Posted , 83 users are following.
I was diagnosed with Costochondritis and I have been noticing shortness of breath along with pain. I have had EKG's and chest xrays as well as blood tests. My doctor firmly believes this is not a heart issue.
Has anyone else noticed shortness of breath with this? My pain is mainly in my sternum but radiates through out my whole chest wall.
3 likes, 152 replies
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sotiredofit Ipsydaisy
Posted
My then 18 yr old daughter had a sudden onset of symptoms in December of 2016. A large knot, severe pain,nausea,vomiting and passing out 2-6 times a day. We went to the E.R. and that is where our journey began the back and forth of it all with doctors not communicating with one another. The radiologist said the ct was clear and the ER doc said he didn't know what he was talking about and that she clearly had costochondritis, which has never been mentioned again. I am researching on my own now, since the doctors have washed their hands of my now 20 year old daughter.
. She has been referred to 12 specialist.They all agree something is terribly wrong but none of them can find the answer. An Endocrinologist diagnosed her with severe Vitamin D deficiency, PCOS, and Hypothyroidism. An Autonomic specialist captured a faint during a tilt table/EEG proceduren and determined that her brain was timing itself out and rebooting itself to deal with the debilitating pain coming from under her left rib and radiating all across her midsection. He gave her a medication on a trial basis starting at the lowest dose working it's way up to a higher one that finally stopped her blood pressure from dropping so severely causing her to pass out. He also stated that the medication by no means should work, but it does so just keep taking it. She was just able to start driving again in January 2018. The nausea and vomiting was met with omeprazole and zofran which was making her muscles incredibly weak, her esophagus burn, and sleep 22 hrs per day.I took her off the zofran after a few weeks, it was scary. The doctors kept upping the dose of omeprazole, and things kept getting worse. I remembered grandma drinking ginger tea and researched it. Started with that in February 2018 and one morning the nausea and vomiting just stopped praise God! The pain attacks have gotten worse. They paralyze her and bring her to her knees. The episodes have recently gotten longer and harder. She cant take a breath for the pain, her blood pressure goes sky high, she pales out, whites of her eyes are blood red, instant fever, and nothing I can say or do will make it stop.She has had numerous cts, upper gis, ultrasounds, nuclear medicine, labs, and exams and nothing........ We went to the ER the other night as this is the worst ever, and the doc gave her some morphine ( no pain med has ever worked,) and it took the pain back down to its chronic level that she powers through daily. DId I mention that she can't bend over due to the severity of the pain. We put on her shoes, and pick things up for her as needed. Did I mention before all of this, she was a gainfully employed makeup artist, college student, and an active co/salon owner? This thing has slammed her....... we hate it. I can't even begin to speak on the injuries she has sustained over this particular course of time due to syncope/passing out.....no rhyme, no reason, just hitting the floor. I don't want my daughter hopped up on pills, but at this point I can't stand to see her suffer like this anymore. We are grasping at straws, I know God has her and this whole situation in His hands, I just can't sit and rely on others who have no vested interest to do something about it. I am calling a chiropractor in the morning. Praying for answers. Thanks for letting me vent.
sally_10036 sotiredofit
Posted
So sorry for your daughters pain. Definelty see alternative medicine at this point. It's helped so many. I saw a chiro and oesteopath but finally it was the acupuncturist (a true CMT specialist) and finally a naturpath. All Finally healing me. Good luck and hang in there you will find answers. Hopefully someone in the group can relate
jeff82857 sotiredofit
Posted
I'm so sorry that your daughter has to deal with all of this. Please let her know that she is not alone. I have also being suffering from costochondritis for more than and year now. I have been to the emergency room twice thinking I was having a heart attack. I suffered from panic attacks and anxiety everyday that has subsided as I start to heal and understand that it is not my heart.
A couple of months ago I bought a device called the Back Pod that you lay on that helps to move stuck ribs back into place and I have been slowly getting better. I swear to God that this is not a commercial. I use it every day and it is the first thing that has worked for me.
They are a little expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as all of your doctor bills. I take Advil and ice for inflammation but so far had avoided stronger meds. I can honestly say that the Back Pod has helped me more than anything. I feel like I am actually on the way to getting 100% better.
I also have started to meditate to deal with the anxiety. I like the Headspace app for my phone.
I wish you and your daughter well.
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jeff82857 sotiredofit
Posted
Here is a good explanation of costo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ve6nNVdWc[/b]
flangirl sotiredofit
Posted
vladimir99170 Ipsydaisy
Posted
I have been diagnosed with Costo 3 weeks ago from now,i had a super strong chest pain right in the middle of the chest that i literally can not walk for a 5 minutes,so i went to Er,they said it is Costo and prescribed me to take Advil.
So its been 19 days already i have been taken Advil daily,2 pils in the morning and 2 pils at night and it really helped me to survive without the pain.
Every single day i have been reading forums like that all over the world just to understand ho to deal with Costo because our doctors dont know s*%$t,and i found a lady,on russian forum,who gave anadvice( exercise) to someone how to treat Costo at home and guess what guys-it really works! I woke up this morning with out pain!!!!!
1.take a deep breath trough your nose and hold it and count 10 seconds.
2.then slowly ,very slowly let the air out through the mouth.
3.thats it guys! Lol,i did this exercise yesterday about 10 times during the day and today i am going to survive with out advil,this magic exercise works!
Dont thank me guys!
flangirl Ipsydaisy
Posted
samantha22678 flangirl
Posted
Hi!
i have had costo since i was 13. really bad when i was young but since have only had small week long incidents. I got it back recently bad and its the first time i have experienced the shortness of breath feeling. I too only started to feel it after the pain started to go away! Did your chiro explain why that is normal?
the anxiety of it all just kills me
isabel1188 Ipsydaisy
Posted
Wow i am so glad that I found this forum! I read every single thread, and it's so good to see a support group getting formed here. I am going to share my experience, and I hope it'll help someone. Let's all keep each other posted and share best practices. Together, we'll fight this!
I too was diagnosed with costochondritis yesterday at Urgent Care. I started to develop shortness of breath, lightheadness, at times feeling to have less control of my body, palpitation, and a persistent numbness to my right leg (anyone has the same problem?) about 1.5 weeks ago.
It started when I began to take cipro, an antibiotic, to get rid of a bacterial infection. At first, I only got these symptoms except for a numb leg at night time. Last Friday was particularly bad and my leg started to get numb. Scared that I was having a heart attack, I went to the ER. And like everyone else, I had a chest x-ray, blood test, and ECG done. Everything came out normal but it turned out I had low potassium. I later found that ~1% of people taking cipro could get low potassium. For anyone who experiences palpitation (feeling your heart beat or your heart skipping a beat), I suggest to get your potassium checked.
I started to take a potassium supplement, and within days, my potassium level was back to normal. Palpitation also went away almost completely. However, the lightheadness, at times feeling to have less control of my body, and difficulty breathing started to happen more frequently and last longer.
Yesterday afternoon, I developed chest pain which started on my right side and moved to my left side. I went to the Urgent Care to get an ECG, which came back with a variance of normal. I also had a breathing test done to rule out potential allergic reaction. The PA pressed on my chest and diagnosed me with costo. He told me to take Advil 2x a day.
My symptoms definitely got better after I started the Advil. This evening I couldn't take my second advil until 12 hours from my first one. Difficulty breathing started to return but got a lot better about 30 mins after I took my advil.
I don't know when my costo will get better or go away completely. For those of you who got better with your breathing after taking a pain killer, did yours ever go away? If so, how long did it take? Thank you.
paula46645 isabel1188
Posted
So happy to have found this! I was diagnosed with costo about 3 or 4 weeks ago, after, like everyone, going to emergency because of the chest pain. All tests normal. I believe it started when I started swimming again with the nice weather and I must have overdone it. The breathlessness just started recently and is quite scary. I find mediation helps a lot with that (I used guided meditations on an app on my iPhone). I was really starting to worry that I had copd or something. Anyhow, I was also feeling lightheaded for the last few days, and this morning had two glasses of orange juice and a banana, and felt better within 30 minutes. Pretty sure that's potassium at work, so will get supplements tomorrow. Read an article saying that most people only get 50% of the daily requirement. Advil seems to help a lot with the costo pain, which I have to admit is not as bad as it seems to be for some of the people here. Anyhow, thanks everyone!!! You have set my mind at ease, a lot.
isabel1188 paula46645
Posted
Hi Paula,
Glad to see meditation is helping. I try to mediate every day too. For your potassium level, did you get a blood test to see if your potassium is normal? I ask because high potassium is even more dangerous than low potassium and can cause a series of issues. I would only take potassium supplement if your blood test shows low potassium.
Usually over the counter potassium has very low level potassium in it for the same exact reason. My potassium supplement was a prescription and it's much stronger. Even when my potassium level was back to normal, my symptoms of difficult breathing, lightheadness, and numb leg didn't go away. It was the advil that helped me.
By the way, did you or anyone here experience a numb limb too?
paula46645 isabel1188
Posted
You're right about potassium levels Isabel. After doing some more reading, I decided to focus on potassium rich foods and make sure I get some everyday (watermelon has lots, and it's stinking hot here these days, so watermelon is most welcome!). I went for a massage today and had her work around my left shoulder blade. Well! - tonight had a lot of pain in my armpit and back, and around to my sternum, of course with the ensuing anxiety that I was having a heart attack. Frankly, I'm now having a glass of white wine and feeling much more relaxed! I'm going to try the chiropractor on Tuesday.
isabel1188 paula46645
Posted
My difficulty to breath has got a lot better, but I still have almost daily lightheadness and persistent numb right leg plus chest pain. Of course I am still anxious every day from all the symptoms.
Did your pain get better? Do you still have lightheadness? You never had numbness in your limbs right?
paula46645 isabel1188
Posted
Hi Isabel, thanks for your inquiry! I am feeling better, but I've noticed that if I do any stretching with my arms above my head, the pain is worse the next day, with breathlessness. The lightheadedness is very intermittent. I also wonder if alcohol is a trigger for me. If I have no wine, I have no pain the next day (or very minimal). I find that Advil helps a lot, just one extra strength seems to knock out the chest pain. I have also had an Advil PM at night a couple of times and slept 9 hours, and the next day was really good. I am still a little worried about the shortness of breath, and plan to see my doctor about that to rule out any other issue (we've been away from home for 3 weeks). I also have a visit scheduled with my osteopath to see if she can help. I had a massage a week ago and the next day was terrible, with pain in both armpits (almost like a golf ball sitting in my armpits).
Sorry to hear your still feeling light-headed. Have you tried deep breathing? The numb leg is a worry, and of course the chest pain produces instant anxiety. I woke up with some this morning, and found it helped to read through this forum to calm me down - realizing that our symptoms are all similar, that we've been to ER for chest xrays, EKGs and blood work, all with the same result.
I've never had numbness in my limbs, aside from that sort of numb tingly feeling in my feet and hands that I get when I'm feeling anxious.
Hope this helps
Paula
ethan4849 Ipsydaisy
Posted
sally_10036 ethan4849
Posted
I recommend bone supplements ( d,k,calcium,magnesium) if you can
hang in there and it will pass! Also make sure you stretch too. Heat helps me the most and volteren cream!!