Chest & sternum cartilage - popping, tightness, pain

I've had this going on for years and have yet to have the issue resolved, despite several visits to different doctors and clinics. I've scoured the internet for information since these days I am uninsured and can't see a specialist, and everything I've seen and read has been depressingly non-helpful. My doctor gave me some strong NSAIDs and told me to heat pack / ice pack a few times a day and it'd go away in a couple weeks, yet despite keeping up on this for months (minus refills on the NSAIDs), it has been incredibly persistent. The most debilitating factor is that I can't do any full body exercises (squats included) without aggravating it and causing minor pain and severe popping in the sternum. It feels similar to popping knuckles and while it isn't much of a nuisance since the pain isn't severe, I know I'm not doing myself any favors if I continue to make it worse. So it's been about 6 months since I've done any real exercising outside of sit ups and cardio. I'm taking glucosamine as it's allegedly supposed to help rebuild injured cartilage, but everything I've seen in studies shows that it's not more helpful than a placebo (was worth the $13 anyway). In my internet research, I've discovered hundreds of people who've reported nearly identical symptoms, but I've never seen anything promising that points to recovery. Mine came on around the time I started doing Judo/Jiu Jitsu. Has anyone here suffered/recovered from this? I've heard it called costochondritis (that is what my doc diagnosed me with), but I've also heard that costochondritis is a general term that doctors use for any problems involving muscular/skeletal pain in the chest, even though there are many different individual problems that this pain can point to.

Haha well at least people are reading. Kunk the NSAIDs help you out? What kind do you take, Naproxen, Ibuprofen?