Hi Mike,

I am another one that has RSD and TOS. Mine starting with TOS. I had the same thing that most have talked about here. I could control the blood flow in my arm - whether my arm was up or down... I didn't have a pulse with my arms up.

I ended up having rib resection surgery to create more area in the thoracic outlet for blood flow. That's how I got RSD.

The surgery is not an easy one and is considered major surgery. If I had RSD and thought I had TOS, there is no way I would have the surgery to remove that extra rib unless I had no pulse in my arm and I would eventually lose it because of loss of blood... The surgery is that painful and hard to recover from.

BTW, I still have the dead arms in the middle of the night - they fall asleep. I still have the issues with my arm. I also sleep with my arms around a pillow. Even with the surgery - yeh there is blood flow, but the damage is still done.

If I were in your position, I would see the vascular surgeon - but be prepared that they are surgeons. Meaning, they lean toward surgery. But, I would want to know the severity of the situation and if you could do more damage - whatever your situation turns out being.

I would caution though with having any surgery with RSD - especially something so major.