Peaswink -

The cervical rib will definitely pre-dispose you to TOS. Something else (lifting a 4 month old) probably triggered the onset. Your description of the cramping sounds familiar to me although, in my case, I just couldn't grip anything. At first, it was a sharp pain as I tried to grab something - I remember reaching to pull lasagna out of the oven, experienced a bad shot of pain and dropped the lasagna on the floor. It was for a family gathering and we had to order pizza . . . By the time I went for surgery (20 months post MVA that triggered TOS), I had lost the use of the hand/arm. I couldn't grip a pen, fork, knife, etc.

For me, surgery was a huge relief. Surgery doesn't work for everyone but it may help relieve some symptoms. Definitely seek a 2nd opinion and inquire about the surgical outcomes before going that route.

It's good that you found a doctor who recognized the symptoms.