costochondritis making me anxious, any sufferers?

[roxy90]

After weeks and weeks of chest and back pain (which started my anxiety in the first place) a GP has said the only explanation he can think of is costochondritis
. He said it can go on for months and basically painkillers wont work.

I feel the pain in the centre of my chest and the.left side mostly, and my back down my shoulders hurt too. Coughing/breathing in hurts a great deal.

I cant.stop.getting anxious.over these pains, I cannot.get.over.the thought.Im having a pulmonary embolism, the symptoms are the.same.and mine.have been.getting worse these past.few.days.

Any other.Costochondritis sufferers?

[purgatory]

Hello.

I have been suffering from Costo for many years now and the first 6 months for me was pure hell.

But I was a very unlucky person and had it bad, Many people have it for short periods of time and never get it again but mine seems to have just lasted.

I found using a mix of deep heat and ibuprofen gel help a lot mix a small amount of each into a paste and apply it works wonders and also Tiger Balm red help but stay away from Ibuprofen tablets as they will cause stomach problems if you take them over a long period.

There is an interesting blog on the internet I will pm you a link

[debbsi]

Hi
Ive had it on and off for the last 2 years, started with bronchitis, just to the left of my sternum and down the centre of the sternum initially. Now I often get it to the left. It comes on for no reason and goes away just as quickly.

[shotokansho]

Hi there! Me too. I've had it about a year now. I had terrible pain in my chest area by my ribs in the left side. I had every test going and was eventually diagnosed with costocondritis. I have it for months and then I get a month or two break and it comes back again. It's delibitating and very painful. Painkillers don't seem to help me either. I was taking 30/500 co-codamol and ibuprofen and I was still in pain.
My mum once picked me up a rubber type body strap up from the pound shop. It's elasticated and has velcro to fasten it. You pull it round your body where it hurts and it worked wonders for me. I'm not sure this would work for you though as your pain is in the centre of your chest, my pain is in the rib area below my breasts so I can just about wear it.

[Kenna5027]

I've had it off and on for a few years now. It's interesting - I too thought it was heart-related the first time it happened, but the FIRST thing my doctor suggested was costo.

It's awful, but after awhile it became familiar at least so I don't panic anymore when it comes up You can usually recognize it as it hurts when you press on the hurting area.

I usually take a couple of Aleve and then lay on a heating pad, which helps some.

[dorabella]

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (of which costo is a sub-condition) over 10 years ago by my GP - one of those rare doctors who knew what it was. Frankly I had never heard if it, but I have educated myself about the condition which has helped take the fear out of it - especially the costo in the chest muscles and ribs which causes those indiscriminate aches, pains, burning sensations.

Have found that we all have sensory triggers with this condition - mine are tension from anxiety causing bad posture, prolonged repetitive activity such as keyboard writing, arts and crafts like knitting, and as if that wasn't enough, hot humid weather and changes in barometric pressure.

If it gets really troublesome as it has done during the recent heatwave I succumb to a paracetomal, but avoid taking anti-inflammatories since they don't address the underlying problem. Fibromyalgia is a nerve-related condition which sends erratic signals from the brain to the tissue surrounding joints and muscles - causing what feels like real organic pain - and together with the normal stresses and strains upon the body's skeleton and musculature it can resemble full blown physical symptoms such as we have all described.

There is, from what I have read, no true inflammation or injury so anti-inflammatories are counter-productive. Heating pads can alleviate troublesome pains, but one of the best physical treatments you can have is shiatsu massage - which locates the nerve pressure points in the body and basically 'presses' them into submission. It doesn't cure the condition, which I personally believe is lifelong and not degenerative, but it does alleviate some of the discomfort.

The best advice I can give is to bear with it, don't get anxious about it since it won't kill you, and educate yourself on the condition. Very good book is Starlanyl and Copeland, Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain - explains all in a comprehensible fashion. And if it is of any comfort, remember that this condition is very common in anxiety sufferers - you are not alone.

Hope this helps.

[EmilyK83]

Am with you on the costochondritis front, it' scary but becomes more manageable trust me!

I use paracetamol (never ibuprofen, as I have bad reflux and that aggravates it) and use a hot water bottle on the painful areas which seems to help it to subside... x

[roxy90]

Thank you all so much, you've helped me so much!

I guess the reason why I've been so anxious is that I've been struggling to believe that its costochondritis. My chest is tender, but so is most of my upper body. I'm in a lot of pain with my left side upper back and my lower back,.which feels practically bruised to the touch. Also.having arm, neck.and leg pain with.frequent headaches, all of which I'm led to believe is not typical of.Costo.

Also the pain in my chest when I breathe in feels very deep if.you get me. I'm not sure if my extreme fear of pulmonary embolism/tumors/neuro disorders are taking over my head but I.just feel very worried.

Thankyou for all your help and advice x

[dawnieb12]

i have costo too but only recently i have terrible pain at the very bottom of my rib cage on the left side anyone else get this feels like someone kicked me :weep: