i was all set to have my surgery in 2006. my surgeon was a bona fide tos surgeon and came well recommended. i started asking this doc more questions, and did not get intelligent answers. i cancelled the surgery. later on i had the test where they raise up ur arm and it turns blue. (this surgeon did not perform that test.) my arm did not turn blue. (my tos is much less severe than most of the folks on this site.)

the surgeon you describe sounds awful. hardly any of them have a good bedside manner, and they don't really know a lot outside their very narrow specialty. i hope u find a doctor who will not just pass you off like a football.

it always helps me to have some kind of goal for myself that works as a light at the end of the tunnel (wrap your troubles in dreams). it could be something as simple as "i want to learn finger painting to keep my mind off the pain". we all heal better if we can learn to manage the stress of being ill.