gbsb-
I talked to Super Joyce the wonder PT yesterday about a similar though not identical topic. First of all your PT should really listen to you. I mean, they're here to make you feel better, right?

Anyhow, she has told me that my wrist joints are so stiff that clearly I had a wrist injury a long time ago that never healed properly. And before she can really do much for my TOS she has to work on the wrist flexibility to even do a proper nerve glide. I asked her why it was that another PT wouldn't pick up on such a thing. And she said that some people are so busy looking at the global problem (In this case TOS), that they miss the little things. So I think what that translates to is that you need a PT who will examine your body for all its wrongs, if you will.

For instance, I personally think that the reason so many people with TOS have problems with circulation in their feet is that one of the things that lead to getting TOS was improper posture. If your hips and legs aren't aligned properly then your backs not aligned properly, then your shoulders aren't aligned properly and hey things start to moosh and smoosh in places where they're not supposed to, leading to nerve entrapment and RSI's.

One of the things that really sold me on Joyce the first time I saw her was she aligned my hips and then she started from the outside and worked in. She looked at my wrists and my feet and my general posture. I think she's dead on in thinking that these are all big contributors to my TOS and that they need to be fixed before she can work closer to the point where the entrapment is.

So I'm not 100% sure what the answer is for you but I do think that if the TENS isn't working for, you, certainly don't bother doing it at home. JO's idea that maybe the other kind of stim would work better is a good starting point. I didn't even know there were two kinds.

You could also try asking her exactly why she thinks the stim is so important and what did she think it's doing for you. If, like Jo said. One is for pain control and the other helps with calming nerves. Then maybe you can help her talk herself into the other kind of unit or at least not using the one she has you on. A good PT should be open to the fact that treatment modalities don't always work for everybody. Of course with TOS I think there are very few perfect PT's out there and that depending where you are, you might have to take the best you can get and try to make yourself as knowledgeable as possible to help them out. I am actually planning to go and talk to my first TOS PTs about why the PT didn't work so that maybe they'll be more open to different treatments in the future. Hopefully I'll save a little bit of pain for some other TOS sufferer down the line.

I hope some of this is helpful, I know it's not a real answer. Just sharing my thoughts hoping maybe it'll help you come up with the right answer for you.

Good luck.
Johanna