LittleBlonde,

Sorry to hear that you're dealing with this at such a young age.

Questions for you:
Do you have a cervical rib?
What form of TOS do they think you have?

Recovery varies person to person. People who are diagnosed with vascular (arterial or venous) TOS, tend to recover quicker and better than those with the neurogenic form. Also, how people acquire TOS seems to be indicative of how they fair after surgery.

My experience: TOS arose after a car accident. I couldn't use the arm from day one and was diagnosed at 9 months post MVA with TOS. It continued downhill from diagnosis despite conservative treatment (conservative treatment made me worse). I opted for surgery 10 months later. I stayed off work for 5 1/2 weeks and returned to work on a reduced schedule over a two week period. Post op pain gradually decreased and I was able to do more and more with the arm. It took a good 1 1/2 years for my hand function to fully recover. My situation is not common as it arose due to a MVA and not through repetitive motion.