Costochondritis questions

[Hopefulmi]

Hi

So my obstetrician thinks I have Costo (31 weeks pregnant) and to be honest, I've wondered myself in other anxious phases, really suffered with back pain last year when I was bad.

Just wondering does anybody else get more of the really sore and tight pain than stabbing and more round the sides and back ribs than front? I can't barely wear a bra either. Definitely not gallstones as been checked and the doc says pain isn't always the stabbing pain and it's quite common to have the tenderness etc.

Just looking for other experiences. Not allowed to take ibuprofen either

[little.miss.worry]

Hi

So my obstetrician thinks I have Costo (31 weeks pregnant) and to be honest, I've wondered myself in other anxious phases, really suffered with back pain last year when I was bad.

Just wondering does anybody else get more of the really sore and tight pain than stabbing and more round the sides and back ribs than front? I can't barely wear a bra either. Definitely not gallstones as been checked and the doc says pain isn't always the stabbing pain and it's quite common to have the tenderness etc.

Just looking for other experiences. Not allowed to take ibuprofen either

Hey! I have Costo.. mine comes in flares, I posted a thread about it a couple of days ago as mine was god awful at the time and i's really sore now because of it. It's not very nice and can be painful. But when it's gone.. it's gone. Then it'll randomly come back. (Could be different for you, it's different with everyone)

My costo all started off with my ribs, soreness and acheyness. Then I had a really bad spell of it, went A&E and they thought it was kidney stones! Couldn't have been more wrong! Now mine can be all over, chest, back, ribs. It's not great.

Have you tried putting a hot water bottle/ wheat bag over the areas it's sore? Heat helps loads! :) Hot baths help sooth it too, I find. Obviously because you're pregnant you can't take Naproxen. But once you've had your baby and if it's still going on, ask for some. It's a life saver! It's a strong anti inflammatory, it helps tons :)

A few people have suggested to me to see an osteopath. Apparently they're really effective when it comes to costo. It may be worth looking into because I will be :)

OH. Finally! my doctor gave me an information pack on costo, (because he's eccentric and brilliant) and basically, stress IS a massive factor in it. It can cause flare ups if you're under a lot of stress/anxious. Hence why I had a massive flare up on Saturday, I was worrying, literally shaking the whole week.. and it resulted in basically hurting me in the end.

If you have any more question I'd be happy to help because I know how horrible it is.

[pulisa]

I had very successful treatment with an osteopath when I had a costo flare-up last year.

[Hopefulmi]

Thanks guys. It's good to know one size isn't fit all and that it comes in different places and types of pain. When I showed my ob where the pain was in the back ribs she said it was quite typical of costo to be in the place and round the sides and I know I'm always in so much more pain when I wear a bra! I have had a clear ultrasound and it's nice to hopefully have an answer for the pain and be able to move on even though I may now have it until the end of the pregnancy. I definitely get soreness and Chinese rather than stabbing pains but also a lot of nipping and burning. Both sides, mostly right though it can change and be more severe in left sometimes too

[longbourn81]

I find mine also flares up when I am stressed or anxious, sometimes it comes as a sharp shooting pain that takes my breath away for a split second and other times it is a dull ache that lasts a couple of days. My doctor told me non steroidal anti inflammatories are the way to go and Nurofen (ibuprofen) always works for me. It sucks that you can't take those while pregnant but try heat bags until you are given the okay to take them.

---------- Post added at 20:48 ---------- Previous post was at 20:35 ----------

I would be interested to know how an osteopath helps cause I have suffered from this for 10 years and quite frankly I have had enough, I shall certainly look into that.

[Hopefulmi]

Had mine for about 5 weeks now but anxiety and pregnancy have both been prolonging it. Don't know if I will clear it before birth now