Hi Shannon,

Welcome. Your story is very similar to mine. 1st whiplash injury, seen physio/chiro for 6 years then finally got to see a very good Dr who send me for doppler ultrasound tests and MRI which showed I had TOS. I also have C5/6/7 disc protrusion with nerve entrapment. I also have a set of cervical ribs although they are only a partial set, not a full set. They caused no problems until my whiplash/neck injury. I get the purple / swollen hands and severe headaches everyday. I also experience facial pain everyday, similar to sinus pain.

I have been medically retired form work (Im from Australia, different terms in USA). I spent 4 hours with a Dr last year and then was told I would never work again. Currently the insurance company is pushing for me to have both the TOS and neck conditions operated on. If they could tell me I would be 100% cured I would go with it, but what Iv heard with statistics there are no guarantees I would feel better. I, like you, hate the thought of having surgery, I am absolutely terrified (beyond belief!!!) so I know where your coming from. Good luck with it all and keep us posted. I encourage you to ask as many questions as you can. There are some very well informed people here (I found more info here than from all the Dr's iv ever seen!)

Ozzy