Costochondritis pain

[Bettynomates]

Hi all.. I had a 'likely ' fibromyalgia diagnosis several years ago. I went on medication for a while which I stopped when I cut out dairy . My problem is costochondritis.. I get the sharp pains in my chest say 10 or so a day in different places but mostly sternum. Wearing a bra is a complete nightmare.. a soft bra helps with the sharp pains but kills my ribs and feels like a tight band. Relieved when take bra off but then sternum/breast pain! I sleep pretty well though! Is this normal? The smallest lifting activity starts it off . It's been about 6 weeks now and I think it's slightly improved. Is it time to go back on medication.. it does make me anxious and I do worry and obsess about it. Any help appreciated even just knowing I'm not alone. I'm 65 and overweight but trying to lose as I feel that would help? Oh and also the little random electric shock /itch anywhere 🙄

[deb25426]

I have no answer for you but to say I’m the same 😔

[Bettynomates in reply to deb25426]

It's rubbish isn't it? It's good to know it's not just me..

[cyberbarn]

Sorry to hear you have costo. It really isn't pleasant!

Fibro is a difficult diagnosis to live with, partly because it isn't really a thing with a cause, it is a collections of symptoms that could actually be caused by a lot of other things, but also because once you have a diagnoses if fibro medical professionals often stop looking for causes.

Costochondritis can be a symptom of other rheumatological conditions too. For example I have psoriatic arthritis and that is what causes my costo, but other arthritises can cause it too.

So getting new symptoms and your age and the length of time since the 'likely' fibro diagnosis, it might be time to get them to look at this again.

[Montie]

Morning Betty, sorry to hear of the pain you are going through, I’ve suffered on & off over the years with Costa’ & it is a horrible experience to put it lightly. The only thing that gave me some relief (sadly doesn’t take it away) was cold compresses on my chest & upper back. I had long thin ice gel packs - I wrapped mine in a bit of cloth then placed on chest & back. Did give some relief. I had a few in the freezer so could rotate once they thawed. My old Dr suggested it years ago - he said your treating an inflammation of the cartilage so think of it as ‘on fire’ you need to cool that fire down. Like I say this gave me some relief, I do hope it is same for you & others who are suffering if you try it x 🦋

[BadHare]

I suffered with this for days on end, up until I started taking high dose vitamin D3, thyroid hormones & injecting vitamin B12. Magnesium will also help as most folks are dietarily deficient in this too, as will selenium. Avoid processed/refined foods especially, sugar, white flour, margarine & artificial sweeteners. Try to eat good quality protein, more fruit & veg, & fewer carbs.

Doctors seem to be ignorant of nutrient deficiencies & the side effects. They give a fibromyalgia diagnosis as they can’t be bothered to look at the root causes. No amount of drugs they prescribe will fix FM but it’s a nice cash cow for big pharma.

[Marylyn]

Electric shocks & chest pain can be nerve damage related from a vitamin B12 deficiency Unfortunately Drs will not acknowledge this .My mum was given morphine for her rib & chest pain she couldn’t swallow .She had a vitamin B12 deficiency that was not treated adequately.Ask your Dr to check Vit D , serum & active vitamin B12 , homocysteine, folate , iron , rbc magnesium levels.