Costochondritis

I was diagnosed with this about fifteen years ago after years of pain and discomfort in my upper right quadrant apparently emanating from where my ribs are joined to the sternum. I read up about it and expected it to go away in due course but it never has though it's less acute now than it was, possibly because I'm not doing some of the physical activities that I was doing back then. I'm doing different ones and am forced, by age I think, to pace myself more than I used to.

Had a tender spot just to the right of my sternum since I was a teenager. I thought it was growing pains ?

Cycling (ten miles a day to and from work, i.e. five each way), swimming, and Scottish dancing made it worse.

So much for exercise improving one's fitness and health.

my daughter has fibromyalgia and last week had severe pain in her chest which her GP thinks MIGHT be this,can anyone tell me what the treatment is? Is this another lifelong condition or will it go away

The treatment was zilch in my case. I think my GP hoped the painkillers I was taking for arthritis would help. Perhaps they did but I didn't notice. I also have fibromyalgia and it's worse when I'm fighting off a mild infection such as a cold, which is frequently. Hey ho.

I have had this for over 20 years - I also have fibromyalgia and EDS as well. My daughter seems to have inherited it from me as well.

I have to say that nothing works really well - but the 2 things I have found best are:
- aspirin cream rubbed in - Aspercreme or Movilat
- Warm water baths or warm water swimming pools

is it a common thing with Fibromyalgia sufferers? Can it be linked to the fibro ? I'm tearing my hair out this week ,my daughter had been getting a good measure of relief from acupuncture but the effect seems to have worn off an dthe chinese doctor has told her to take a break from it in the hope it will work again when she goes back in a couple of months.The conventional medication she gets from her GP has resulted in ulcers in her gullet and stomach and she's in severe pain from that alone then THIS I spend a lot of time looking for new things to help her but it seems we're running out of options.She was told about a Harley Street clinic this morning ,costs are extortionate but we'll find out all we can about it and see if it would be worthwhile .Her GP has said he'll do some digging into it

The doctor has just told me to take cocodomol but I only take them at night as I don't want to be a zombie during the day! I have been rubbing in a mint rub at night as well but I'm not sure if it really helps. I have attended a session at a pain clinic where steroid injections were mentioned - I'll find out more at the next session. I'd be interested to try acupuncture, which I hadn't even thought of.

Oh yes, grammaH, a GP friend back in Oxfordshire (so well over a decade ago) mentioned steroid injections for really bad costochondritis. I'd forgotten about that.

I think you get used to Co-Codamol if you take it regularly so it stops being zombifying, while still being effective as a painkiller. I found pain was more zombifying anyway.