Hi Caladium! I have seen Dr. Sanders for a lengthy eval, and have spoken with him a couple of times over the phone; I have NOT had surgery done by him, so I can't speak to that experience. I will say that I don't recall him discussing medications with me at all, and also don't recall anything about "wind up"; my PM doc is very experienced with TOS, knows Dr. Sanders, and is the one who referred me to him (we are in the Denver area), and he's never hesitated to prescribe meds for my TOS, such as Lyrica, Cymbalta, and various pain meds. Dr. Sanders is not my prescribing doc; however, I do know he recommends Feldenkrais therapy (I went to a therapist on his recommendation) and I also know he uses a TENS unit extensively for post op pain control. I checked his web page again, and he doesn't mention anything about meds for non-surgical treatment. Interesting! I'll look over his report on me, and see if he recommends anything other than surgery (I actually called to ask for the therapy referral, as I was--and am--attempting to avoid surgery).

This is my very limited knowledge, and it will probably be of very little help...sorry! I hope someone with more experience with Dr. Sanders will be able to chime in here!

As a side note, I have also seen a neurosurgeon for my TOS and cervical disk problems, who has never advised against pain meds or muscle relaxants (I wasn't taking Lyrica at the time, so I don't know his opinion on that)...so I think you can probably feel safe with your doc's recommendations. I'm sure they all have differing opinions on what works best...but it's an individual thing for all of us!

Take care, and hope you get some more definitive input!
Donna