Pain and swelling and told it's costochondritis

Posted , 1 user is following.

3 months ago I started to feel pain in the right breast. I was due routine mammogram anyway, so went for that and ultrasound and specialist Dr advised it was not breast related, but in fact costochondritis. The pain is on far right side. Almost on the side of my torso, nowhere near the sternum.

I then had a CT scan of abdomen and other than diverticulitis, they found no issues. Liver, pancreas etc all look normal. So I have extreme right side pain, normal CT, normal bloods (FBC and liver enzymes) and chest x-rays showed no fractures etc.

I have pain in right breast, extremely tender and painful right lower ribs, occasionally very sore shoulder blade and side pain.

Also a slight, sausage shaped swelling along the bottom of my ribs from mid abdomen to the edge of my torso.

Never feel short of breath, breathing and coughing does not increase pain. Leaning on my right side definitely does (sleep is severely disturbed).

Is it really costochondritis? If not, what else? What other tests do I ask for? If I can't take anti-inflammatory (due to diverticulitis) what can I take? Heat and ice does very little to help.

Severity comes and goes. Sometimes (like today) I feel like I have an obstacle at bottom of my ribs, it hurts to bend. Other days it resides in my shoulder blade all day, other days my whole breast aches.

The very fact it seems to move around, but never leave my right side, feels odd and hard to get to grips with.

My GI Dr is very fixated on the diverticular disease and not interested in the rib pain. My orthopedic Dr has just said it will take time. But 3 months and no cessation. I'm worried, depressed and most of all anxious they're missing something. At what point do I trust the CT scan and bloods? The swelling is weird and most upsetting symptom. Only visible, palpable when standing up. Help please 🙏

0 likes, 0 replies

0 Replies

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.