Hello everyone, apologies for the long post here but I wanted to go into as much detail as I could. Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this.
tl;dr, chest pain and flares of pain and lack of sensation. Diagnosis of costochondritis but not sure if that is the full story.
Around the beginning of 2021 my shoulder started clicking and cracking slightly more commonly, to the point of being regular, but I did not pay much attention to it (my right wrist has been cracking since 2010 since I broke it with no health problems).
Since August, the cracking suddenly became significantly worse and pain came along with it. The pain is felt in the chest and the upper back, on the left side.
The pain is also there all of the time very mildly, but sometimes it flares up and is extremely debilitating when this happens. When this happens, the pain will radiate from the chest into the arm and further down below the chest and back. The pain is more describable as a burning, tightening pain rather than a sharp pain. The flares usually take about 5-20 seconds to go from the standard pain to their full force.
This will also go to my head, and I lose my senses and conciousness (hearing, taste, touch), but the strange thing is, this is all on the left side of my body, including the loss of sensation. I am in absolutely no pain on the right side of my body, and the hearing, taste, touch loss etc is only on the left side of my head. It is one of the strangest, most disorienting sensations I have ever felt.
These "Flares" last about 30 seconds to 5 minutes, depending on intensity, and after that I begin to regain senses and awareness. Depending on the intensity of the flare, this can take between 30 minutes to even a couple of days to get back to the "normal" pain level. However, between the fact that I am in significant pain a high percentage of the time, and also the things that seem to trigger it (see next paragraph), I am unable to lead a normal day to day life. I am currently out of work due to it, and I never appreciated how much I enjoyed getting out of the house every day even if it was a job.
I always had a slight anxiety problem, though it was never bad enough to stop me doing things I enjoyed such as going to restaurants, concerts, pubs, etc. These flares seem to happen almost every time I drive for more than 5 minutes, however driving was always my "Happy place", something I used to do when I was stressed, such as after a hard day of work, and wanted somewhere to relax. I don't fully understand anxiety attacks and I really don't want to dismiss them as a factor, and I understand that they can happen with some triggers that have nothing to do with things that actually make someone anxious, but I really don't understand how it could be the cause. They also happen with various activities including walking outside and listening to loud music, 2 things which I previously enjoyed a lot.
The thing that is really strange to me is the fact that I do not feel any problem at all (apart from the usual things like headaches when I have a cold or w/e) down the right side of my body, including my head and arms. All the problems are strictly on the left side.
Today (November 3rd), I was diagnosed with Costachondritis which explains the pain, after checking x-rays and the Osteo having a good feel of my shoulder while the bones crack, but they are not sure if it is linked with the neurological problems. I have had multiple ECGs, including a 24hr one (awaiting results of this one), an MRI scan, and multiple Xrays, all which have shown nothing out of the ordinary to rule out things like heart attacks and strokes. I have also had multiple blood tests for various things.
Before I was diagnosed, I was put on an anti-inflammatory (Naproxen) for 2 weeks. This stopped the "ouch" pain, however it did not stop the other symptoms that came from the flares. Does anyone have any experience with anything similar, or are there any health professionals that could give me advice? I understand that the Costachondritis will go away after a couple of weeks/months, however if I have learned something from the run of Naproxen, the flares still happen which are the debiitating part of my life, stopping me from leading the life I want to live.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read all of this. If you have any questions, if there is anything that I have not explained well, or even if there are any questions I should ask my doctor, please let me know.
Thank you.
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ChickenAndCheese
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Just some additional notes, my diet isn't the best but isn't the worst. I don't drink alcohol and I stopped smoking at the beginning of September just in case it helped with the pain (it didn't but hey ho at least it gave me motivation to stop smoking). I stopped soft drugs about 4 years ago and never took hard drugs. I hope this helps!
Just to clarify - the physical examinations/ x-rays / blood tests so far have not shown any reason for your symptoms and costochondritis is the diagnosis so far?
Did you have flare when you were wearing the 24hr ECG?
You say you are in significant pain a high percentage of the time. What does that mean?
(You mention your wrist in 2010, but think back and write yourself a list of all your injuries, pains and other symptoms. What, where, when did it start, for how long etc. It can be useful to have a picture of a body to mark pain areas.)
Driving seems to be the trigger. More than 5 minutes spent in your car seat.
Think of the position you are in when you are in the car:
Are you comfortable in the seat?
Or are you are putting yourself in an awkward position and stressing your body in some way when you are in the car? Knees up, leaning forwards is a typical bad driving position that causes a lot of stress. Add in pain around the ribs and the arms being used to steer, it can be too much for the body to deal with - stuck in a car seat, unable to move to relieve the stress, screaming in pain.
Have you tried changing the way you sit in the car - cushions, pillows, back supports whatever seems right to you? (did you change your car? something else changed?)
How is your posture (the position of your body - all of the time, whatever you are doing) generally?
- Just to clarify - the physical examinations/ x-rays / blood tests so far have not shown any reason for your symptoms and costochondritis is the diagnosis so far?
Costo was the diagnosis given to my by the osteo when I saw him yesterday. All of the other tests have shown nothing out of the ordinary, including the 24hr ECG, the results of this came back today.
- Did you have flare when you were wearing the 24hr ECG?
I did, it was far from the most major flare I ever had but I am confident it would have showed it it was cardiac related.
- You say you are in significant pain a high percentage of the time. What does that mean?
(You mention your wrist in 2010, but think back and write yourself a list of all your injuries, pains and other symptoms. What, where, when did it start, for how long etc. It can be useful to have a picture of a body to mark pain areas.)
The wrist was probably a bit of a red herring, was just an example about a body part that cracks a lot that gives no problems at all. Apart from that, I've never had any notable injuries.
- Driving seems to be the trigger. More than 5 minutes spent in your car seat.
Think of the position you are in when you are in the car:
Are you comfortable in the seat?
Or are you are putting yourself in an awkward position and stressing your body in some way when you are in the car? Knees up, leaning forwards is a typical bad driving position that causes a lot of stress. Add in pain around the ribs and the arms being used to steer, it can be too much for the body to deal with - stuck in a car seat, unable to move to relieve the stress, screaming in pain.
Have you tried changing the way you sit in the car - cushions, pillows, back supports whatever seems right to you? (did you change your car? something else changed?)
I'm as comfortable as can be while driving, I've happily driven 8 hours in a day for a few days in a row before (towards the end of last year, before any of these problems appeared). I'd say that my driving position is pretty decent, I don't learn forwards very much, I have a very "relaxed" posture. I have not tried using something like a cushion to try to soften it to see if that helps (see next sentence), thank you for this suggestion, I will certainly try it. My car is a hot hatch, not far from a Rolls Royce in terms of comfort but definitely better than a track day, however, I've noticed that being a passenger in a much comfier and softer SUV, the pain is, while present, not as bad as it is in my car. I've had the car since February last year, and the symptoms did not begin to show until around February this year (again these symptoms were very light and barely noticable until they suddenly got significantly worse in July/August time)
How is your posture (the position of your body - all of the time, whatever you are doing) generally?
I'm sat at my desk quite often (Working from home job), however I think my posture is fine, I'm careful not to be slumped and keep my arms at a good height etc.
I bought a box of aspirin today, perhaps I'll have more success with this than I did with Naproxen. Please let me know if you have any questions that I missed or anything like that, and I'll let you know how I get on with the pillow in the car (this being the main trigger).
If you are a driver & are experiencing loss of conciousness you must, by law, report it to DVLA.
Your description of the loss of sensation down one side & disorientation sounds like a description of the time I had a simple partial seizure. There is also a type of migraine called hemiplegic migraine that can last from a few minutes to several hours & which can cause weakness/loss of sensation on one side and a change in consciousness levels - it isn't always accompanied by a headache.
If you are a driver & are experiencing loss of conciousness you must, by law, report it to DVLA.
I wasn't aware of this, I'll get on this now, thank you!
Your description of the loss of sensation down one side & disorientation sounds like a description of the time I had a simple partial seizure. There is also a type of migraine called hemiplegic migraine that can last from a few minutes to several hours & which can cause weakness/loss of sensation on one side and a change in consciousness levels - it isn't always accompanied by a headache.
Thank you very much for your suggestions. I didn't consider a seizure as I have no problems with the common triggers of seizures like strobe lighting, and I had never heard of these types of migraines either. I will ask the GP next time I see him if they are possibilities. Thank you for your suggestions
You can end up with a £1000 fine if you don't inform DVLA of any changes which can affect your driving (Form FEP1) & if you've a condition which causes loss of conciousness you should stop driving as if you have an accident you can be prosecuted & your insurance may not cover you (they should also be informed about changes to your health which affects your driving).
If you were much older I would think it was to do with your heart or the like. As you mention anxiety have you had any treatment to releive the axiety. ? Check any drugs you take as some can cause strange side effects. Following stop smoking some people do experience strange symptoms due to withdrawal as do people giving up soft drugs after four years of course. the recreational drugs as they are called can give you other health issues when you give up I beleive. I would try keeping a diary of when your flare ups do happen, if there was more driving or stress on that day. Try to illiminate as much anxiety as possible, think positive , stay smoke free and things will get better I am sure. Have you tried talk theraphy as you can self refer for that and it may help the symptoms if they are due to stress. It takes time to adjust to life changes but you have a whole life ahead of you, take your time ,take care and I am sure you will improve given time Best wishes and good luck.
If you were much older I would think it was to do with your heart or the like.
I was a bit worried at first as my Dad had a heart attack out of nowhere very recently! All my ECGs, including the 24hr one which results came in today, have been negative.
As you mention anxiety have you had any treatment to releive the axiety. ?
Haven't received treatment yet. My anxiety was always extremely light until these flares started happening, and the doctors just want to rule out any physical causes before getting onto mental causes. I'm beginning to think it might be a combination of both Costo and Anxiety, the anxiety caused by the costo, if that makes sense. I'm going to ask the GP to see if I can speed up the help for the mental side of things as I'm more convinced that it is a large factor.
Check any drugs you take as some can cause strange side effects.
I haven't taken any drugs for a very long time (years now), not just recreational but also painkillers, with the exception of the anti-inflammatories that didn't help when I first started getting these symptoms.
Following stop smoking some people do experience strange symptoms due to withdrawal as do people giving up soft drugs after four years of course. the recreational drugs as they are called can give you other health issues when you give up I beleive.
Quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I've ever done, however I only quit smoking at the beginning of September to see if it would relieve any of the symptoms at all (unfortunately not so far, but I may as well stay quit while I'm over the worst of the withdrawal!), while the symptoms have been happening since Feb/March time, suddenly getting worse in July/August.
I would try keeping a diary of when your flare ups do happen, if there was more driving or stress on that day. Try to illiminate as much anxiety as possible, think positive , stay smoke free and things will get better I am sure.
I've been doing this as much as I can, particularly since the beginning of September since I began to realise that it wasn't a one-off thing that would go away quickly. The symptoms are not getting worse since, however they've not got better.
Have you tried talk theraphy as you can self refer for that and it may help the symptoms if they are due to stress. It takes time to adjust to life changes but you have a whole life ahead of you, take your time ,take care and I am sure you will improve given time Best wishes and good luck.
I'm going to be taking a much more head-on approach to the possible mental side of things from now on, for the reasons mentioned earlier that I now think that it is a combination of the costo and the anxiety. Thank you very much for your advice and kind words!
Hi, I was diagnosed a few years ago for Costochondritis because I had pains in my chest and I was really worried, I was very stressed all the time thinking there was something wrong with my heart, luckily there wasn't. I had very similar symptoms to you. I do have a lot of flare ups but they are not so bad because I know that it isn't my heart. It is strange to say but if you are an anxious person this could be why they have not found anything else. My advice to you is to see a councillor through your doctor, if you can see one. If you could talk to someone it might make you less anxious and talking therapy is so great. I have had it before and it works wonders. Good Luck.
Hi, I have just remembered something else. I have just been diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome which is a rare illness. I had an accident 2 years ago and damaged my foot it never healed, the pain is still excruciating even now. I have been to the hospital umpteen times and they never found anything. It turns out that the condition I have now got is literally through the pain of having the accident. Pain is a weird thing, it affects people different ways. Could you have this? again ask your doctor. At least you will know what it is. There is no cure, but at least you will know. I hope this helps. x
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