Uncommon costo symptoms

Posted , 57 users are following.

Costochondritis is unfortunately, not widely known or discussed and I've got more information from here than my gp.

Although I'm lucky to say I'm 80-90% healed, I've reached a plateau.

I wanted to share some of the less common symptoms I've experienced in my healing process for those who may be scared/confused:

Dizziness

Head pressure on the side of inflammation

(possibly led to a slowing down of the movement in left eye, I now wear glasses to refocus, never had eye issues before)

Headaches

Swollen neck

Tightness in neck

Swollen shoulder muscles

Back pain in the middle of back

Inability to eat

Feeling physically full after half a meal but still hungry

Stomach pain

Burning sensation in muscles

Tingling sensation in muscles

Strange sinking feeling when breathing, comparable to the stomach drop you get in fear/on a rollercoaster or similar but it's more muscular/physical

Sensation of muscles suddenly "deflating" when falling asleep - possibly anxiety related as well

Constant palpitations

Fatigue

Tiredness

Generally weak

Arm pain on side of inflammation

Feeling like I can't breathe

Difficulty walking at speed - who knew swaying arms could be so painful?!

Feeling fine all day but swelling up when you lie down to sleep

Sinus pressure

BONUS: For those who have overcome the majority of the pain

general discomfort/awareness/heaviness/tightness of the affected areas

Feel free to share your uncommon/less discussed symptoms

10 likes, 172 replies

172 Replies

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  • Posted

    Hi all costo suffers ...I have costo since 2012 .it comes and goes .. the first attack was in May 2012 right after my gallbladder removal surgury .. in this 5 years I have this costo thing 😢Every six months I usually had it for a couple days it was mild and I didn’t take it serious..in  March 2015 i had very bad attack I went to Dr .. my X-ray /ultrasound blood work  came normal except for Esr ..so they sent me to rheumatologist but she couldn’t find anything and after 2 months my Esr came in Normal range .didn’t know wtf is this until this last attack that I searched online and found my prob myself..I talked to my Dr and he said yes 😂 lets change our seats Lol.. 

    every time i get this attack it’s a sharp pain in my right side under my ribs + sholder and very bad pain on sternum and breath shortness feel an elephant sitting on my chest 🙃+ flu like symptoms + back ache.+ painc attack and insomnia at 3 am wth🤪

    I got a note pad and wrote the information about this pain :

    When  usually i get this attack :

    After flu ( like 2 weeks after flu) 

    In cold weather 

    Stressful times

    Heavy work ( streches . Lifting heavy stuff )

    What make me feel better:

    *number one and the most important is walking or resting in warm water /pool

    *Stop drinking coffee 

    *Taking ibuprofen 

    **taking anti stress meds like Clonazepam 

    *Rest

    *taking some sunbathe 

    *drinking ginger tea

    *Hot pad

    (The funny thing last year I got this attack and it was kind of bad but my son asked me to take him to water park .. we went to knotts soak city in orange county and I was walking in the warm water and when i came back home the pain was gone ) so i found out that this water traphy is one of the best way to help )

    I have a question from U all?! Is there someone here who has costo but doesn’t have a history of anxiety/panic attack? 

    I think this costo is related to anxiety very bad 🤨 I mean if we don’t take care of anxiety by meds we get this costo thing!!!

    What do you think?

  • Posted

    I didnt have panic/anxiety till i had costo! Its fear but i find this site so helpful especially in the middle of the night when i have dizziness and tingling and i am scared. I know it will pass so talking on here helps heaps x
  • Posted

    Thanks Eliane for your reply 🙏

    Does anyone has couphing too?! I forgot to mention whenever I have costo attack I couph alot like a person who has asthma!!

    All my xray is fine tho😒

    • Posted

      I do have asthma but no change with costo. Has it stopped you working? Ive been off 5 weeks now.
    • Posted

      Oh poor you 😔 Me too 2 weeks off and this week on and off .. I used all my sick hours 🙁 I’m in customer service and need to talk alot ..and this cough thing is killing me at work 😫

    • Posted

      I do. I think I was probably undiagnosed for about 8 months. I had a tickly feeling in my sternum, (I thought related to a necklace that sat directly on that spot) and a cough. I can't recall if the cough followed a cold or was perhaps an initial costo symptom.

  • Edited

    Do you guys have bad posture too?! I have a bad one and my doc says I need to wear a brace /posture corrector.. 

    As Docors don’t know about this coato problem alot ..maybe we people can find the cause and treatment together 🙏

    • Posted

      I have terrible posture. Have to constantly remind myself to sit up straight ughhh. Have been to many specialiasts and many tests. Now my Dr says I also have Fibramyalgia. Its good to have a diagnosis. I'm grateful Costro and Fibra arent life threatening Thank God!!!!  I have a wonderful therapist, very supportive and an amazind dr as well. Very thorough and caring. Makes all the difference in the world. Hang in there. Have you tried Arnica gel? or Neurontin(From Dr.) It helps the pain alot. Have a good night!  smile

    • Posted

      I have a feeling that this poor posture is one of the most cause for getting this costo .. and yes I think I have Fibromyalgia too..that’s why I wanna see my rheumatologist again I’ll ask him about this neurontin for sure ..thanks hun ??...🙁 Tonight I feel better and I guess I can sleep 😴 Thanks god .. Hope you feel better too 🙏

  • Posted

    Ok ..I could not sleep last night even one minute.. very bad pain in shoulder and back 😫 I did another blood test right now .. I think Im gonna have another visit with rheumatologist 🤨

  • Posted

    OK guys I got my blood test every thing good thanks God but again High sed rate That proved I have FIBROMYLAGIA .. my LUPUS/RA is Negative..Thanks God a million.. 

    I am happy .. You know why? after 5 years with on and off symptoms finally I know what the hell is these and

    I can handle it better.. I read a lot of article about it today.. even I watched Lady Gaga short film about her Fibromylagia LOL.. Now I have more information about my problem.. this costo thing is part of a bigger problem which is Fibro sad 

    I hope every body feel better soon .. no more pain .. health and happiness for All ..Kisses xoxo 

     

  • Posted

    Hey shekme10120, 

    I hope you're still around on this site and can answer some questions/provide advice for me. I was first given a diagnosis of costochondritis in the fall of 2013. The first time I definitely thought it was heart related, quickly made an appointment with my GP and he diagnosed it and gave me a steroid injection in the actual cartilage. Since then, I have had several flare ups. Usually my flare ups consist of chest pain, tightness and tender points as well as tingling down the arm. The sides switch up almost every time but most often my left is the one affected.Back in December, it got so bad I went to ER because I would have sworn it was a heart attack because along with pains like that I felt as if someone was choking me. Again, just costo, given just a steroid shot and prednisone orally but I hate that mess and couldn't finish it. However, it cleared up. Since then though, I have been under much stress related to my health. I believe that it is flaring back up again but its definitely some odd symptoms this time that I am not sure if they are related to costo of something else is going on. Along with chest pain and soreness, my back hurts, shoulders are tight, and my upper abdomen is in so much pain. I am scheduled for an upper endoscopy tomorrow to check all that due to my upper abdomen hurting but after reading your post, I am wondering is all of this is from costo. How did you know all those symptoms were cost related, and not something else? Did it affect your digestion at all? At this point I am convinced something is wrong with my digestive system, that something is wrong with my lungs, or my heart. This is literally exhausting. Any help is appreciated. And side note, I am a 26 year old, female. And I do have Crohns but it is very mild and controlled.

    • Posted

      Sorry you feel so bad .

      I just came back from docs.. . Was tokd use ibuprofen gel ad painkillers.. it went away last year but its back. I alo now have cirvical spondylosis and she has ordereda bone scan, oh and had a b12 jab as that was only 98. Trust me to get all 3 at once! Its hard to tell which pain comes from what! Wishing you well x

    • Posted

      Hi hun.. I have Fibromyalgia + costo .. and I have irritated stomach and lungs ..feels like something is wrong in stomach and lungs plus pain in upper abdomen...I did all the tests and everything came back fine ..do you feel bitter taste in your mouth too? i do and dr said it’s because of Acid reflux... This costo/fibro problem affect every where ughhh from eyes to chest to arms to feet ..God help us ..take care 
    • Posted

      I think i just came to the conclusion through internet searches and my age. I'm almost 29, don't smoke, not overweight, try my best to eat healthy so it's unlikely that I've suddenly developed heart and lung issues.

      I also realised that all these issues began when i started getting costo. It's very difficult to not worry and assume its a serious illness (trust me, the headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and sudden need for glasses after having near perfect vision my whole life had me questioning if it was a brain tumor) but costo is the answer that makes more sense.

      I haven't seen the GP loads, but each time i go I'm reassured that's it's unlikely to be anything serious. I know GPs have a bad rep for misdiagnosis or not taking illnesses seriously but 2 and a half years on with nothing getting worse... I think I'll trust her on this one.

      Hope all is okay.

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