Monday, January 3, 2011

1.5 years later

It has now been about 1 and 1/2 years after my initial experience with Costochondritis. At this point I consider myself fully healed. I still have occasional discomfort in my sternum area mostly at night when I arch my back or stretch in certain ways. But in general the Costo no longer affects my life like it did a year ago. In some ways I'm grateful for the experience because it taught me some things about the healthcare system and when to trust (or not trust) doctors and other healthcare providers, and how important it is to do some of your own research about health problems affecting you or people close to you.


What would I recommend to people experiencing Costochondritis?


(1) Be Patient - In my opinion, this is the most important part of the healing process. It can take a year or more to heal, so be prepared to deal with the pain and discomfort for a long time while still trying to enjoy life. Try to reduce the amount of stress in your life as much as possible, and do something like yoga or Tai chi which will provide some movement to the area (ribs and sternum) without further damaging it.


(2) Don't be afraid of the pain - During normal day to day life, I think we become accustomed to living in comfort and many of us have forgotten that pain is a natural response to various conditions in the body. Doctors tend to reinforce this belief that any amount of pain or discomfort needs to be eliminated, but I think this can be counter-productive. A certain amount of pain is normal to the healing process. The fact that you feel can still feel pain means your body and nerves are working correctly. Your body is changing and adapting all the time and even healthy kids feel "growing pains" which are completely normal.


(3) Enjoy the good things in life - When I had a significant amount of pain in the first few months, it was sometimes hard to keep a positive attitude. You can be glad that costochondritis is not a life threatening condition. If you need/want support from other people suffering in the same way there are a lot of resources on the web, including a costochondritis yahoo group.