Jocelyn,

Thanks for the reply.

I did sift through your thread. That's great you're doing so well.

I've spent about 18 months getting jerked around by incompetant doctors while my symptoms have slowly increased. I spent the first few months with orthos who thought I had rotator cuff/labrum issues. Nope. Then neurosurgeons, neurologists (who should be ashamed of themselves for not at least thinking outside the box that TOS could be a possibility), and even physiatrists. If it wasn't for my ulnar nerve blowing up around thanksgiving, I don't think TOS would have even been on the radar (and, I would have had unnecessary shoulder surgery as well...unreal).

Anyways, reading through your thread about your experience and others, it seems like if all goes well, most are well on their way to recovery after a couple months. Maybe three at most. That's great to hear.

What I'm not seeing is results six, twelve, two years out. So for example, if you've been an athelete, can you go back to being an athelete? I'm curious about the end state. I can deal with three months of pain and discomfort. I just want to know if I can live my life the way I want (without being foolish of course).

Also, my symptoms are not as harsh as others. I have occassional scapular burning and my elbow flares up. Additionally, these symptoms have diminished quite a bit since I started stretching my scalenes. I'm not sure if this puts me in a better position for surgery or what. Or maybe, I'm just at the beginning stages of TOS and because of the condition of the subclavian artery and the presence of a bruit, maybe it's only a matter of time before serious compression hits and I'm at risk for the more severe symptoms.

Oh, and I have bilateral ATOS as well. The right side is much more significant than the left.

Thanks.

KY