as you may now I once heavily suffered from costochondritis attacks. I managed to stop getting them and get control over my health again and I will tell you how.
Tietze Syndrome is a type of rheuma where the chest bone between the ribs swells up and causes difficulty breathing. Costochrondritis is the inflammation of the cartilage around the ribs. Both conditions are different as you see, but usually appear together. Since the ribs go around the body, the painful costochrondritis can both feel like back pain and cheast pain or even heart attacks.
Tietze syndrome can be caused by genes, virusses and trauma to the chest.
Costochrondritis can be caused - and triggered - by activity, trauma to the chest, pregnancy, bronchitis, emotional trauma, stress and pressure on the chest.
Personally my Tietze Syndrome was caused by trauma to the chest, after violantly throwing up a pill against anxiety in college, perscribed by a doctor, called Wellbutrin. The instructions did say that 1 in 1000 gets convulsions from the medication.
I prefer to call it "Crushing stone syndrome" or "heart attack syndrome", because it feels exactly like being crushed by a huge rock or as if you're getting a heart attack. As a Dutch speaking person I find it a bad name since Tiet means boob and since this is a chest disease and so close to the breasts, many will think of the breasts whenever you mention it.
My "costo attacks" were usually three hour sessions of epilepsy like spasms on my bed, preceded by hours of hypoventilation, crushing pain, psychoses, dizziness, extreme nausea and headaches. I would be rolling around in bed in the craziest positions trying to breathe and trying to find a way to make the crushing sensation stop, as if I was trying to escape from underneath that crushing rock.
I got around four of these attacks which from the first one on were always triggered by stress and pressure, dancing even. But after a certain visit to the doctor, the costo never returned. I still had Tietze Syndrome, a swollen sternum, but I could live normally again. Of course, I started taking better care of myself. So what did I do to stop costochondritis and how do I prevent further discomfort from the Tietze Syndrome?
The most important steps I took were:
- taking a perscription anti-inflammation drug, in my case Biofenac, for at least two weeks
- getting cortisone injections in my buttocks from the doctor. This is what did it for me.
After these crucial steps I no longer got any costochondritis attack.
Now, to ease the comfort, which is also a very important things for us people with chronic pain and inflammation, I do the following:
- I take magnesium and try to have a diet rich in magnesium
- I wear a thermal shirt under my clothes in winter
- I take a NSAID/Ibuprofen 800 mg when things get a little tough
- I take vitamin B to get more energy
- I don't drink coffee, I limit tea and avoid other inflammatory foods
- I use a warm water bottle on cold days
- I breathe with my stomach, deep, not short and with my chest to spare my sternum
- I sit up straight
- I try to avoid stress and emotional pain
- I exercise mildly doing any sport that doesn't put pressure on the chest. Cycling is better than running in my opinion.
I still have some issues getting up in the morning, I still have some pain in my ribs at the back, my sternum still feels swollen and I hate having to carry stuff or get stuff from high shelves, but this is a major improvement compared to the costochondritis attack.
I hope I gave you some tips.
x
Helena
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