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My experience with, and overcoming costochondritis

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nikki73193
nikki73193

I have experianced and overcome costochondritis and know how painful it can be. There where some days where i thought it was never going to end and had me terrified. I spent hours trying to find how people overcame costochondritis and could find very little information which was also scary. So i would like to share my story of how i overcame it and some tips to make it a little easier to deal with.

My Story

I Started showing signs of costochondritis when i was 17. I started to get random pains in my ribs. The pain was bad, however it only lasted around an hour or so. I went to the doctors and he told me i had costochondritis and gave me some anti-inflammatory. He also told me that it was most likely caused by my waitressing and weight lifting.

I took that round of anti-inflammatory but the pain was not going away. It was actually getting worse, where the pain would start and not go away all night. I must admit at this time i didnt do anything to help myself until...

One day the pain did not go away, it was always there and 10x more painful than normal. I went to the doctors virtually begging more the best painkillers possible. I found there where some medications that made me feel better and some worse.

There was a week where i barely left my bed. The walk from my bed to the bathroom would have me in tears. It felt like my ribs where overlapping and someone was jumping on them.

I found the combination of rest, appropriate medication and VERY light stretching was the key to making me feel better. 

After a while the pain started to fade and i would only feel the pain once in a while. I am now 21 and am completely free from the pain of Costochondritis. 

TIPS AND ADVICE

Easing the Pain

- [u]Heatpacks!!:[/u] Definitely was my the best thing for me! i would have one     under my back and one ontop of my chest whenever the pain was bad

- [u]Voltaren Emugel:[/u] would rub on the front and back or the painful area 3      times per day. 

- [u]Good Posture:[/u] Whenever sitting up in bed (or doing anything else),         ensure you are not slouching. Always ensure there are pillows behind       your back so you are sitting up straight comfortably

- [u]Support:[/u] I 100% needed the support of my boyfriend who helped me do    virtually everything for me. As i said even walking to the toilet was a          painful task

- [u]Warm Fluids:[/u] I found drinking cold beverages hurt my ribs more!

- [u]Rest:[/u] It was hard to sleep but try the meds isted below! Worked               wonders!

Medications

- [u]Naproxen 250mg:[/u] This was the BEST anti nflammatory i tried (need           prescription)

- [u]Voltaren 50mg: [/u](anti nflammatory) Did not work for me. To be honest         made me worse as it   killed my stomach! (no prescription needed)

-[u] Panadeine Forte:[/u] This pain killer worked well for medium amount of         pain but not when it was seriously bad. it also hurt my stomach                sometimes (prescription needed)

- T[u]ramadool:[/u]This pain killer is what i used when the pain was at its worst.   It didnt get rid of all of the pain. but it got rid of most. A combination         of tramadool and heatpacks made me comfortable (prescription               needed)

- [u]Restavit:[/u] This sleeping pill was the best thing that happend to me when   i had costochondritis. After i found this, i never had a sleepless night         sue to pain. I would take 1 pill (sometimes even half) and half an hour     later i was uncontrolably knocked out! (no prescription needed)

Gym

- DO NOT even attempt gym when you have pain!

- When you notice your pain is decreasing. Do some very light back           exercises/stretches (with no weight) to try and build up some                     strength. Stop if you start feeling bad pain.

- When the pain stopped being consistent and only happened every now     and then. I tried using the treadmill and small weights. This was               not a good idea. It was very painful and i woke up very sore the next         morning.

- Dont give up, keep trying once every couple of days to do some light       gym work, but stop if you get pain

- I was so motivated to get back into gym that when i finally was able to     go in the gym without any pain i regained my strength and fitness back     surprisingly fast!

Dont try

- [u]Cold packs:[/u] Made the pain so much worse

Hope this could help smile

3 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • nikki73193
    nikki73193

    Posted

    Sorry about the horrible way this formatted
  • lori99596
    lori99596 nikki73193

    Posted

    Thanks for the tips nikki.

    I'm sorry to hear you've been bothered by this awful pain at such a young age.  I'm now 70 and only had my first attack about 4 years ago caused by severe coughing.  The recent attack was caused by bending forward to open a low, stiff drawer and just as I was recovering I forgot and did the same thing again.  I have to be careful when dressing or undressing, and especially putting on socks or tights I have to sit on a low stool.  I agree with you about posture.  I'm very prone to slouching and must improve my posture.  I've never been a gym person and was fortunate enough to be naturally slim until after going through menopause.  I'm still in a normal weight range for my height, but feel fat.  I love swimming and walking but have never been a gym or sports person.  I suspect that I might have had problems sooner if I had done strenuous exercise as I've never been a robust person.  Costochondritis also seems to have links with osteoporosis.  I've been diagnosed with osteopaenia of the hips and know that all my muscles and ligaments have deteriorated since menopause.  I take Vitamin D supplements but try to avoid medications as much as possible.  As long as I'm careful, I just have some aching in the upper ribs, more on the left side, and I can live with that.  It's definitely worse after I've been sitting and slouching, and goes away when I'm walking, so I'm one of the luckier ones.  I also find heat packs help.

    Hope you don't have any more problems with this in the future.

    Lori

     

  • jules756
    jules756 nikki73193

    Posted

    Thank you for sharing your experience and for the helpful information. I can attest to all of your recommendations. I"m approaching 9-months with this but I AM improving though very slowly... I am hoping it speeds up eventually as you mentioned.

    The frustrating part is when I have a rare good day it is followed by a few bad ones. Just no consistency... But think I am also guilty of feeling better one day and just do too much and extend beyond my limits... Whatever those are!! 

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