rib / back pain

[4youreyesonly]

Hello , hope I can post here. I have had a undifferentiated connective tissue disorder for around 12 years . On methotrexate and hydroxachloroquine. No longer have steroid injections because of bones . Over the last few months I have had terrible pain in chest and back , struggle to lie flat , mri was dreadful. Turning over in bed, sneezing , coughing , small amounts of housework set it off. Heat and paracetamols oh and baths seems to help . Could it be costocondritis ? Thank you .

[RosieA]

This is something that I have been struggling with for a few years. May I ask what the results of the MRI showed.

One thing I have learned is that it is not simple and really does need a professional opinion. I was initially diagnosed with UCTD but it morphed into Lupus last year. My chest pain was initially thought to be costocondritis and presented just like you but now they think it has been / is pleurisy and pericarditis (confirmed by echocardiogram). It was explained to me that the chest area is so difficult because many things can have the same presentation.

With the pericarditis I find sitting back painful, it is relieved by sitting forward. The other key thing for me was pain in the right side of the rib cage when walking.

Sorry, but I honestly think that given its complexity it is worth getting it checked out and being alert to other possibilities. Hope that this is of some help and happy to respond more if it's helpful. x

[4youreyesonly in reply to RosieA]

Thank you for your reply .I’m waiting for my mri results. Also having a dexa scan and gp is sending me for an echocardiogram as a 24 hr monitor showed some palpitations and ectopic beats . He is not concerned but I need to know, as my husbands heart failure has come from nowhere. Perhaps I could post when I have my results.

[RosieA in reply to 4youreyesonly]

Please do post, everyones experiences adds to our knowledge and sometimes prompts us to re think a symptoms we might have been trying hard to ignore or indeed we might need to press a Dr to take more seriously. It sounds as though your Dr is doing a great job in sending you for all these tests. x

[MusicalFurbaby]

Hi 4youreyesonly and welcome to the forum. I’ve never had costocondritis so I can’t comment on that side of things, but I have had pericarditis and it presents with similar pain to what you have described. Lying down makes it worse—I still get residual palpitations at night and in the morning, especially when I lie flat on my back. Lying on my side seems to help.

I’ve had my palpitations checked out and my doc has assured me the palpitations are ‘normal’ and nothing to worry about. He said it’s likely an effect of the scarring on my pericardium, which is normal following pericarditis. I’m glad it’s nothing serious—but it’s always good to get this stuff checked out, even if just to put our minds at ease.

Glad you are getting relief from heat and baths, and OTC meds too; so often we try these things to no effect! Hope the MRI gives you more clues going forward. Please keep us posted on what happens next. In the meantime, we’re here for you 🌻🌈

[RosieA]

Ah, I didn't know about the scarring. That might explain quite a few things. I had uncontrolled pericarditis for nearly a year and sometimes my heart rate increases dramatically after just a couple of flights of stairs. Thanks for the info: x

[ParisBlue0404]

Yes let us know when you get results I get some pain in back and chest and is caused by trapped nerve in my spine so it could even be something like that

[UCTD]

Hello there, I thought I would reply to you as I also have UCTD since 2016.

I had similar issues, dreadful chest,rib, back pain, couldn’t sleep, palpitations, which was eventually diagnosed as fibromyalgia by my rheumatologist and treated with medication which thankfully I have no further chest/rib/back pain .

Apparently Fibromyalgia is common alongside CTD. I am taking a cocktail of medication but it is working for me. I do have flares from time to time but I have learned to manage my symptoms. I was greatly helped by an occupational therapist in the Rheumatology dept and by attending education sessions delivered by Arthritis Ireland ( my understanding is that Versus Arthritis in the UK have similar support) assuming that you live in the UK,

It took a long time to get myself better, tried a cocktail of medication and exercise until I got it right.

Please push for a rheumatologist review, I hope that you get a resolution soon.

[4youreyesonly in reply to UCTD]

Thank you for your reply.Can I ask what meds you took for the pain . I was told I had fybro before being diagnosed with uct .

[Numptybrain in reply to 4youreyesonly]

I’ve had rib pain for years that my GPdismissed as muscle pain but it’s part of MCD , it’s dreadful at times plus I have bilateral pleural effusion’s and pericardial so hurts in the shoulder area and chest too.

Take care

Wendy xx