Chronic Costochronditis, anyone else here have it?

[raptor_rider]

I was diagnosed back in June with it, after an ER trip for massive chest pain that was not going away. BP was through the roof. ECG, blood tests, chest x-ray all came back perfect! The pain is on top of the breast bone, and spreads through out the ribs and into the back.
They told me to take it easy and no heavy lifting. My GP said the same thing, just told me to take Advil for the inflammation. Well, that I can not do. I have a 1 yr old and a 2 yr old that I need to take care of. There is no way to stop being a parent. Also the Advil does not help.
Anyone have this problem? I am so tired of being in pain day in and day out. My mother also believes that I have fibro to top it all off.

[Liberty Belle]

1. Try acupuncture. It can help.

[grasswire]

2. I am so sorry.

Could you get a mother's helper -- a pre-teen girl -- to come for a few hours after school and on the weekend to help out? I know how frightening those symptoms can be; a family member has gone through the same thing with costochondritis.

[Warpy]

3. Get your ass back to that stupid doctor

and tell him you need some real pain medication, not that Advil shit.

While Advil will help reduce the inflammation and shorten the recovery period, I'm afraid you need real pain control. Take the Advil every 4-6 hours, but combine it with something that will actually touch the pain.

There are a lot of options out there, from mild narcotics like hydrocodone (Vicodin) to synthetics like Ultram, my favorite because there is no buzz.

Another strategy would be to visit an acupuncturist. The treatments are expensive and will need to be repeated every few days until the problem is resolved, but acupuncture can do some pretty remarkable things for pain.

Good luck. Tell that idiot doctor that just because a condition is essentially harmless, that doesn't mean the pain it causes isn't real. You have a right to get your pain addressed adequately.

Fibro is something completely different. An evaluation with a rheumatologist who is well versed in identifying it through trigger points is essential.

However, take care of one lousy problem at a time.