Dee - Doctor Update

Friday, I went to the doctor as a follow-up to my ER visit. The doctor is treating me for viral pleuritis or intercostal muscle spasms(costochondritis/Tietze's Syndrome).

The treatment is the same for both. I am currently on a Medrol dose pack for one week. I will follow-up with my doctor on Feb 22nd, if the symptoms do not resolve.

I feel it is probably the viral pleuritis. This is caused by the coxsackie B virus and I have been plagued with what I thought were cold sores, which could be hand,foot and mouth disease.

Pleurisy is an inflammation of the tissues, pleura, surrounding the lungs and lining the rib cage. It is marked by severe chest pain, which can be especially pronounced if someone is breathing hard from exertion. Chest x-ray can confirm diagnosis, though sometimes diagnosis is confirmed by ruling out other causes of chest pain like angina, as pleurisy is not always easy to visualize, even with advanced x-ray technology. Other causes of pleuritic chest pain, such as pulmonary emboli and pneumonia, need to be considered and sometimes ruled out with testing. Treatment is symptomatic, with oral NSAIDs or a short course of oral opioids if needed.

Costochondritis is an inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone (sternum). It causes sharp pain in the costosternal joint — where your ribs and breastbone are joined by rubbery cartilage. Pain caused by costochondritis may mimic that of a heart attack or other heart conditions.
Your doctor might refer to costochondritis by other names, including chest wall pain, costosternal syndrome and costosternal chondrodynia. When the pain of costochondritis is accompanied by swelling, it's referred to as Tietze syndrome.
Most cases of costochondritis have no apparent cause. In these cases, treatment focuses on easing your pain while you wait for costochondritis to resolve on its own.