I think my surgery did not work because of scar tissue. There was about a three week period where I started to feel a little better following surgery (after a horrendous 2 month recovery) and then the window just closed. I had an MRI of my brachial plexus 8 months after surgery to see why I was still having so many problems. The MRI showed moderate scarring on my brachial plexus and it was still in the process of forming. Scott Werden in SF did my MRI and he's done hundreds for people with TOS.

So maybe I was simply unlucky. I had PT immediately following surgery and I was a motivated patient. My nerve symptoms have gotten progressively worse and my headaches and migraines are worse, too. I can't really explain it.

I do know that when I first started reading the TOS forum on Braintalk in 2003, I thought a lot of the "lifers" were just whiners. I'm ashamed to admit it now, but I did think they were overly identified with their conditions. But it's 8 years later and I'm still here.

Don't give up hope. If you're able to manage your pain with some adjustments at work and some changes in behavior that's great. I have way too much pain, take way too much pain medication for my comfort and it's still poorly managed. But I still have a good life with a great family. But it's a really different life from the one I had before.

One thing I've learned from this is that I'm not in control. This is the new normal. I need to adjust and make peace with it because it's not going away just because I want it to.

You'll figure this out. Try not to get too far ahead of yourself -- which I know can be really hard. Hang in there.