Quick question has anyone been suffering with costochondritis. I suffer really bad with it especially now the temp has dropped. Would like to know what helps ease or elivate the pain. I use heat packs, electric blanket, deep heat diclofenac, pregabs, cocodamol but nothing 😔.
Been having this flare for 5 weeks now ao im really sleep deprived and rheumatology told me i cant have a steroid drip as its not inflammation but muscle pains. I was disheartened to say the least im back to square one ...
Any advise?
😘
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mybehcetsxx
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My Consultant replaced Diclofenac with Meloxicam and that did the trick for me. The Costochondritis is much better. Also Diclofenac is associated with heart side effects so best to consider alternatives.
Hi, thats interesting i didnt know that about diclofenac. I only see my GP for fibromyalgia but have an appointment i a week or so for a reciew of all meds, so ill defo write meloxicam amd ask about. Thank you hope your health is treating you well x
Morning, you have my empathy although I do not know much about your condition must be very hard with that and Fibro, my Fibro body is not liking the cold at all like you warmth is helpful, with wheat bag, hot water bottles, differently the rub in gel during the day when I’m moving more. Soaking in bath at night with Epsom salts, resting after will tone down the pain levels. Winter is not my favorite time of year, just want to hibernate like the squirrels, take care xx
Aww thank you, i appriciate your care and tips. Ive only used deep heat once, it was quite ok offered a bit of ease. Maybe i should get ibuprofen gel...🤔 or a huge wrap around water bottle lol.
I take Ibuprofen which helps. A g.p. told me that I can take it for a week alongside my other meds. (Fentanyl patch and paracetamol) and I resort to this when other painful areas are slow to heal.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re suffering with this, I rub in aloe vera gel, which reduces the pain for a while. It’s been proven to help with neuropathic pain. You can buy a big tub on Amazon quite reasonably and can reapply frequently.
It’s also good for shingles. I rub it in my hair as a styling product as it helps your hair grow and use it on my skin as a moisturiser. 😂 They are easy to grow indoors, but scrapping the gel into a bowl is a bit messy and time consuming.
Wow ok i actually have a big tub of aloe vera, fron amazon, i make body butters with it but never knew about it on its own. Im using that today 100% and defo in my hair. Do you think it will help a flaky scalp?
Also i see my GP next week want to review all meds again and need a new referal to pain managment. Everything is so time consuming and cat and mouse just to get an appointment anywhere. Ugh! Anyway thankyou for your wonderful tip amd my apologies for late response. Hope your health is treating you well x
Wow, that was lucky! So glad you found it useful. Fingers crossed that you get your referral to the pain clinic soon.
Interestingly, aloe vera has a lot of therapeutic properties and is so good for skin, as it contains vitamins C, E and beta carotenes so lots of antioxidants that improve skin quality. It’s best known as a treatment for burns, as it helps the skin heal quicker and also has some antibacterial properties.
I’ve used it when I got sunburnt last year, when I forgot to reapply my sunblock, something I’m normally . 🙈 It was very good and helped the redness and burning go much quicker, but stung a little bit when I first put it on, but it was well worth the initial feeling.
Using it regularly, some of my fine lines on my face have faded completely. I have very dry skin, which is sometimes flakey on my legs and it’s definitely helped, it’s the only moisturiser I use now. I even use an aloe vera toothpaste!
For a flakey scalp, rub the aloe vera into your wet hair and leave it in. You can then dry your hair and style as normal. I have also used on my hair mixed with a little rose oil and a couple of drops of lavender or peppermint essential oils, which have to be diluted in the oil, before mixing really well into a pot of aloe vera gel. You’ll find recipes online. I’m sure you will be used to using essential oils, but for anyone else reading this who isn’t, you must dilute the essential oils in a carrier oil and take care when you’re using them. You should also do a skin test with the mixture before putting it on your head,
Aloe vera also available as a drink that also has many benefits, including increased immunity, balancing blood sugar level and for digestion, but it’s quite expensive, so I’ve not tried it yet.
You’ll find an excellent article if you google:
6 Benefits Of Aloe + 5 Uses For The Skin by Dr Jockers
I looove this reply, well yea i have quite a few oils need to start blending again. Had quite a bad breakdown last year and still recovering, hard to get creative when your low... but hey im on the mend (mentally) and physically soon enough.
The aloe vera juice isnt bad,i think its little sweet and not too keen on the bits - not sure you can get it without the bits.
Im litetally cleansing my hair tonight so will use gel on my scalp and plait it give my poor curls some tlc lol.
I’m a fan of lists too! It may take 3 months to see the full benefits with your hair and scalp (according to my hairdresser).
Essential oils are interesting, because some of the terpenes that give lavender it’s smell, Alpha-Pinene, Beta-Pinene, Caryophyllene, Limonene, Linalool and Myrcene, are all found in CBD. This is why Lavender is good for pain. They can be found in other essential oils too.
I got into essential oils in the last 18 months or so and find the very helpful with relaxation, getting to sleep, pain reduction, breathing, but also to help my memory and focus.
Hi Bessie, stretching helps, especially in the morning, though alls i want is a tea not a workout lol. And you can hardly start busting out stretches in the middle of the street or a shop que ( which are some of the times i actually need to stretch) but then the stretching looks quite provocative! At least i can laugh about it when im not crying 😅.
🤔 another med ive not heard of for costochrondria. I see my GP next week i now i have two alternatives ( additions)to diclofenac that i will suggest. Pain managemt is becoming a joke now.
Thanks for your reply my apologies ive taken so long.
Naproxen is best for costochondritis as it actually treats the inflamed muscle! Opiates won't help much with that. You can get it on prescription or you can get a version of it under the name feminax at most pharmacies. I hope you feel better soon, costochondritis is the worst 😩 x
Yea i know about feminiax. Im getting some today. So dont take diclofenac at the same time obviously? The opiates just space me out tbh! Not good. Amd the pregabs i try really hard to take them but in the end im virtually eating them lol.
Thanks for your repsonse, aplogies for my delay x hope your health is treating you well
I've suffered with this since my fibro was first diagnosed, in fact it was one of my first symptoms. I have found an antiinflamatory like Ibuprofen works the best and where it is most painful Lidocaine patches. Heat actually seems to draw the pain more and I find a freeze gel helps more but not pleasant to put on in this cold weather. A soak in a warm bath with handfuls of Epsom salts sometimes helps and even if it doesn't it relaxes you and can help the muscle pain we associate with fibro. Hope something helps as I wouldn't wish this on my worse enemy.x
You know come to think of it i think the heat does make it worse as soon as its removed! But with inflammation we should use ice then heat for pain (reduce the inflammation 1st). Oh Gosh i couldnt bare the ice rubs now in this cold my body would gk into shock i think lol. Anyway your the second person to tell me about lidocaine patches, yet I've never heard of them. I see my GP next week im going to request new meds. I will defo be taking your care advise thankyou take care. Hope your health is treating your well
I know this might sound stupid but emphasise when you mention the lidocaine patches that the pain is more stinging/burning or zapping eg more neuropathic in origin. I only say this as many people on this forum have in the past been prescribed Lidocaine patches for fibro pain. NICE has in their infinite wisdom decided that they are not appropriate for such pain. I am lucky that mine were first given as my GP was convinced that I had had a silent form of shingles around my thoracic area and the persistent pain was caused by this and when he gave me the lidocaine patches it certainly helped dampen the burning, stinging, shooting pains. A couple of months back I was rung by the doctor's pharacist to discuss my medication. If they had been presscribed for muscular fibro pain the patches would have been taken off me. I honestly told him why they had been prescribed and that I only used them when desperate and as soon as that particular pain eased I would leave them off. He could see from my presciptions that I wasn';t using them all the time and so was happy to keep them on my repeat list. Others haven't been so fortunate.
I put on three patches last night (well husband did as I can't reach the place where i need them most) I couldn't even sit back as my back was so tender. I wore them overnight and my pain has been halved. Still there but now bearable. Good luck they are certainly worth a try.x
I'm in Australia and was on steroids for this but it was getting so bad my rheumatologist increased my dose of Joncia (I was already on it for depression) and I haven't had a bout since.
Thats interesting thank you. Cant wait till i say... " ive been pain free a couple of months now" will look up jonica, and mention to my GP next week for a meds review. Thanks for your reply, my apooigoes ive taken so long. Very glad your health is stable, blessings to you x
Hi so did i! The rhuematologist i saw was for my other condition (Behcets disease) so she said the pain is coming from the muscles irs part of the fibro and i should go swimming!
I see my GP next week to review all meds, had some recommendations feom others on here so will suggest them.
Thanks for your reply and my apologies ive taken so long.
It’s definitely worth a try. I buy one on Amazon that’s made in France and it come in a tube. I previously bought a tub, but found it a bit sticky, it still worked fine though. 🙂
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