So, I’ve had a persistent cold with a bad cough. A couple of nights ago, I coughed really hard and found myself with excruciating chest pain to the point that I thought I was having a heart attack. After a late night trip to the emergency room, I was diagnosed not with a heart attack, but with something called acute costochondritis. My understanding is that this is essentially inflammation of where the ribs connect to the sternum. I was given Norco pain relievers and told that the only thing that I can do is rest and it will go away on its own in due time. And that’s where the catch 22 comes in.
If I remain relatively still, the pain isn’t too bad, but if I cough, it’s about the most painful thing I’ve ever felt in my life. And while I am somewhat able to control my cough when I’m awake, when I fall asleep I will inevitably cough forcibly at some point which feels like I’m being stabbed in the chest.
So, now it’s been about 36 hours and I haven’t slept for more than three hours tops. I’m completely exhausted My only two options appear to be extreme sleep deprivation or excruciating pain. I’ve spoken to a few people who have gone through something similar but nobody seems to have any advice at all on how to get through this. I know that the best thing for healing is rest. I also know that every time I rest, I seem to only make things worse.
So I turn to the minds of the Straight Dope. Does anyone have any advice whatsoever on how to get through this while retaining my sanity? Thanks in advance.
ISTM clearing up the cold solves both your problems. Next best is suppressing the coughing and better yet, the excess lung secretions causing your cough.
What cough suppressive meds are you taking? Can you get more effective ones from a doc than you get OTC? What meds are you taking for the cold? Are you sure it’s a “cold” and not something else more exciting like COVID or bacterial pneumonia or …
They told me that the Norco pain medication is also a cough suppressant and said I could take Robitussin DM, which has lessened, but not stopped the cough. The cold itself seems pretty much gone for the most part, except the lingering cough. And yeah, no particular excitement - I was tested for Covid, RSV and the Flu, as well as given a chest Xray to check for Pneumonia and an EKG.
If it’s dry where you’re located (as is common this time of year, at least in the northern hemisphere), you might consider a humidifier to relieve the coughing. I recently got a hygrometer and was surprised to find the relative humidity as low as 25% at night inside my house. Adding some moisture back to the air really helps.
Is there a reason they didn’t recommend an NSAID? Those can be great for this kind of pain if you’re not contraindicated.
I often recommend a small pillow or folded towel to people with rib fractures. Hold firmly against the painful area before a cough minimize the flexion. Not perfect, but can help.
Sorry, I neglected to add that they told me to take Advil along with the Norco. I asked about Aleive and they said it was better to max the dosage of Advil (800mg, 3 times a day), but for no more than 3 days tops.
My costochondritis came along with left arm pain. For all the world I thought I was having a heart attack. It took a few weeks to calm down.
Wasn’t coughing though. Extra antiinflammatorues. I spent the time repeating the mantra “you’re not having a heart attack” and breathing exercises during a critical work period - implementing a new system.
The stress may have been part of it, also RA, so inflammation happens. That was a weird one though. ER trip, full cardiac workups to rule it out.
One of my doctors had a kinda accusatory tone “why did you get that!” I don’t know, it just started up.
Been 5 years, hasn’t happened again.
I appreciate all the input from everyone. I was able to get about 6 solid hours of sleep for the first time last night. Felt like I was doing much better, until a cough brought me to my knees. I can see this isn’t going to be over in a mere couple of days.