Costocondritis

Sometimes Doctors can't figure out what causes a particular case of Costo. Sometimes they can. In my case it was cause I had unusually large breasts that were also of heavier fiberous tissues. After several doctors recommended it repeatedly, I had a breast reduction done. Went from a J cup to a B cup and I was Costo flare up free for about 4 years.

I also have a condition were my breasts don't stop growing, so now that my breasts are starting to get into the D cup range I am beginning to have bouts of Costo again.

One thing you should know is that there is no cure for Costocondritis. Once you have it, you have it. You can only treat the symptoms or remove the things that aggitate your ribcage to the point of pain. Aleve is the OTC version of the arthritis medicine I was given to help with the pain and inflamation. For sudden bouts, I ice my chest down. Eventually, I will have more reduction surgeries in order to remove the main thing that aggitates my ribcage - my breasts.

If your doctor thinks your weight is the problem, he or she is probably taking an educated guess at what is main factor in the aggitation and hence the flare ups. I'd recommend loosing some of that weight as quickly as is safe to do so.

I have had this disease for 25 years. I will tell you now that there is no cure for this, like the previous person said, "once you have it, you have it for life". That person is correct. When I was first diagnosed for it, it was when the ER dr put the stethoscope on my chest, I nearly ripped the thing from her ears from the pressure and pain. I given a shot but it never helped and was worse than before. I find aspirin helps me. Stress and lifting heavy objects can bring on an attack. I also had a heavy chest, drs aren't sure if this was the cause. I know it started when I did some heavy lifting at the age of 27. Right now, I'm under some stress and guess what, its back. It can go away for months but it will return at some point.

I have had this condition for a while now and I have found that for me it is strongly diet related. When i'm good and stick to a healthy diet it doesn't flare up as much, but as soon as I start to stray and eat a bit of junk here and there it comes back with a vengence. Do other sufferers have days where the pain will come and go (like every 2-3mins someone comes up and pokes you in the chest)?
I have always worn a sports bra so I couldnt advise on the wire being a contributing factor. I have thought for a while that the size of my breasts is a cause and would like to try a breast reduction.
Has anyone else linked it to dietary foods?

:-( I am a 25 years old mother of two, and I was diagnosed with it when I was 16 years old. I have since been on numerous amounts of medications. ranging from motrin 600 to steroids. Nothing is helping. the ppain gets so bad at times that I can't breath. Let alone interact with my 8 month old. I need major help. I am desperate.

I have had costocondritis for several years since having my daughter who is six. I have had it consistently since then. It feels like inflammation between my breast bone which travels to my upper back between my shoulder blades. I can't wear underwire bras because it aggravates it. I had chest x-rays and catscans to confirm costocondritis. It effects me on a daily basis. If I exercise my upper body, it aggravates the condition. If I lift, carry or are stressed, it also aggravates the symptoms. I have learned to live with this. I find nothing helps except for rub downs by my kids or husband. It is only relieved temporarily. I was given anti-inflammatories which really didn't work. I wonder if anyone has any other remedies? I just accept that I will have to live with this condition for the rest of my life.

I'm 36 years old and acquired costocondritis almost 5 years ago after having the flu. It took months of going to various doctors and having numerous tests to get an accurate diagnosis. It was completely dehabilitating for the first 14 months I had it. I couldn't even give my kids a bath by the end of the day. My pain was mostly in the center of my chest and radiated out to the right side of my ribcage.

After 14 months, I visited a physical therapist to try something different. She said one of my lungs was not fully functioning and did some movement/pushing/pulling, etc. It was like a miracle. My pain almost completely disappeared and since then I've only had flare-ups occasionally, usually when I lift something heavy. I was recently violently ill with a stomach bug and have again had a major flare-up from that. I truly believe that stress also plays a major factor in this disease.

It's definitely lifetime. I'm completely convinced.

My 19 year old daughter was diagnosed with costocondritis about 6 months ago. When she played basketball in high school she would get these "episodes" of severe pain in her chest/breast area on the left side. We thought she was hyperventilating, however, we know that she was actually having an episode of costocondritis. This past Saturday she had another episode but it was the worst one yet. She was walking across the parking lot and the pain hit her. She got into the car, could barely breath, the pain was so intense that both arms were going numb as well as having tingling in all her fingers. At one point, she reported tingling in her left toes. We rushed her to the ER room. They did a full cardiac workup on her, which was negative. I informed the ER doctor of her previous diagnosis of costocondritis, and for some reason, he didn't think that was the problem. Then he (finally) pressed on her left side, under her breast, and she about flew out of the bed. I thought she was going to hit him!! My baby girl (she is our youngest) was in so much pain that the morphine shot did not help! She eventually recieved a Toradol injection, which helped. The ER doctor did not order a CT scan or MRI. He performed lab, EKG, UA and a chest x-ray (which he did not give us the results of the x-ray, only said she MAY need a CT or MRI, but not tonight!!) Today is Monday and she still is in pain. She is scheduled to see her family doctor tomorrow, hopefully he will schedule the CT or MRI. As a mother (along with her father), we are very concerned about this. We are new to this condition and will appreciate any advise and or guidance.

I was diagnosed in April 2008 by a doctor that I have costocondritis. I was told not alot could be done and to take NAIDS (pain relievers). So I went to my naturopath and she recommended me to go to a chiropractor. The chiropractor indicated to me that my ribs were not aligned properly, so he reajusted them. I went to see him two times and the first 4 days after each visit hurt...its the same pain. But after the 4th day it was a bit achy but the pain was gone in a week.

IM A 28 YEAR OLD WHO HAS BEEN RECENTLY DIAGNOSED WITH COSTOCONDRITIS, WHICH IS WEIRD TO ME BECAUSE MY DOCTOR SAYS IT'S ACTUALLY VERY COMMON AMONG WOMAN, AND IVE BEEN A SUFFERER SENCE I WAS 17, AND JUST NOW FOUND OUT WHAT BEEN WRONG WITH ME ALL THESE YEARS. I WENT TO THE ER SEVERAL TIMES, AND WHAT I GOT OUT OF IT WAS THAT I HAD PLURISY. I WILL TELL YOU THAT IT IS INCREDIBLY PAINFUL, AND I KNOW IT FLARES UP MORE WITH STRESS AND ANXIETY. ITS ALSO WORSE WHEN I DO INTENCE CARDIOVASCULAR WORKOUTS. IM A SERVER AT A RESTAURANT AND CARRY TRAYS ON RIGHT SIDE, MY DOCTORS SAYS I NEED TO LEARN TO CARRY TRAYS ON MY LEFT SIDE, BECAUSE THAT CAN REALLY CAUSE A FLARE UP, CARRING ALL THE WEIGHT ON THE BAD SIDE. ANY WAYS IM GLAD TO FINALLY KNOW WHAT THE PAIN ACTUALLY IS, AND I GUESS ILL JUST BE DOPPED UP ON IBPROFUIN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

I have this condition I was diagnosed at 21 yrs old on my birthday to be exact. I'm now 30 and I go to er often with it and they give me a cortazone shot right in my breast bone and it helps the swelling go down. Mine gets to to the point where I can't do nothing as the swelling makes me a size to 2 sizes larger in clothing. I've not had a flare up for awhile now. thank goodness. Its a very painful road and when I get a chest cold or pnuemonia or any coughing spells it acts up again and again. they give me naproxen and cortozone shots every flare up I have. I'm not sure if mine is more severe than most or everyone goes through this.

My son was diagnosed w/ costocondritis, is it life threatening?