costochondritis and anxiety

[confuzed.com]

so..i went to my gp about 2 months ago with pains in my chest..feeling much like i had an elephant sat on my ribcage. It was making it difficult to get a full breath in and that it took a lot of effort just to breath. After a month of so of living with this condition (costochondritis - imflammation of the muscle and cartilage between the ribs) i started to panic when i struggle to breath properly, resulting in me constantly monitoring my own breathing all the time and not being able to concentrate on anything else.

along with this i have alot of dizziness..not so the world is spinning, but a kind of fuzzy head which comes for only about 5 seconds at a time...but it happens like once every minute, so much so its taking over my life and making me on edge of going out on my own...scared of falling over.

i have recently been prescribed 10mg citalopram and 40mg propranalol ..and i have been taking both for a week today, has any1 had any success with this combo?xxx

[janine85]

Hi there,

I too suffer from anxiety and last winter 2010 I suffered with chostochondritis. Let me tell you that it will go away ( you may end prone to it) but it will go away.
It was so soul destroying, I was in bed for days, couldnt talk for days at a time.
My anxiety and panic seriously increased with this condition as I was always panicking that I couldnt breathe.
The pain was on my mind 24/7- i had 12 weeks off work.
I had several hospital visits to the a&e as i was convinced it was worse than what it really was , eventually I had tests to see if I had a pneumathorax ( small collasped lung) but it really was just the chosto.

Any was at the time I was told to take ibuprofen, I mean I ate packets to numb the pain from the ribs. But at the same time I took citalopram for anx, cit & ibu shouldnt be taken together but I had no choice. I also took the odd diazepam when I really couldnt cope.

Im now on other meds for my anx but I am in constant dread that the cold weather may inflam my ribs again this year...
I also have asthma.....

wish me luck!
refer to my old posts about costo if youd like

j x

[confuzed.com]

yeh im kinda stuck as to what to do about the pain as i read that u cant take ibuprofen with citalopram...i have just been taking paracetamol to no avail. im finding it very hard to sleep with it, as lying down is a problem...i now have to sleep with 4 pillows so that i am sat up.
what did u do to cope with the constant ache?x

[Reggie]

I had this exact same condition 3 years ago and it is very painful. I was on holiday in Cornwall at the time and the doctor down there called it "Devils Grip", which my GP had never heard of but it's an alternative name and sounds about right too. It's hard to believe, something so painful can't be doing some kind of lasting damage, but, if your diagnosis is the same as mine, it will pass. It made my anxiety worse because I was stuck in the middle of nowhere and the following year I had terrible agorophobia - but my meds were shuffled and I was put on 160mg slow release propranolol on top of buspirone and dothiepin and occassional diazepam and i have to say, the Propranolol has been wonderful. I now have it split to 80mg slow release in the morning and 80mg slow release at night and it is the propranolol that has finally given me some respite from the agorophobia and severe anxiety.

[valleybear]

I have costo and Dr has me on Propanalol and Co-Dyrdamol as I cannot take anti inflammatories either. I have good days and bad days with the condition and I also have Valium (diazepam) for really bad days. I used to get dreadful panic attacks when I got the really bad chest pain and have finished up in A&E more than once, however latterly it has eased off quite a bit so I am cautiously hoping I will a respite from the worst pain for a while. Best of luck in finding a good painkiller combo. X

[confuzed.com]

im taking 40mg propanolol...but i now have really bad shakes, they are all through my body but visible in my hands x

[janine85]

I couldnt really do much with the constant pain, i used to sit on sofa most days, couldnt work, did small work around the house to stop seizing up.

Advice I have is to stay warm as this time of year will be bad for costo, (hot water bottles- i hugged them for hours) keep your place warm but ventilated as the added moisture in the air at this time of year will probably make your chest tight ( i have asthma)

and stay calm, i know it hurts but it will only aid the anx & p[anic if you panic. let me know how you are x

[xtremx]

so..i went to my gp about 2 months ago with pains in my chest..feeling much like i had an elephant sat on my ribcage. It was making it difficult to get a full breath in and that it took a lot of effort just to breath. After a month of so of living with this condition (costochondritis - imflammation of the muscle and cartilage between the ribs) i started to panic when i struggle to breath properly, resulting in me constantly monitoring my own breathing all the time and not being able to concentrate on anything else.

along with this i have alot of dizziness..not so the world is spinning, but a kind of fuzzy head which comes for only about 5 seconds at a time...but it happens like once every minute, so much so its taking over my life and making me on edge of going out on my own...scared of falling over.

i have recently been prescribed 10mg citalopram and 40mg propranalol ..and i have been taking both for a week today, has any1 had any success with this combo?xxx

Hello confuzed, I have been living with costochondritis for over 2 years now and in the 1st 6-7months it was pure pain (i was always thinking i was having a heart attack) but now it seems to have subsided alot i sometimes still feel pain and discomfit around the chest area.

Please have alook at this blog written buy a fellow sufferer and has some good advice Btw i am chris on the blog (as had some question to ask the chap who wrote it)
http://www.ergomatters.co.uk/blog/rsi/costochondritis-a-pain-in-the-chest/

[alaska le]

I had chest pains and panic attacks since 7th grade they were minor to say the least and I never thought much of them so I didn't care. However in 9th grade I was dealing with a new place and a relationship and problems at home and the pain started up again but again I didn't pay much mind to it. That was until I lost my breathe completely and just froze there and on top of that I had a panic attack and No one helped me thought I was crazy or acting. Time passed and I was at home weeks at a time and thankfully 2 years later I have learned to control it better, to not let things stress me out even if the panic attacks continue at least k don't worry so much about my costochondritis.