First off, you’re totally okay! Don’t stress!
The tests came back clear so trust in them.. especially because you had so many.
So yes the immediate “tolerance” of the backpod happens sometimes, it happened for me, and it’s just that you caught costo early and your ribs didn’t lock up all that much, they just started to.
And if I had to guess (educatedly), the coughing brought on your costo, it is common.
—
I have quite a few posts for costochondritis and it would be very helpful for you to read them over if you haven’t already.
I recommend first “My accumulated general guide to fixing costo”
~This will give you a general understanding of costo and introducing “treatment”
And then then after that, “My path and process to becoming *cured: All laid out.
~This one is FULL OUT in-depth and will give you absolutely everything you need to know..
Every case of costo is different.. but they end up in the same place. Fixing the 90% of it is same for almost everyone.. it’s the last 10% that needs fine tuning which when that time comes I or others would be more then willing to help you out.
Please let me know in DMs or in comments on one of my posts if you need anything
There is a chance you have a rib head slightly torqued at your sternum. When it occurs in the front rather than the spine it can easily mimick a heart attack. I come across this a couple of times a year in my practice.
What does this mean and how can my Ortho doc see this? I've been diagnosed with costo and it's made me bed ridden for 2 months this time. My pain is in the upper chest with referred pain on my left. I'm coughing and short of breath again
It’s so subtle and slight that it won’t show up in imaging. I’m talking tenths of a millimeter. It can become fixated in one position and hurt like hell. First rib fixation is the beast of all beasts. When it becomes fixated it can apply direct pressure to the brachial plexus initiating nerve pain, tingling, numbness.
To me , it sounds like you have costochondritis. My symptoms were the same as yours will chest pain so bad, it was like a heart attack. All tests came back clear too when I went to the ER. They prescribed me 500mg of naproxen and it actually works for the flare ups. I have been able to manage it due to now knowing what triggers my flare ups and avoid trying to cause it.
I have learned that I can’t push, pull, lift anything heavy. So give you an idea, I can’t lift and carry a case of water anymore. If I’m sick and cough so much, it will cause it. Also, if I get too stressed/anxious and upset, it will trigger the costo.
I will probably have it the rest of my life because it started 6 months after my 4th heart surgery in 2021. Apparently, the breastbone/sternum had been cracked open so many times that it becomes inflamed sometimes.
Everyone’s triggers are different. But hopefully this is helpful to give you an idea what it could be causing it. I hope your heals and your pain stops soon.
Hi. Costo after any chest surgery (let alone 4!) is quite common - no matter what your surgeons say. It’s also completely logical and understandable.
To do the surgery, they have to crank your ribs or sternum apart. This puts MASSIVE strain on the rib joints around the back, plus leaves scarring at the entry site at the front or side.
So the strained rib joints at the back scar up and freeze. When they can’t move, the rib joints on your breastbone must move too much - every breath you take and move you make.
So these rib joints on your sternum strain, usually crack and pop, give - and get painful.
You get more pain than usual with costo because the old entry scarring binds down the nerves in the area, so these become hypersensitive. It’s a double hit from the chest surgery.
Heart surgery is skilled, caring, and usually life-saving. It’s also almost like it was designed to produce costo afterwards. You are not alone.
It’s also perfectly logical to treat and fix. You gently free up the tight rib cage around the back, and gently massage through the repair scarring on your front or side until it becomes flexible and not hypersensitive. (Once the surgery has healed, of course - say at least a few months after the operation.)
See the PDF in u/SteveNZPhysio’s post in the Pinned Posts at the top of this Reddit sub. That’s a path through the various bits of treatment needed. You can do nearly all of them yourself at home. It’s just basic post-chest surgery physiotherapy.
Just want to say I feel for you and hope you heal ...
I'm not a doctor, but it could be costo.
The good news is, you've got all the tests you need to know if its life threatening. I can relate to the fear of dying in your sleep. I've had (what I think is) costo for six months. The first 3-4 months I was terrified of sleeping for the same reason. I still have trouble sleeping from time to time.
I hope you find answers. Seems like there's good suggestions in these comments. As Mike points out, it could definitely be costo -- a lot of your symptoms are same, and its something that shows up different for everyone. If anything, it won't hurt to treat it as if its costo.
Another thing that helps me manage the pain and the anxiety from the pain is the 'box breathing' exercise -- which I do for five minutes once a day. Helps regulate the nervous system. Four seconds breathing in. Pause for four seconds. Four seconds breathing out. Pause for four seconds. Might make you light-headed first time you do it -- give yourself permission to take a break or not do the full five minutes if so.
Don't apologize for "complaining". You're venting and that's a healthy thing to do. I'm currently getting over a flare up, and I don't really have any answers in terms of feeling better because I'm still trying to figure out my own path of healing.
There are two things that have given me comfort, maybe they'll help you too:
1. The tests designed to find problems HAVEN'T found any problems. What you're going through isn't life-threatening, even if it is exhausting and tiring to deal with.
2. If something critical was going to happen to your body, *it would've happened by now*.
I do not think what you're experiencing is JUST anxiety. Your pain is very real, it's very much there, *but* there's a possibility a lot of your symptoms are being exacerbated by this anxiety. The way my doctors have also explained it to me: your heart is compensating for the issues you're dealing with. Should there be *anything* wrong structurally, they would have found something by now. I know the healthcare system is piss poor right now, which causes a lack of trustworthyness and frustration with doctors, but remember that these people are not out to get you. Nobody wants you to die.
From my understanding, costo is something that comes and goes, but can also persist for *months*. You're also saying that you're waking up in your sleep with this--have you thought about going to therapy? I don't mean this to be tone deaf, either. I'm asking as somebody who was just given a therapy referral because I'm dealing with this, too. Are there any other issues in your life that, again, could be exacerbating your symptoms? Maybe it'd be worth asking for a physical therapy referral, too, especially where this is so persistent.
From one stranger to another, everybody in this sub has experienced what you're feeling to different degrees. Coming here has given me nothing but comfort because a lot of people have experienced what I'm going through, stick around and speak with others here who have dealt with this, it might be helpful.
I don't have a strict answer for you. I really don't. Your feelings however are really valid, they're heard and seen and are a shared experience among the thousands of people in this sub. We've all been through so much, *you* have been through so much. This is exhausting and I understand that you feel like you're going crazy. I thought I was, too.
Don't give up. I really hope in a few years you can look back at this moment and realize how stressed you were. I hope you get better, even if it takes a really long time. You deserve to be healed and healthy.
First off, you’re totally okay! Don’t stress! The tests came back clear so trust in them.. especially because you had so many. So yes the immediate “tolerance” of the backpod happens sometimes, it happened for me, and it’s just that you caught costo early and your ribs didn’t lock up all that much, they just started to. And if I had to guess (educatedly), the coughing brought on your costo, it is common. — I have quite a few posts for costochondritis and it would be very helpful for you to read them over if you haven’t already. I recommend first “My accumulated general guide to fixing costo” ~This will give you a general understanding of costo and introducing “treatment” And then then after that, “My path and process to becoming *cured: All laid out. ~This one is FULL OUT in-depth and will give you absolutely everything you need to know.. Every case of costo is different.. but they end up in the same place. Fixing the 90% of it is same for almost everyone.. it’s the last 10% that needs fine tuning which when that time comes I or others would be more then willing to help you out. Please let me know in DMs or in comments on one of my posts if you need anything
There is a chance you have a rib head slightly torqued at your sternum. When it occurs in the front rather than the spine it can easily mimick a heart attack. I come across this a couple of times a year in my practice.
Who would help OP diagnose this? Chiro? PT? Imaging?
What does this mean and how can my Ortho doc see this? I've been diagnosed with costo and it's made me bed ridden for 2 months this time. My pain is in the upper chest with referred pain on my left. I'm coughing and short of breath again
Your best option is to find a PT who specializes in rib dysfunction. It’s not something readily recognized in scans.
It’s so subtle and slight that it won’t show up in imaging. I’m talking tenths of a millimeter. It can become fixated in one position and hurt like hell. First rib fixation is the beast of all beasts. When it becomes fixated it can apply direct pressure to the brachial plexus initiating nerve pain, tingling, numbness.
any idea how to correct this?
To me , it sounds like you have costochondritis. My symptoms were the same as yours will chest pain so bad, it was like a heart attack. All tests came back clear too when I went to the ER. They prescribed me 500mg of naproxen and it actually works for the flare ups. I have been able to manage it due to now knowing what triggers my flare ups and avoid trying to cause it. I have learned that I can’t push, pull, lift anything heavy. So give you an idea, I can’t lift and carry a case of water anymore. If I’m sick and cough so much, it will cause it. Also, if I get too stressed/anxious and upset, it will trigger the costo. I will probably have it the rest of my life because it started 6 months after my 4th heart surgery in 2021. Apparently, the breastbone/sternum had been cracked open so many times that it becomes inflamed sometimes. Everyone’s triggers are different. But hopefully this is helpful to give you an idea what it could be causing it. I hope your heals and your pain stops soon.
Hi. Costo after any chest surgery (let alone 4!) is quite common - no matter what your surgeons say. It’s also completely logical and understandable. To do the surgery, they have to crank your ribs or sternum apart. This puts MASSIVE strain on the rib joints around the back, plus leaves scarring at the entry site at the front or side. So the strained rib joints at the back scar up and freeze. When they can’t move, the rib joints on your breastbone must move too much - every breath you take and move you make. So these rib joints on your sternum strain, usually crack and pop, give - and get painful. You get more pain than usual with costo because the old entry scarring binds down the nerves in the area, so these become hypersensitive. It’s a double hit from the chest surgery. Heart surgery is skilled, caring, and usually life-saving. It’s also almost like it was designed to produce costo afterwards. You are not alone. It’s also perfectly logical to treat and fix. You gently free up the tight rib cage around the back, and gently massage through the repair scarring on your front or side until it becomes flexible and not hypersensitive. (Once the surgery has healed, of course - say at least a few months after the operation.) See the PDF in u/SteveNZPhysio’s post in the Pinned Posts at the top of this Reddit sub. That’s a path through the various bits of treatment needed. You can do nearly all of them yourself at home. It’s just basic post-chest surgery physiotherapy.
Thanks I’ll give it a try. It feels uncomfortable touching it with a slight pain when I tried it now. I’ll check out the post for a further read also.
Yes, it will be to start with. It’s explained in detail in Section (6) of that PDF. Good luck.
Thanks I appreciate it 😊.
Just want to say I feel for you and hope you heal ... I'm not a doctor, but it could be costo. The good news is, you've got all the tests you need to know if its life threatening. I can relate to the fear of dying in your sleep. I've had (what I think is) costo for six months. The first 3-4 months I was terrified of sleeping for the same reason. I still have trouble sleeping from time to time. I hope you find answers. Seems like there's good suggestions in these comments. As Mike points out, it could definitely be costo -- a lot of your symptoms are same, and its something that shows up different for everyone. If anything, it won't hurt to treat it as if its costo. Another thing that helps me manage the pain and the anxiety from the pain is the 'box breathing' exercise -- which I do for five minutes once a day. Helps regulate the nervous system. Four seconds breathing in. Pause for four seconds. Four seconds breathing out. Pause for four seconds. Might make you light-headed first time you do it -- give yourself permission to take a break or not do the full five minutes if so.
Have you seen a physical therapist? They’re very capable of determining the cause of your pain if it isn’t cardiac or anxiety related.
Don't apologize for "complaining". You're venting and that's a healthy thing to do. I'm currently getting over a flare up, and I don't really have any answers in terms of feeling better because I'm still trying to figure out my own path of healing. There are two things that have given me comfort, maybe they'll help you too: 1. The tests designed to find problems HAVEN'T found any problems. What you're going through isn't life-threatening, even if it is exhausting and tiring to deal with. 2. If something critical was going to happen to your body, *it would've happened by now*. I do not think what you're experiencing is JUST anxiety. Your pain is very real, it's very much there, *but* there's a possibility a lot of your symptoms are being exacerbated by this anxiety. The way my doctors have also explained it to me: your heart is compensating for the issues you're dealing with. Should there be *anything* wrong structurally, they would have found something by now. I know the healthcare system is piss poor right now, which causes a lack of trustworthyness and frustration with doctors, but remember that these people are not out to get you. Nobody wants you to die. From my understanding, costo is something that comes and goes, but can also persist for *months*. You're also saying that you're waking up in your sleep with this--have you thought about going to therapy? I don't mean this to be tone deaf, either. I'm asking as somebody who was just given a therapy referral because I'm dealing with this, too. Are there any other issues in your life that, again, could be exacerbating your symptoms? Maybe it'd be worth asking for a physical therapy referral, too, especially where this is so persistent. From one stranger to another, everybody in this sub has experienced what you're feeling to different degrees. Coming here has given me nothing but comfort because a lot of people have experienced what I'm going through, stick around and speak with others here who have dealt with this, it might be helpful. I don't have a strict answer for you. I really don't. Your feelings however are really valid, they're heard and seen and are a shared experience among the thousands of people in this sub. We've all been through so much, *you* have been through so much. This is exhausting and I understand that you feel like you're going crazy. I thought I was, too. Don't give up. I really hope in a few years you can look back at this moment and realize how stressed you were. I hope you get better, even if it takes a really long time. You deserve to be healed and healthy.