Yes, indeed, it is an affliction.   I don’t care what the doctors say and what the stupid websites say, this is a chronic condition, and it lasts more than a bloody month and it is NOT one and done.   

It’s called Tietze’s syndrome  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tietze_syndrome).   It translates to  “OW!” or “oh, shit, I think I”m having a heart attack!”   It mimics the symptoms of a heart attack, and yes, I had all the tests done, and my heart is quite healthy.  It’s my cartilage that isn’t.   It’s been several weeks since a flare up and I thought things were all under control. I was wrong.   It flared this weekend, sudden, flaring pain in my chest, my arms, my shoulders.   My ribs hurt.   It hurts to move.  

I have stuff to do, I don’t, as the current cute, overused phrase got, “got time for that!”   Well, the laundry got done.   A few other things got done.   No walking, no playing outside, one poor bored dog has been really good, even though I know he’s wondering why we haven’t gone anywhere or done anything for a couple days and why Mom is lying on the sofa with the heating pad.   

I’ve been doing a lot of reading about this today.   There are a lot more people with this affliction than I realized.   It seems that no one is really looking for a cure, and while there are lots of posts from people recommending various OTC things, and strange herbs and things I’ve never heard of, there isn’t much of anything I would trust other than ibuprofen and heat.  Or cold, apparently that works for some people, but it makes my pain worse.   

Strangely, knowing that other people have the same symptoms as I do makes it easier to bear them.