After reading your story the one thing that I find is that you are not going to the right kind of Physicians to help your back pain out. Do you see a pain management Doctor? Have you gone to a Neurologist or an Orthopedic Doctor that specializes in spines to get an MRI? You mention that you had a bone scan, was this a regular scan or was it an MRI or a CT?
I think that you need to go see the right specialists in order to get your pain and new symptoms sorted out. Take care and good luck to you.

I agree, good luck to you. I can also relate. I have had 3 MRIs. The 1st one showed that I had herniated discs L4 and l5 were inpinging on my nerve. (sorry if my spelling is off) my fault, I said I would do anything but surgery since I had just gone through a hysterectomy then in another surgery they took my ovaries out. !st of all, the doctors I saw should have thought about that being a cause since they cut into that area. Every doctor I see just looks right through me. Doesn't ever look me in the eye. 2nd MRI things had gottne a "little" worse. I was feeling "A LOT" of pain. We had this thing where we had to switch insurance because I'm on disability. That should also give them a big hint. Anyway, now I want something done about it. 3rd MRI came back. Nobody knows what to do with me and I believe they never did. They a were happy I didn't want surgery Well now I do. The 3rd MRI only says there were slight changes and they gave me exercises to do. Exercise? I can't even get out of the bed!! I am going to see yet another spine specialist who can't see me until the 25th of March. That's ok. I've been waiting and I can wait some more. I hope I like this one! he may be the one cutting into my back. I'm sorry Mijevans! I just needed to get that off my chest. I sure hope your pain gets fixed. I hope and pray it does. I really do. NOBODY should have to go through this! If you want to I would love to talk to you on here. Let me know how Your doing. I am so sorry your pain is so debilitating. Take good care of you self and stand up to those ******
Doctors. Bye for now!

Luckily I do have a pain management doctor - he's the one who gives me prolotherapy injections for my lower back pain. He's the one who suggested the rheumatologist because my x-ray showed osteoarthritis. It was the rheumatologist that ordered the bone scan (the only helpful thing he did) - it was a regular scan where they inject you with radioactive dye to see where bone mass is growing. You're right- I am thinking orthopedic doctor - I need a specialist who knows bones! It's just insanely frustrating sometimes.

I have had constant thoracic pain,every day for almost 8 years now. I began seeing a new pain specialist in August last year and he sent me for an MRI which shows an impinged nerve and bulging disc in my back. I recently saw him and the physio who works in his practise and it was explained to me that even though I have pain in my ribs which radiates around into my back,like a knife twisting and burning pain. It has been there since the open gallbladder op on 27th June,2002 and I have had pain constantly everday since. It was explained to me that it is normal that I could be getting the pain in the front in the ribs,depending on what happened in theatre. All I know is that I am fed up with chronic pain and the hard road that it makes us travel. I hope you find the answer. I haven't given up on finding out what is going with me. I have seen private pain specialists,pain management clinic,a surgeon,had nerve blocks,surgery and all have failed. My only hope now is with my present pain specialist who has now put my name down for Radiofrequency. Good luck with it

OH MY GOD! I was just getting on here to post and ask if anyone has ever heard of this. I have the SAME ribcage problem!!! It started a month ago and I call them "ribcage attacks".

I've been in this forum for over a year now due to 10 years struggling with spondylolisthesis in my lumbar spine.

Well, I woke up one night a month, month 1/2 ago, thinking I was having a heart attack. I chewed aspirin and if we had had health insurance at the time I would have dialed 911 for an ambulance. But I waited and woke up a little more and then I realized--these were not female heart attack symptoms; it simply felt like my entire ribcage was in a vice.

The 2nd time it happened, it was afternoon and I got to feel the thing slowly coming on. The closest thing I could find to the symptoms on the internet is a condition called Costochondritis, but that centers around the sternum, whereas I felt like I was going to push a baby out one of my thoracic vertebrae.

We just got health insurance, so I went to a Dr. I told him about the ribcage attacks, worried that he'd say I must have fibromyalgia. He believes it must be a T-something problem and is sending my this Friday for an MRI.

Now I am like you--I think it must be a nerve thing, like my lumbar nerve inflammation.

Have you considered a neurosurgeon? My ultimate goal is to get to see the one in my city who fixed my friend's back--she had the same lumbar problem. (He is not in our current network but we can enroll in a PPO he is in later.) Numerous accounts on this forum and the testimonies of personal friends who have had back surgeries have convinced me that what I really need is not yet another orthopedist, but a neurosurgeon.

Well I was pleasantly surprised by my pain doctor today - he actually listened and did a fluoroscopic x-ray of my T9-T10 vertebrae and confirmed that the T10 vertebrae shows definite signs of degeneration which is a very probably of cause rib cage pain. So he injected me with steroids to see if that settles it down. Hopefully I'll get some relief - won't know for about a week. So screw that rheumatalogist and his "it's difficult to tell" attitude and bigs hugs to the pain specialist. It was nice to be heard, diagnosed and treated (fingers crossed that it works!).

GIRL!!! time for new dr's tipper is right get a pain management specialist and an ortho who specialize in the spine. You also should see a neuro, the pain you are describing is more then likely neurologic. We chronic pain patients have to be more demanding of the dr's if they do not want to help or are useless when it comes to your suffering then let them know you are giving them the boot. You deserve to have your health taken seriously and deserve some pain control. Start seeing new doc's and do not stop until you have found one who will listen to you and work with you to find a regiment of drugs, theraphy and whatever you find works well for you. Oh and by all means find one with a better bedside manner, at least one that is warm blooded!!

I can relate to the mid back pain and rib involvement. It is way worse of an attack of pain than most of my back pains and I have them from top to bottom of my spine.

If you research surgery in the thoracic spine, you'll probably be shocked as I was. I can understand why surgeons don't want to operate there. Only the most skilled neurosurgeon who specializes in the spine should consider it.

I'm against back surgery unless it's an emergency to save nerve function. I have compressed nerves that are damaged beyond repair now, but they aren't affecting the functions that are vital to life.

From what I see, once the surgeon starts operating on the spine, there's going to be more surgery in the future. I don't want to get that train rolling till I have to.