Tietze with baseball size fluid pocket??
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi all. Over a year ago after being hospitalized for 3 days and having full heart work up I was diagnosed with Costochondritis. After over a week of bed rest along with pain meds and muscle relaxers life returned to normal and I hadn't given Costo a thought since. That is until 2 weeks ago when the unmistakeable earth shaking pain struck again out of the blue! I started with taking Extra Strength Tylenol, rest, rotating heat and ice and trying not to flare things up thinking it would quickly pass.
It did not pass - it has gotten extremely worse! I can only take shallow breaths. Breathing out hurts worse than breathing in. Leaning forward causes horrible pain. I cannot lie flat so I am on my 4th day of being in a very uncomfortable recliner. Yesterday the pain had become so horrible I could no longer manage at home and I had noticed swelling in the area (my left side rib cage area) so I went in to my primary care doctor's office and saw a PA. There is a very visible baseball size knot there. When she had me lie down on the table she said my rib cage was noticeably larger on my left side. She ordered several x-rays and once done came back to my room (where I sat with my husband crying in pain) and said "well, I can't tell much about x-rays but I called the doctor (he was off site) and explained this swelling and we think you have the worse case of Costochondritis we have ever seen".
The prescription narcotics aren't helping and the 8 steroid pills I have taken so far haven't reduced the swelling at all. I am now running a fever. Has anyone else experienced this type of swelling with Tietze? I can't find anything or anyone who mentions this in any of my on line searches. Thanks!
0 likes, 23 replies
SweetSal AMK1968
Posted
Have them check you Tietze's (almost same as Costo but lump is present) that is what I have. I also have Intercostal Neuralgia, which is an entrapped nerve somewhere in the chest area. I just had nerve block done, 4 injections in the back between ribs, one side at a time. It worked for 6 days and I could feel the spasms on the other side. For me it feels like a "charlie horse" in the ribs and back area instead of the calf of your leg. Good luck and keep me updated what they say.
SweetSal
Posted
AMK1968 SweetSal
Posted
One of the things that's odd about my Costo/Tietze is I have no pain at my sternum not even when the doctor presses on it. My pain is isolated to my left rib cage (from under my shoulder blade wrapping around to under my left breast but stops there). I do get the sudden muscle spasms like you get when you get a "charlie horse" but it's a very quick intense grab and release spasm. The steroids are really upsetting my stomach (I have lots of stomach issues on "normal" days) so I took a Phenegran tablet for the nausea last night which makes me sleepy so I was finally able to get some sleep but woke to the same miserable pain! I feel so bad for all of us who experience this - no way to describe it to someone who hasn't gone thru it. Thanks for responding.
SweetSal AMK1968
Posted
It could be an entrapped somewhere else just make sure you push them to find an answer not just a guess. Ask about some kind of meds for nerve pain. I have peptic ulcers and chronic kidney disease II so I can't take alot of meds either.
AMK1968 SweetSal
Posted
Do you see your primary care physician for this or a specialist? Just wondering if I need to have my PC refer me to a doctor more specialized because my PC's office just called to let me know he reviewed my x-rays (I was there on Wednesday so 2 days later he looks at them...) and there were no acute findings but if I was still the same on Monday to come back in.
grace28398 AMK1968
Posted
So sorry for your pain. Hang in there! We are all in this together and will get well!! Better days are ahead
SweetSal AMK1968
Posted
It took me 3 yrs to find a diagnosis for Tietze, then another 2 yrs to find out about the Intercostal Neuralgia, look that up to see if your symtoms match up. I live in a very small area in northern Maine and does not have very good specialist. I have been going to a FNP, family nurse practioner, and I've been doing my own research, go back to her and tell her what I want done. I'm tired of them just brushing it off and push drugs. I don't take any narcotic pain meds. So I went to a Ortho specialist, found nothing to cause spasms but a bunch of spine and cervical issues, but nothing to cause spasms. So I ask to be referred to a pain clinic 160 miles away, Bangor, ME, I knew they had seen everything for conditions there. So the MD in that office gave me a diagnosis of Intercostal Neuralgia. Right now I'm waiting for a referral to a Osteopath, they can do some manipulating and binding (wraps I think). I will know after the appt. Inflammation will not show on xray, not even the tendon & ligament damage. But they have to start with xrays due to insurance. Xray only shows bone