Well, new test result from Dr. Donahue at Mass General. He called today post CT Scan result. The findings were surprising to me. Originally, Dr Donahue had hypothesized that I had an abnormal scalene insertion. Nope. The finding:

* Elongated transverse process, on both sides, but more prominent on the right.
* Transverse process on the right seems to have fused with the first rib.

Dr Donahue suspects that this is putting the pressure on the scalene muscle which is compressing the subclavian artery and creating the symptoms.

On one hand, kind of a bummer. In reading these boards, this finding could potentially put me in a first rib removal down the road. On the other hand, it's good to finally know once and for all what the deal is after 2 years.

All that said, Dr Donahue doesn't even want to pursue the CT guided botox injection at this time. My symptoms have diminished dramatically since all the scalene stretching in April to the point where maybe I hit a 1 or 1.5 on a 1 to 10 pain scale. We're going to regroup in the fall and see where we are. Right now, surgery is not really an option. Things would have to reverse direction in a big way.

I really hope this all was a case of a) boney abnormility making me predisposed + b) excessive repetitive stress due to resistance training in the gym + c) creation of forward posture, tight anterior muscles...and now, I'm unwinding this due to stretching.

KY