Costochondritis and Coccidioidomycosis

Try to say that five times fast!

I appear to have costochondritis now. Man, it hurts. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to push the lever on the toaster. It hurts to do anything with my right side. And there’s nothing I can do except for not doing the things that exacerbate the pain and take an anti-inflammatory.

I had coccidioidomycosis as a child. Most people growing up in the desert southwest do at some point. I don’t remember it. What it means to me now is that when I have a chest x-ray, as I did this morning to rule out other conditions for the costchondritis diagnosis, I need to make sure the history of coccidioidomycosis is noted and the radiologist reading the x-ray is aware of it. Otherwise, they might freak out and think I have TB or something. Coccidioidomycosis leaves little scars all over the lungs that can be mistaken for other, more serious medical issues.

I'd really like a do-over for this week.

Time for more Vitamin I.