Anyone else fighting Costochondritis and DISH?

I was diagnosed with DISH and Ankylosing Spondylitis in 2015. I try to stay as active as possible with walking, light stretching, chi Kung, and some strength exercises. I have lost 60+ lbs with a glp1 and solid nutrition choices. My go to for pain relief is my trusted heating pad. I rely on it and it helps tremendously. I am on Taltz 80mg as a monthly injection. I do keep a tight leash on my activity to prevent over doing it. Everything helps but in small doses. See what works for you and keep on trying new things to see what works and what doesn’t.

Ice is the thing that helps the most for me when I have chostochondritis. Not sure what else to do about it except wait until it heals.

First of my advise would be as my RA dr told me.Keep moving as the motion is the potion.We discovered dish as the new drs call it( its really Foerestiers disease) after Robert Forester who found it.I had it for about 25 yrs and it does progress to the point where it will fuse your spine.At al.ost 66 it has challenged me but not a whole lot of pain ,more discomfort.Get a good prognosis from your dr an work with a good bone cracker as my left hip moves from the disease.A tens unit and proper placement of probes is essential.As mine has worstened it affected my L1-/L5 spine which caused a pinched sciatica that had lead to severe poly neuropathy .Dont over look this as it is very progressive.Best of luck

@bswpb My doctor prescribed physical therapy and chiropractic. It really worked. The chiro was a few very focused treatments, no endless "adjustments."

Unfortunately, I was told to wear sports bra’s only, no underwire at anytime, and for pain apply ice or heat in the affected area. No pain reliever helped me and my left breast was in so much pain no one. Like touch it, neither me. The pain was something I never felt before and I thought I was going to go. Crazy. They assured me that as long as I wear the sports craws, I won’t have this painful breast again. They were right. When I do get an attack I apply pressure on the spasm and I feel it relax by applying pressure. They say to take Tylenol or Ibuprofen for comfort. The Gabapentin doesn’t touch it and neither does Cymbalta. I can’t take the NSAIDs and Tylenol. I have a liver issue and my kidneys aren’t working up to the their potential. If the pain is great I’m to take one chewable aspirin (81mg). I have an ulcer so I need to be wary. The aspirin worked. Every now and then I feel it starting to go into a spazzing session. I sit up straight and I apply two thumbs to bring it back down. I’m on Gabapentin and Cyclobenzaprine. I’m working y way off of Gabapentin. It’s bad for your memory and it is making me forget too much. I will stay on the Cyclobenzaprine.

@bswpb it actually does not heal. I've had it since 1994. It only goes into remission. Sometimes for days/weeks and even months. But, it will return. It's a very painful inflammation of the main bone in your chest that affects (inflames) your ribs. It can be so bad (like when I get flare ups), that it feels like a heart attack.

But, rest assured, it will not kill you nor cause a heart attack. It's just bad arthritis of the chest bone in between your breasts. Females get it more often than men. Hope that helped.

@vivsterb I too have had that most of my adult life and of course was put thru tasts and exrays to rule out the heart.As far as the Dish you will never get rid of it as it is progressive and like in my case starts to fuse your spine.Not much to do withit until simptoms appear.Over 40 years in a truck obviously distroyed my back and know sideways movements are being cumbersome.One of the progressions of dish is the thinning of the discs that give you cushion and in my case lead to a pinched sciatic nerve which left me with poly neuropathy.A word to the wise donot sit in a wooden backed chair for a long period as it will give you pain that is unbearable.

@vivsterb I never thought it was a heart attack but it keeps coming back because it doesn’t ‘heal’!

Thks everyone for the inputs!!!! Now I dont feel so alone with all the pain I have and know there are others in the same boat. My list of pain areas is long and intertwining, with non stop pain from at least one area and often multiple areas of pain every day all the time. Its so draining and exhausting with pain keeping me up at night; if I become so exhausted and do fall asleep it doesn't last long and I end up waking at 3 or 4 in the morning . Once in a blue moon my aches/pain level is only 2 out of ten so I can breath a sigh of some relief, but that is rare. What do I use to control pain? I use a tens unit, a red light blanket, a heating pad, ice packs, mild stretching, lying on a rolled up towel length wise down the middle of my back on a flat surface, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Lyrica, and Oxy as a last resort...I have tried half dozen back injections with no affect as well.... an acupuncturist and chiropractor. I am out of ideas and the pain is still draining....Even getting out of my easy chair or in and out of my car or into and out of bed is pain generating. Sometimes I wonder if all. this pain is worth it...

@applejack112 I don't have DISH. I've had 4 major spinal surgeries due to 2- not at fault car accidents. This last major, major one was this past Jan 26th and 30th. I was in ICU the whole time. They cut me from right under my cervical to my pelvis. Full reconstruction. And, if I had DISH my specialist would have seen. But, my bones have not fused but the disks were in bad shape from the accidents, and degenerative disc disease. I have RA. I also still have Kyphosis. Also, because of my spinal issues, I have been suffering for 9 yrs with peripheral neuropathy. That is actually worse than the costochondritis.

But, the costochondritis is bad as well. My rheumatologist told me there is nothing he can do more than giving me anti-inflammatory meds, which I already take for the spine, along with mega doses of Gabapentin.