I have severe pain in and around my ribs and area that holds them together. I have fibromyalgia is it related?
The entire area is very painful from my front to my back. The area in the middle hurts even worse if possible. My Dr. has tried varies medications none have had an affect on this area. Is this related to fibromyalgia or something else?
Public Comments
1. Sanchen, I'll try to help by posing some questions and giving you my own experience. You're doing the best thing by getting your doctor to help you!I'm sure your doctor has listened to your chest. If it was lung related such as pneumonia, you would have other symptoms such as shortness of breath.... Another thing that can cause chest pain is pleurisy, or an inflammation in the space around your chest cavity. It can appear without other symptoms other than pain when taking a deep breath, but this usually clears with a round of antibiotics. You mentioned your doctor has tried various meds....
You said the area in the middle hurts worse. Do you mean your sturnum, or breastbone? Do you mean that it hurts from this center area straight back? If so, you sound like you may be having esophageal spasms. They can be oh so painful, and it feels like the pain almost radiates from the front to the back of your chest. Have you noticed any gastric discomfort lately? Reflux (acid coming up from your stomach) or any indigestion? If so, has your doctor had you try any medications for acid reflux? I have acid reflux and had esophageal spasms long before I ever had any symptoms of acid reflux. Esophageal spasms will not be a constant pain, and you didn't mention whether or not this pain was constant. When I was having problems with this, I noticed that a muscle relaxer would eventually give me some relief. I guess it's because your esophagus is made of smooth muscle, not sure, but it worked. I don't get these much anymore, but I do take an acid reflux medicine and take digestive enzymes daily. I don't take muscle relaxers on a daily basis... but something is working.
You may have already tried to pinpoint some of these questions, but in a nutshell:
Is it continuous (you wake up with it and go to sleep with it)? Do you have any other symptoms? (shortness of breath, increased pain with a deep breath, acid reflux symptoms, indigestion, a feeling that your food doesn't want to go down easily,) Is it a sharp pain or dull aching pain? Do you notice any of your fibro meds having an affect on it at all?
We fibro people have the strangest things come about, but it's good to rule out everything else. I didn't touch on any cardiac symptoms cause I'm sure your doctor ruled that out immediately.
I rambled quite a bit on here, but I hope something was mentioned that might help you in your search for a reason for this new pain. I wish you luck in finding some relief soon!
2. This very well could be related. I also had pain in my ribs on the cartilage. I was diagnosed with costochondritis. It means inflammation of the cartilage on the upper ribs connecting to the sternum and breastbone. For some people, it can cause the chest to hurt so bad they think they're having heart problems. I was prescribed methyprednisolone, but it didn't help much. However, you may find results. Here's a link if you want to learn more about it.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/costochondritis/article_em.htm
