It's Hard, But Don't Lose Hope!

I've been dealing with costochondritis/tietze syndrome since April of this year (which I believe was caused by a two-month coughing fit probably related to stomach issues I had in January combined with my less than ideal posture. 😅 It's been a year!) and it has been awful- but I just wanted to say that it does get better.

I'm not healed, not yet. I have a lot of ups and downs due to occasional poor sleep and certain foods seeming to aggravate my inflammation and pain. I've been in the clutches of rampant cardiophobia thanks to this condition and even though I know it logically is nothing to do with my heart, sometimes I still get that fear in my head. But I am also a sight better than I was when I first got diagnosed and much of it is thanks to the advice on this subreddit and most of all from Steve August!

I know the feeling of just wanting it to be over. I feel it myself, especially right now as I'm laying on the heating pad at 10 am after a night of crummy sleep. But I also look back on how I was when I was first diagnosed and I see the improvement between then and now. The backpod helps! As does a dtfr! And so do stretches, and fixing your posture! And eating better food and taking care of yourself! I'm sure massages and physical therapy do as well, but I admittedly have yet to try these for myself as I have some wicked social anxiety. 😅

It's a hard and long road, and it isn't linear either. But the advice given here isn't baseless. It's true that not all of it may work for you, but it is worth giving everything a try to see what does and doesn't help you. And I promise, some things WILL help you. It gets better. We'll get better.