So Intercostal Neuralgia is what I had.
Just if anyone was still wondering. Surprisingly, Google sorta let me down on this one. Plenty of mentions in association with other stuff, but I didn’t find any really definitive source for the subject.
meh
I lived. I’m sure if it happens again I’ll live through that too. Lola was amazed at my fast recovery. I guess. I’m just SO glad I went to a chiropractor. Did I tell you the story?
The Story: Last Wednesday on my walk home form work I noticed a slight stiffness in the chest, a slight shortness of breath. I ignored. I see a doctor for some reason maybe once in ten years, aside from the occassional routine check for STDs and such. My body & I have an understanding. I’m more or less in charge 99.99% of the time. So- I ignored.
The next morning and all that day I felt significantly sore in my upper right chest and through to my right mid-back. Still, I ignored. Figured one of Aaron’s from-the-side bear hugs had bruised a rib or scraped something in there. No worries, right? Sore, but it’ll pass.
That night, at 4AM I wake up and I’m really having trouble breathing. Short little rabbit breaths. Hmm. This is getting inconvenient. Eventually I fall back asleep, and the next day is taken at a slow pace, like I’m 80 or something. I settle in to bed again, sleeping immobilized on my back.
Well, I wake up at 4AM again and I’m just fux0red. Can’t breathe, can’t take the pressure off. I struggle out of bed and pace the apartment for an hour, not knowing what’s wrong or if it’s going to get worse. Should I be moseying down to Emergency? Finally managing to doze off in the living room, sitting upright. I need help.
So I figure it’s probably going to be a chiropractor thing. Neil had mentioned the day before that he figured so too. It seemed to be the general concensus. BUT there’s a walk-in clinic across the street from my place, so I figure it can’t hurt.
I go in, see the ol’ sawbones. He looks me over, listens to my breathing with Mr Stethoscope. He’s listening for a good three or four minutes. He grills me about lifting weights. Haven’t been to the gym in two months. He doesn’t believe me! He says then maybe I’ve got a lung infection like his anaesthesiologist had. Similar symptoms. Mumbles about antibiotics and a month of physiotherapy.
After twenty minutes or so, mostly just questions (barely touching me at all), he says my symptoms are vague and he can’t hear anything wrong with my breathing (never mind that it’s half as deep as normal, assclown). He says that if I won’t admit to lifting too much weight then we’d better do the x-rays and some bloodwork. He wanders off to do up the paperwork. He comes back a few minutes later and makes a point of telling me he doesn’t prescribe these things unnecessarily and I mustn’t think he’s just looking for money.
Made a point of telling me that.
Jackass.
So off I went to Dr. Bruce Russell.
– asked a few relevant questions, including the weightlifting.
– actually moves my limbs looking for points of stress
– finds the angles that cause pain & stressed breathing
– feels the vertebrae gently but firmly
– finds a rib out of joint
– diagnoses Intercostal Neuralgia
Elapsed time: 3 minutes.
We wrenched and twisted and adjusted. I admit I didn’t physically feel any better after that ten minutes of comfortable, painless manipulation, but psychologically I knew we were doing the trick. He knew exactly where the pain was originating. He could put his finger on it. Right on the rib. Sure, you say, it was sticking out, you say. Couldn’t have been hard to find, you say.
So why didn’t Doctor AssClown at the clinic find it?
The next morning I was at about 30% of normal. Still hurting, but that night when I woke up at 4AM I was able to get back to sleep in maybe fifteen minutes, and I slept the rest of the night. Another adjustment that day.
I went to the club that night. Danced a bit.
To wind this story up- It’s been a week to the day. I feel 100%. I feel better than I felt before the slip. I have more energy and my mood is improved.
I may never go to a general practitioner again. If he’d had his way, I’d be down $300 by now with another $1200 on the way, on antibiotics and going to physio every day. I’d be making a claim against my medical plan and taking time off work.
Me? Bitter? Nope. Went to a chiropractor. I’m fine.
I’d call the first doctor and give him hell.
I’m glad you’re better, partly because, you’ll be more fun on the slopes and on the dancefloor this weekend! yippeee!!!! selfish me. :)
COMMENT:
Glad you’re better, dj!
*resumes regular bear hug regimen*
You should write a letter to the doctor that treated you. Maybe he won’t be able to screw someone else’s life up.
Bah! But what caused that, silly!
Shoor- a rib out of whack.
Intercostal Neuralgia…
holy general blanket term for pain in the chest! You have no idea what caused it?
Ah that. No idea. But then, I’ve usually got scratches and gouges and bruises and no idea where I got them.
I seem to recall a rather skeptical young man with a sore back, around 12 years ago, I took him to see a chirpracter, his first visit. Bet you’re glad I introduced you. I’m glad you’re better.
lady
Wow!! After 2 surgeries , one being a Laminectomy to correct the first surgery 4 years ago,,and after tons of money spent on docs,,and hours and hours and hours of sitting in waiting rooms and being treated as a guniea pig,, and labled chronic pain and disabled,,I AM NOW GOING TO SEE A CHOIRPRACTOR (sp) lol
Thanks
Arlene in Oregon
i’m 18 years old and i’ve had intercostal neuralgia for 6 years. i was playing soccer and i had a bad fall. i was like you, i went to several doctors and nothing was found, had approximately 3 surgeries and still nothing. a friend of my mothers had this internist that made an exception and took me before i was at a certain age of acception. He knew after 15 minutes of questions. i get nerve blocks to hold me over. Be glad you didn’t have to go through that. i’m happy that you only had to go through it for a week.
Ouch. Well, I never said my esxperience was typical. I really had nothing to compare it too, like I said. I hope your situation gets better. I’ll send you some positive thoughts. You didn’t quite say- did you go to a chiropractor? It probably doesn’t work for everyone, but maybe because I got lucky & treated it right away that was enough to do the trick.
Hey. Believe me, there are alot of things that your local chiropractor can help with. Let’s face it, when there’s something mechanically wrong with your body, drugs aren’t going to help, and surgery had better be the very last resort! I’m glad you’re better man.
-Chiropractic Student
I have the same thing. But mine was caused by a osteopath who was a little on the rough side. So I went to a Lady Chiropractor. She was quick in the diagnosis and quick to heal. Great stuff. As with you all my doctor (western quack) said take some pain killers?
had my problem for six months now, usual doc questions, have you had a fall, no, are you sure, finally told intercostal neuralgia, how did I get it, no idea, can anyone enlighten?
Six months! That’s very rough, Catherine. I don’t know how mine happened either though. The doc told me (yes, told me) that I’d been pushing too much weight at the gym, and refused to believe me when I said I hadn’t been in two months. Intercostal Neuralgia is pretty much just a fancy name for a pinched nerve, albeit a very long one, which is why it feels like a slipped disk or bruised rib, but doctors can’t find anything. Chiropractors know what to look for, though, and even better- they know how to treat it. Definitely worth a shot. And I’m sure the sooner the better. Muscles tend to tighten up and retrain around trouble spots, so the longer you wait the longer you’ll be needing treatments while your muscles retrain again.
Good luck to you! Let us know how it goes!
Thanks dude! I’ve had this pain in my left shoulderblade for 6 yrs… did a year of physio which made it worse and now it goes from my left chest into my left shoulderblade, on the inside… but no-one believes me. I’ve been researching neuralgia and your story is the first time I’ve read that a pain CAN go though the middle of you body from your chest to your back. I’m going to see a chiropractor after reading your story. Thanks for validating me :-)
LOL!!!
May be you should put a warning like “if you have intercostal neuralgia and are in a humourous mood don’t read” :). Your experience was so similar to mine that after the “little rabbit breath” bit I was cluching my side in pain with laughter. Each time I laughed my intercostal nerve gave me a punishing blow :) Very informative article THANKS
I have just been diagnosed with IN. But I am confused about it. Did any of you get little lumps everywhere around the ribs? I found a couple in the back area and a bunch in the fron area below my breast over the ribs. Doc says its IN. Please respond if you have the lumps also.
I didn’t have any lumps aside from knotted muscles. Is that what you mean? IN is just a fancy term for a pinched nerve as far as I understand, so maybe you should consider a second opinion. Let us know how it works out.
I have had it for 30 yrs after being thrown from a horse when I was 19. They first called it costo chondritis, an arthrtic condition because it was on both sides and it came and went. The past few years after a car accident in 2001 it stays and is constant and chronic. It doesnt give me a moment of peace and all that helps are high dosages of narcotics and ice. I had a trial for a pain stimulator last week which I am very unsure of. If I choose to have it , here comes another surgery. My pain is in the apex of my left rib. Now I am undecided about what to do. I have been disabled for 3 yrs and trying to collect dissability.
But have you tried a chiropractor? No surgery, and they actually fix the problem. Might take some doing after so long, and who knows how much the drugs & surgery have complicated the mess. Worth a shot though, isn’t it? Even if it means no more disability claim?
Hi mischiff. It has been a while. i still ahve the problem but not as bad anymore. I still do feel a few lumbs in the rib areas especially on the left but have been through so many doctors and they can’t really tell me what it is other than they think it is IN and many have said depression/anxiety is causing this so I have decided to give up asking them and figured if I haven’t been diagnosed at this point with anything critical I might as well just live with it. I did try pain management and they injected a spot where they thought was the problem between the ribs on my left side but that did not work and they also gave me lidoderm which are patches to relieve pain but it did not help. Maybe I am worrying to much so if anyone out there is experiencing the same from just worrying I am curious to know.
Hey guys, Rub vitamin E wheat germ oil (from a capsule) on the affected origin at yhe spine and along the irritate nerve to where the pain ends. Rub it in and until it gets hot, do this 3 times , It fixes you up, nearly instantly, for a few months. I have had the problem for years. It hits suddenly again after a few montsh aafter E therapy. so do it again. I got my advice from a book ‘Vitamin E Your Healthy and Ailing Heart’ by Dr. Shute of Canada. EJ
But Emmajo, why not go to a chiropractor and get the problem fixed rather than just treat the symptoms?