fine. Potential calcium deficiency so took vitamins.
In about July I hurt my rib and the aching feeling transferred to my chest and in my mind, my heart. I basically spent August trying different variations of heat packs, cold packs, vitamins, indegestion tablets, paracetamol, cocodomol and ibuprofen while intermittently seeing doctors or phoning HNS 24 thinking I was going to die. Nothing in day to day life feels comfortable. It felt like someone was sitting on the left side of my chest, and that there was an itch i just couldnt scratch deep inside my chest, like I need a back scratcher for my ribcage just to unclog whatever it feels is in there. The doctors all past this off as stress and anxiety which annoyed me, ironically adding to the stress.
All of this has been ongoing since then and since August I have had bloods, ecg and 24 hour blood pressure monitor. All fine. I was told Costochondritis given Pregabalin tablets- first 25mg twice a day, then 50mg twice a day, now on 75mg twice a day. I'm going to ring the doctor tomorrow to reassess as I don't think they are working, not consistently anyway but then again Costo is such a weird one as the symptoms and feelings seems to range dramatically.
I also went for a spinal check and have a trapped nerve which I can totally feel has something to do with it. Again, adds to the stress of the whole thing. I am just feeling fatigued, negative and a bit off and spaced out. Tingly feelings are constant, and pain in chest ranges from stabbing, to an ache, to almost a stomach ache feeling. The front of my sternum seems to crack at times, like knuckles would, which I have read is common, as well as back pain etc
All in all it feels nightmarish sometimes, and just niggly at other times. I have tried stretches, meditation, back cracking, changing my diet, cutting down on coffee, swapping cigarettes for an e cigarette and I stopped drinking for the first month of taking pregabalin. I have noticed the effects of costo are stronger when I have been drinking. I have also started seeing a counsellor to help unravel the personal stuff as hopefully that will reduce stress and anxiety.
Any advice on anything you have tried to ease the feelings? Am I missing something? Does massage or acupuncture help? Diet tips? Physical things? Posture?
Any feedback hugely, hugely appreciated because I'd like this to go away as soon as possible and just get on with stuff without feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack and I'd also like to stop boring my friends with it!
Congrats if you made it to the end of this post. Thanks for sharing and reading. I'll keep you updated. 
2 likes, 19 replies
crystal75234 RobinG1
Posted
hi
I have costo and i have alot of pain around my ankle up my legs and my both arms ache so badly that they feel numb my doctor perscribed me naproxen for costo but i dont feel like its getting rid of the pain at all i try everything i can to try and ease the pain such as hot water bottle , hot bath to try and relax my muscles but nothing seems to work ! its a horrible condition and i hope it gets better for you soon !
Hein87 RobinG1
Posted
Hi Robin.
I know it has been years since you're post but I feel im doing more research to re assure myself I'm ok. I have exact symptoms, pain (general pressure like) in left chest, pain in left arm and odd tingling sensation in hand. I have heard alcohol can make it worse and also smoking is no go, to which I'm trying to do as little of as possible. When I have a smoke I feel a odd tingling sensation slightly more intense (have you had this), after a big night I feel swelling is a lot more and feel uncomfortable for entire day especially when lying down, have to get up and do stretches and sometimes have a shower.
Are you still having symptoms or are you cured?
Thanks feedback appreciated please
Male 32 years
ruth51487 RobinG1
Edited
my problems with costo began in April too. I have very similar symptoms, most recent is the tingling which affects my face and across top of head, doctor wasnt sure it was related to costo? i dont think GPs know much about the wide range of symptoms it brings, this can be very stressful and it does seem to go on much longer than they predict. I get some relief from using a physio twice a month, I find it helps with the back pain and can be useful for coping with any anxious thoughts.
bern24986 RobinG1
Posted
Hello Everyone - these posts sound similar to my situation. I have not been diagnosed with costochondritis at this point yet. Symptoms started June 2020. From how I recall, it was after waking up one day and finding myself in a awkward twisted position. I recall my cat had jumped up in my bed in the middle of the night. The cat was situated on my right midway along the bed lengthwise. I sat upright to pet him and then without rotating my lower body to follow I leaned my upper body to lay next to the cat. So I ended up in this L shaped folded/twisted position and fell asleep this way. I was most likely still half asleep when doing this. 1 or 2 days after this is when I noticed the odd sensations (moderate spiking/ poking and aches) along the lower edge of the 10th ribs, both sides but more strong on the left side. I was using heating pads and baths to try to fix the issue. got somewhat better 6 weeks in but then got worse. to the point I could not sleep on sides. also July 2020 I went and got a haircut and colored and the very next day started experiencing scalp sensitivity in one area near the top left of my head. can feel it even when moving my hair. it was intermittent at that point but is now constant with varying levels of sensitivity. b12 used to help but not anymore. today it's pretty low grade but still there. but by end of August 2020 I had my vit d levels checked and these were pretty low. so I started on a regimen of vit d plus sunbathing a little and could feel results within 2 weeks. I was feeling 10x better. by mid Nov the side rib pains seemed to have subsided for the most part. I was back to working out in Nov Dec and Jan. in Dec and Jan I decided to try doing my high intensity workout programs just once a week. did that first two weeks in Jan. however by end of Jan 2021 the weird rib pains were back, along with odd spaced out pricking sensations in my fingers toes and ankles, more headaches, urgent need to pee. I also had vulvodynia off and on since January. I did try drinking spearmint tea in early January to help with acne. the spearmint does have hormonal effects of lowering testosterone and increasing other hormones. I'm wondering if these are all related or perhaps two seperate issues of re injuring ribs with the HIIT exercise and messing with hormones. the only good thing here is that the side pains seem to be decreasing somewhat. I had a lot of blood work done. all normal. I'm planning to call my doctor tomorrow to request body scans of the area bc I am worried.
I've looked up some many things on Google. could it be costochondritis, slipping rib syndrome, or fibromyalgia? has anybody experienced stuff like this?