left side of chest/ribs swelling (hard bumps) and painfull**no formal diagnosis

[micrazi]

(30 year old Female) I Noticed one paticular day last August as I was walking, that my chest area was hurting.  I placed my hand on the area and there was a noticible protrusion of what felt like my rib (hard not moving, close to sternum).  I asked my OB at my yearly and she suggested possible chostocondrtis, and told me to take some Ibprof 600mg.  That did nothing.  Then the beg. of Jan, I noticed I had another area that was protruding (lower than first).  This was most noticible at night when laying down and very tender with constant dull pain.  Went to my PCP and he said it probably was chostocondritis as well, though he thought it was strange that this was going on since Aug (5 mo), and there were multiple areas affected (3rd, 4th rib).  I got an x-ray.  Results=no abnormalities.  Went back to doc, asked for CT scan, results= tilting of sternum, not assoc with other osseous abnormalities of the sternum or adjacent soft tissue abnormalities, air in left sacroiliac joint, small amount od tissue density adjacent to ascending aortic arch in the anterior mediastinum (could represent residual thymus), mild prominence of spleen.  The pain is getting more noticible and I have another protrusion (below my left clavicle).  I have not gone back to PCP for fear of looking like a lunatic.

ANY IDEAS as to what this is?  Are there any other tests we should focus on to determine a correct diagnosis?  Is this a wierd form of chostocondritis that doesnt go away?  What does tilting of sternum mean in terms of my situation?  Thanks for the help, much appreciated!

[AnnJ]

I don't think anyone would call you a lunatic, and I think you should definitely go back to the doctor. A general practitioner should at least be able to refer you to a good specialist who would probably have experience with your condition. It is my understanding that calcium deposits can develop on any bones, and they generally do not just go away. Not trying to diagnose, just a thought. Good Luck with everything.

[mleigh23]

I am a 23-year-old female with nearly the exact same problem!  I have been frustrated by dismissal as costochondritis (sp?) as well.  Even steroids had no effect on it and there are more locations now than their used to be.  My breast on the left side is nearly a full size larger than the right, which I think has something to do with it.  My spleen is often enlarged as well, though sometimes worse than others.  I was just wondering if you had found-out anything.  Because of my age, it is often dismissed, but has gotten worse.  Please let me know if you've found out anything relevant.  Thank you!

[nisad31]

I am a 19 year old female- dealing with a similar condition for the past 9 years. I was frustrating as a child, because I was unable to understand the doctors diagnosis, and my mother would not allow me to take any medication for the pain. As soon as I turned 18, I began to see doctors on my own. I have done it all- blood tests, MRIs, Ultrasounds, Breathing Tests – you name it. Every doctor I have seen to this day has either stated that this problem simply does not exist (psychosomatic – in the head) or a possible condition that I am just going to have to live with. Believe me it is frustrating, but I am not about to give up. The pain has set in to all of my joints, and it seems like every problem that would be miniscule for most, is a major issue for me. If anybody has a lead- please please help!

[neelie99]

My daughter has very similar symptoms. She is 11. We did all the tests and finally went to a sports medicine doctor who prescribed physical therapy to strengthen the rib area. This helped my daughter a lot and the pain subsided. Once we stopped PT the pain returned. We will continue with PT as this is working!

[ladybugs40]

My son had chest pain and went to a hospital out of town.  They checked him for heart trouble and it came back good.  They did a CT of the chest and told him he had a 2.9 cm. mediastinal mass.  An Oncoligist talked with him and told him he needed a biopsy of the mass.  He wanted to come back to his home town and see a Thoracic Suregon.  The suregon had a radioligist in our home town to read the original films and they did not agree.  They said they believe it is Residual Thymus.  I am very confused and need some advise as what to do.  Does the residual thymus need to be taken out and should I request the doctors still do a biopsy just to be on the safe side.

[missquest]

That's wild, I have the exact same story.   I'm a healthy 30 yr old, I have two children and I'm pretty active.  I had one bump like you described on my left rib near the sternum.  I had a chest x-ray which revieled nothing.  I then noticed it was getting larger and I was getting a similar bump on the next rib down.  I had a CT scan, the doctor said I had a minimal residual thymus, but didn't seem to think that was a problem.  They seem to think it's up to me if I want to pursue this any further.  I live in a fairly small town, so I don't have 100% faith in the doctors.  Any ideas from a big city diagnosis?  I feel like it's spreading and I'm starting to notice the ache worse.

I also have been bruising more than before and I feel exhausted all the time (but that might be due to my two small children!)

[aurya1013]

I too have been experiencing the same thing. Last Friday during workout, I started to have sharp pains just below my left rib cage, well the sharp pains subsided and I now have swelling on my lower left rib cage and feel slight pressure on my ribs. I went to the er on Monday because with military healthcare it can take time to get an appointment. After a UA and bloodtest they said I was fine. The swelling has not gone down and the dull ache is gradually moving upward. I have a follow up appt tomorrow and I am hoping they will diagnos it properly, I have very little faith in military healthcare, they usually just want to get you in and out and arent the brightest doctors out there. From the sounds of it, it could be costochondritis or residual thymus. I just want to have all my ducks in a row so I can inform the doctor, I dont want to live with this dull ache and swelling for much longer.

[kez706]

I have been suffering for 7 months fist it started with 3 very bad chest infections with came with a bad cough, 1 month later my ribs on left side poped out of my skin and i struggled breathing in and out pain was bad. Then 1 month later i was told i had costochondritis and it would go away in about 10 weeks no more.......But 3 months later i had ,had a x-ray and they said i had some calcum in my kidney nothing to worry about.
Then 1 month later i had an ultra sound and they found i only had one kidney and it was on my left hand side but it was bigger than normal and they wanted to run more test, 6  months later i had an C T scan as they are unsure if it is an normal kidney a double kidney or a duplex kidney going for results today.......
the thing is they treat you like you touched in the head, like your making the pain up, god i have been in so much pain for so long i'm getting stressed, anxiety is in over load and i have had to stop working due to me no able to sit down for long periods of time.
my life is on hold and you start to think all sorts of things are wrong with you thinking the wrorse.
I am only 26 and i have 2 kids it's so hard to keep going at the same time cope with the pain.
i will post back with C T results.
Kerry

[ChrissieAnn]

I have had costochondritis ( l thought this was a spanish tummy bug ) Twice, extremely painful. For the last 4 weeks l have had a growing lump on my upper chest wall between the 2nd rib cage where the sturnum meet. X-ray and ECG fine. Docs just old me it was "soft tissue swelling" Dont think so! I have lost the ability to cough, and a few days ago l nearly choked on a small bit of jelly sweet and it hurt so much in the "lump" area. Cant bend down as the "lump" really hurts. Got Traxam to rub in, no help. Feel that l have got something wrong with me, not in my head. Where do l go from here? Can anyone help at all. I feel so sorry for you all, such awful pain.

[Melliebellie]

My daughter is 17 and she is experiencing a similar problem and I feel like the doctors think we are nuts.She is in a lot of pain in the morning and has a hard time sleeping comfortably. She has bumps on her fibs but the docs have done CT scans and ultrasounds and Xrays, they cannot find a thing wrong with her. She cant cough or sneeze and now her right breast feels numb when she lifts her arm. Its a ll so confusing, I feel very bad for her and just want her well. This all developed during a spell of bronchitis. My daughter also has asthma, pectus excavatum, abdominal issues (gastroparesis), and is currently in a lot of pain due to thiese bumps on her chest. I thought maybe she had broken her ribs from coughing so hard, now im just worried its something more serious that the doctors are overlooking. Its overwhelming. I am sad that all of you are in such pain too but somewhat relived to see that she is not alone.
    Any ideas on what this could be? Have any of you received any news from your doctors on your health conditions?
Thank you, Melanie

[miniminiman]

I'm a 22 year old male, who have had a swollen thing on my left chest for something like 8 months. I had an MRI on it and it showed nothing. I was told it could be a severe strain..but I don't buy that..it would have gotten away by now then. Sometimes, especially in the evening, it can be sore. It feels like it's my rib, because it's rock hard, but it's way too think to be a rib. So I guess it might be a mucle, cause it keeps getting bigger.. After all I work out a lot.

[Angie722]

I am 25 years old & have the same thing. I discovered it first when I was about 21. Went to the doctor & they did chest x-rays & an ultra sound & everything came back fine. They summed it up to be a bone contusion. I felt like that was weird seeing that I had not hurt myself at all. But what I read from all of you is a bit more severe than myself. I have had this now for 4 years & have a bit of discomfort but not the horrible pain that some others discribe. It is in the same location on the rib next to the middle. Rock hard!
I know we are not crazy!!!! Hopefully one of us find out exactly what this is! Good luck!

[Lisakay1010]

I am a 35 year old female, thin, and in good health.  I have had this issue for the last 3 years.  Started as one large lump on left lower rib cage near sturnum.  The the lumps started showing up in other areas, left side of ribcage only, along with severe pain.  Sharp pain and dull aching pain.  I have been to Mayo's Clinic, and several other Thoracic specialists...its a mystery!  Yes, some have diagnosed as Costochondritis, some have said its just a deformity that I may have had for years and just now noticed it. (not so sure about that one) I was a dancer at the time and a choreographer, so due to the amount of movement I was doing...it was causing tons of pain!  I have had "trigger injections" to help with the pain and swelling, but that ended up doing more damage to the good tissue and muscle around those inflammed ares...DO NO RECOMMEND the injections...you are just masking the issue, not fixing it!  I was put on Neurontin for pain and several other kinds of pain and nerve meds. But in the end I gave up dance, gave up the meds (I HATE taking drugs, I have a tendency to have bad reactions) and started doing Yoga and Pilates.  I deal with the pain when it flares up which isnt as often as it used to be.  At times it flares up from lifting things, heavy things...but then there are times it flares up for no reason at all.  I can now fell the swelling starting before the pain kicks in.    I tend to use the "Mind over Matter" approach to get through it.  Not having answers is very frustrating, but I think its something I will have to live with and I have come to terms with that.  After 2 years of Dr appointments, test after test...I just can waste my time and energy on it anymore.  Life is short, I want to be out enjoying it.  Not sure this will help anyone, but it is nice to know, we arent alone!  We just have to find a way to deal with the pain!

[charliexx]

I am a 23 year old female and have similar problems to you all. Protruding rib in centre on left side. I have a pain and tightness in my chest. The protruding has spread to next rib down now and pain is getting worse. I have had MRI, CT and bloods. all fine but my origional xray showed irregular sternum??  I have also had doctors say it is chostocondritis or irregularity that has always been there but i have felt it get bigger and progress to lower rib.
I am at the end of my patience now as  work long hours, I also have a 2 year old and am finding life increasingly difficult! It is really reassuring to hear there are other people out there who have something similar as i was beginning to think it really was all in my head and i was going mad!

[HANNAH_53]

Im a 17 year old girl and for the past year my family and i have been searching for the same answers. On my left rib cage between my third and fourth rib there is a lump and it gets bigger at different times. Sometimes my whole chest will swell up and be sore under my breasts. The doctors have told me that they could not see anything and some say that there is a hernia in my large intestines which is causing a blockage, so gases can not pass through and makes my intestines protrude through my ribs. This does not occure all the time but my rib does stay swollen and the pain comes back every couple of days sometimes weeks. I've also been struggling to go to the bathroom with out getting light headed and dizzy. If you have any suggestions please inform me.

[mzmdavis]

My daughter is 17 and has been diagnosed with a Tilted Sternum and Costochondritis a little more than a year ago.  The doctors said she must have grown so fast that her sternum didn't have time to form correctly.  She grew 8.5 inches in 4 years.  She had a lump come up that was very painful.  She's had x-rays, CT Scans and an MRI.  They can't seem to give us a reason for the lump other than "inflamation".  They said that she had muscle atrophy in an area where she had surgery at 3 weeks old.  The pain is constant, dull most days but at least once a week she has the stabbing pain that causes her to double over.  We've tried physical therapy, but it was too painful.  She was taking hydrocodone daily but the Pain Management team at Childrens is trying to ween her off so that she only uses it for the painful spasms she has.  They've given her Celebrex but it does not stop the spasms.  She's most recently had the steroid injections.  If I had known then the pain those would cause her I would have suggested she not do them.  I left that choice up to her at the time snce she would have to endure that pain.  That was one of the worst things I'd ever had to do as a mother - watch my child cry in pain while they injected the steroids into her chest.  She has seen little or no relief since those injections and was in pain for almost a week after having them.  

I don't want my daughter to have to take narcotics for the rest of her life just to try and live normally.  Any help or advise anyone can provide would be appreciated.  You can email me at ***@****.

Thank you.

[Rotagirl]

Has anyone had Surgical Treatment for there Costochondritis?

Im from New Zealand and our information on Costoschondrities Treatment is:

Treatment

Often the symptoms of costochondritis resolve without treatment.  Where treatment is required, the aim is to reduce inflammation and control pain.  Treatment usually consists of:

Rest and avoiding activities that worsen the pain

Anti-inflammatory and pain relieving medications

Ice and/or heat packs applied to the area.

If the pain is extreme and/or prolonged, a steroid medication such as cortisone may be injected into the affected area to help reduce pain and inflammation.

In rare cases, where the condition does not respond to medical treatment, surgery to remove the inflamed cartilage may be required.

[ladycat2011]

I'm a 17 year old girl and I have been suffering from Costochondritis because of my tilted sternum for about 5 years now. The doctors started me off on pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications to see if that would help and it didn't. They sent me to physical therapy for about 3 months and nothing helped. I've been through numerous X-rays that show nothing, CT scans, and MRI's. They tell you that it's something you have to grow out of.. but people I know that have the condition say that you never grow out of it. I've had the injections of steriods and it did nothing. Heat and cold packs also do nothing.. and I think my next step is surgery. I don' t know if my parents will go on with it though, but I'd rather have the surgery then deal with this for the rest of my life. I would try the treatments I have first before just jumping into surgery. My doctor did say that the injections do help some for a few months. The injections are extremely painful but if it helps then it is worth it.

[baileesmom24]

My daughter has a knot on her left upper rib cage... she is only 2 years old...i dont want my baby to live in pain

[Krissy53]

I'm a 23-year old female, dealing with the same problem. 3 doctors already told me that I'm just experiencing costochondritis, but I'm already suffering for this pain for a year now, I even have to quit my job because of this. Also one of the doctor told me that my pain tolerance is not that good because it's just a costochondrities and I shouldn't feel that kind of pain. The pain is something like piercing in my chest specially on my left side and also my left chest is really swollen now, I've done ecg because the doctor requested that. then this past 3 month I'm also experiencing painful and sharp feeling on my fingers, wrist and ankle! I don't know what's going on. I'm starting to feel weaker everyday because of this. It's difficult for me to move and do some chores, I can no longer stroll at the mall like I used to be because after around 30mins I'm starting to feel the piercing pain in my chest area.

[Krissy53]

I'm a 23-year old female, dealing with the same problem. 3 doctors already told me that I'm just experiencing costochondritis, but I'm already suffering for this pain for a year now, I even have to quit my job because of this. Also one of the doctor told me that my pain tolerance is not that good because it's just a costochondrities and I shouldn't feel that kind of pain. The pain is something like piercing in my chest specially on my left side and also my left chest is really swollen now, I've done ecg because the doctor requested that. then this past 3 month I'm also experiencing painful and sharp feeling on my fingers, wrist and ankle! I don't know what's going on. I'm starting to feel weaker everyday because of this. It's difficult for me to move and do some chores, I can no longer stroll at the mall like I used to be because after around 30mins I'm starting to feel the piercing pain in my chest area.

[ricky77]

i also know what your going through, i have been to the doctors numerous times and they keep telling me its ok you have chostocondritus, but what is ok about it, its agony, agony to drive cough and live a normal life im totally fed up with it, nothing seems to ease it, totally fed up with it, my only hope is it goes as quick as it started all the best and hope you do feel better,.

[Erin1983]

I have bee having leftsided paing for about a week now.  I can't cough laught pick up my sons or nothing.  The doctor said it wasen't anything to do with my heart or lungs.  They said my lungs are swollen and they are rubbing on my rib cage.  I can't get out of bed.  It's so painful to pick up my 19 month old or even to carry my 7 year old when he falls asleep and i have to carry him to bed.  All i know is that it feels like a knife in my lungs and it keeps getting worse.

[montrealmoon]

Doctors are crazy!  They dismiss just about everything as something benign and usually completely unrelated to the real problem. Granted, there are times when nothing is wrong, and we worry unduly, but usually if something is chronic and unrelenting, something is wrong.  

Have you ever watched Mystery Diagnosis?  Some of the cases seem so evident right at the beginning that it blows my mind-yet the patient sometimes goes through years of suffering and multiple specialists before they get any satisfaction.  I once saw a little girl on the show who was drinking excessive amounts of water-I mean gallons a day-and was also urinating multiple times daily, more than 20.  She was under 5 years of age!  I used to be a RN, and I knew right away that it was Diabetes Insipidus.  And I was just a nurse. This man had MD training, and further specialized training as a pediatrician.  Why could I remember this disease from my training and this doctor could not??

I agree with some of those here who say if you are young you are dismissed, or else labeled as a drug seeker.  I went through that, too.  Now as a woman who is aging, I get told that my symptoms are related to aging.  It is as if they do not listen to us at all, and there are times when they literally do not listen. They will spend a few minutes in the room, throw something at you as if they are throwing you a bone to chew on, and leave the room, nose in the air.

I say doctors are not being trained properly anymore, that they go to medical school with the goal of having a big house and nice vacations, not thinking about what they are actually learning.  They pass their exams because they cram, then promptly forget what they have learned because they have their eyes on some prize other than the betterment of the health care of humanity.  They have very little ethics, other than to avoid lawsuits, and get nothing but annoyed when presented with a challenge. There are some good doctors out there, but why is it so hard to find them?  I think they are usually specialists, and not at the level of PCPs.  

PCPs these days just hand you pieces of paper with referrals on them.  When was the last time your PCP actually did more than write a prescription for antibiotics?  That is all they do these days.  It must be the easiest of all MD jobs to be a PCP.  They don't have to be responsible for anything but writing referrals.    

What happened to the family doctor who would not rest until he got to the bottom of his patient's ailment?  He is a dead breed.  These days we have to advocate for ourselves, even if it means getting angry.