mystery pain

[elcentro]

I am not sure I am in the right category here.  But, I am at wit's end.  My doctor thinks I'm nuts and I am sure my insurance company would like to "dump" me.
I had 3 very serious, long-term respiratory episodes, each lasting 3 months or more, in the course of 1 1/2 years.  With each one, I was certain I was going to die.  I live in a southwestern desert area and finally decided I had coccycidioidomycosis.  Doctors always only prescribed moderate strength antibiotics and then finally a nebulizor.  Nothing much helped, and time finally healed me (sort of).  For the last 9 months I have a pain that radiates from my back, somewhere in the vacinity of my lower ribs (left side) then through and through to the vacinity of my lower front ribs (same side)  At best, it feels like pleurisy and sometimes like there is a "catch" in my rib cage.  I had a test for coccy - negative; an x ray for pneumonia, coccy, anything - normal; most recently a CT scan - still negative.  Don't know if it has anything to do with it, but for more than 10 years I have had the burning muscle aches and total body fatigue I read about in post viral syndrome.  I have never found a doctor that could help with that, so I eat Advil and sleep as much as I can.......... but life requires going to work, and this lung pain (or what ever the heck it is) is just about the last straw.

Any body got any ideas as to where or how I might research this trunk pain thing.

[elcentro]

Thanks Chris-
One doc, about 15 years ago, ran me through days of testing. She couldn't find anything except an extremely elevated aldalaze (a hormone produced by extreme muscle exertion) I am by no means an exercise extremist.  But, at the suggestion of a physical therapist, she put me on 10 mg of amitryptaline at night.  I had then and have now days when I can't lift my arms to even comb my hair without pain.  If the amitryptoline helps at all, I am terrified to stop taking it.  I have the classic signs of fibromyalgia, but after 15 years of different doctors visits, none will actually say the word.  What do they prescribe for fibromyalgia these days.  Maybe I will just request we try some other course of action.

Thanks for your reply
elcentro

[chris1226]

I know this might sound far fetched but you said mucle aches and fatigue?? Have you been checked for fibromyalgia? I to have had pain in the rib region and around to the back for years ...Every kind of test done but nothing ever found. Mine is on the right side though. Two years ago I started in with muscle aches and fatigue to where i could not even get outta bed. I was sent back through a series of tests that concluded I had fibromyalgia. They do not now what causes it other then they say at some point in the persons life they have had some kind of trauma somewhere in there body. I know it sounds crazy...but true. Mine was a broken neck a few years ago! Well good luck i hope you can find relief somewhere...God Bless,  chris