Re: Need advice or input please ::TERI: rib pain/Faith

[Guest guest]

Teri and Faith -- you are two of the first people whom I have noticed

post about having pain in your ribs! The first two years I started

having horrible pains, the pain would start in my sterum, radiate to

my left ribs, around my back to the right side and eventually down

both arms. That was back in the late 1970's and for years no one

could explain what it was, or had even had a patient with similar

problems. I would wake up every morning (for a month or perhaps

less) sleeping on my stomach with my hands clinched in fists pushing

on my sterum. The second spring it happened, I spent onee day making

the rounds of a ton of departments at the University of Illinois

Medical center and by the time I got back to the reception desk, (Get

this!) the fellow at the reception desk had the results of all of the

tests --- blood work, tomogram, etc., etc. and the conclusion was

that I had degenerative tissue disease in my sterum. They suggested

what to take for the pain --- another shocker to most people --- was

up to 24 asprin a DAY! The doctor I considered my personal care doc

also who tell me the same solution he always did if I had something

during the winter or very early spring and that was to have my then

husband take me to the " Islands " for some sun and fun!

For the first few years, this only happened in the spring and usually

in April. I have since in more recent years come to the conclusion

that the timing had to do with several major events in my life 1)my

older brother, whom I must have adored was killed by a drunk driver

in April, exactly 3 weeks before my 2nd birthday 2) I had had two

miscarriages the year prior to the first year I had the pain and the

second miscarriage also happened in April. I know enough from

reading every text book psychologists and any one in the mental

health field should or may have had to read, and I finally realized

that the timing of the early bouts were probably my body's way of

handling the anniversary of those three events. And I also have to

mention that with the miscarriages, NO ONE that my former husband and

I were friends with at the time would even let me talk about the

miscarriages --- some would become concerned if the wife became

pregnant and didn't know how to let me know! (Also didn't help when

I had the first one that when I called my youngest sister to tell

her, she blurted out that our middle sister was pregant!)

But over the years from the seventies to the late '90's, I got to be

ever doctor whom I saw their test patient for every new medicine!

And I remember also, when my present husband read a small message in

a medical column that used the word " fibromyalgia " my doctor at the

time was skeptical that that was an actual condition. I will say she

was very much aware of the pain I was in, so there was never any

question that I had pain. And I did get to try almost every new drug

on the market. Some would give me relief but it has only been in

about the past 10 years that I have had any meds that can help.

But I also have osteo arthristis in my cervical and lumbar spine --

which I am sure has some relationship to the pain in my ribs and the

soft tissue in that area.

Sorry to have perhaps written so much and I know that a number of you

have read this from me before!!! But I did find it interesting to

read for the first time that someone else has pains in their ribs!

-

-- In Fibromyalgia_Support_Group , " Teri Wallner "

wrote:

>

> Faith,

>

>

>

> Yeah, that's where it seems to be - my lower rib on my left side -

as I

> said; I can push on it and know exactly where the pain is. Never

thought of

> it possibly coming from my spine, but that does make some sense. I

have

> degenerative disc disease too, an end stage herniated disc in my

lumbar area

> that I was told to have a fusion on but another doc said no, that

it would

> only exacerbate my fibro. He said if he could send me into the

future about

> 10 years, it would pretty much fuse itself - I hope that is true.

I also

> have some bad discs in my neck and upper back.

>

>

>