costochondritis??

Hi,I had a terrible cough that lasted a few weeks that has now fully subsided, now i've been experiencing pain on the left side of my chest whenever i breathe deeply and is quite tender to the touch. The pain sometimes extends to my back, but i don't have any difficulty breathing when i exercise or sleep and the pain is not present all the time. I went to my doctors a few days ago, and he gave me a basic physical, lungs and heart sounded fine, bp was normal, he told me that i pulled my chest muscle probably from all the coughing, (plus i do weight training). He told me to rest and take ibuprofen for the inflammation. it sounds a lot like costochondritis, but then again i'm curious could this also be pleurisy? because both symptoms are very similar. I'm thinking it's costochondritis because my lungs sounded clear..there wasn't any friction or anything,but i'm stil not sure. Please, any advice would be much appreciated thanks.

[mrsmd]

Can you produce the pain yourself by pressing on your rib/chest wall?  This would make it very likely to be costochondritis or some other musculoskeletal cause.

[hypochondriasis]

What if you can't reproduce the pain by pressing on your sternum..but only by movement? Is this still likely to be costochondritis? Given a normal heart and esophagus workup?

[ette597]

ER diagnosed me with costocondritis after visiting 2 nights in a row with severe chest pains.  My primary schedules an esophagus workup or egd but I hurt too much to consider it. The pain comes and goes and it has only been a week since I had severe headache and chest pain. How long should I wait to reschedule egd? I don't want that pain to come back during the test?

[Suri123]

Hi ette597, hope you are feeling better now and able to get back to your gym work up. "Costochondritis is an inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum. The condition causes localized chest pain that you can reproduce by pushing on the cartilage in the front of your ribcage. Costochondritis is a relatively harmless condition and usually goes away without treatment". To know more, go through this link - http://www.emedicinehealth.com/costochondritis/article_em.htm
Stress can worsen myalgia, so relax and take steam/hot bath with gentle massage. Cap. Ocid 1 before meal and Tab. Flexon after meal will help you. Do follow up with the ER doctor and wait till he confirms fit. Take care.

[eagle602]

Hi,
I also have been experienced pain at night when i go to bed and fall a sleep the pain is awful i hurts in my back on both sides of my ribcage and around my lungs so i get out of bed and walk the floors until the pain goes away can anyone tell me if they have had that kind of pain it feels like you are stiff and cannot move.

Kim

[stefania]

I began having pain this morning under my left shoulder blade area.  It hurts when I breathe deeply, move, cough or sneeze. Has anyone experienced this condition?

[Chosto]

I too have been experiencing chest pains, which started late last year.  Originally, the diagnose was a panic/anxiety attack.  However, the pain was not going away, and the pain started to shoot to below my ribs on the left side, to my left shoulder blade, and most recently to my left side of my neck.  After attending a stress clinic in Mar. 2008, they then diagnosed me with costo ... and said I may have to live with it for the rest of my life, or it may go away on its own.  I've tried everything, from EKGs to ECGs to EP tests (which all came out normal), to getting like 4 different specialists' opinions ... and noone has given me a direct solution.  I don't know where to go next ... I'm thinking the Mayo clinic in the US, but only thinking about it.