Quote:
Originally Posted by starfish43
Thank you Onelessrib, I am glad to have opportunity to learn from your story
I just wonder if I don't have pain now at 6 mos, does that bode well for not having pain in a year or two or longer. I don't understand how I can have a problem so extensive that they are willing to operate on me, but yet I don't have very many symptoms. It varies from day-to-day, but compared with what I see most people with TOS posting, I can't even call what I have pain.
Odd sensations and discomfort, sometimes. So I'm thinking, how is surgery justified in this case? Unless they think I'm going to be in way worse shape should my vein shut down? Does anyone know? It's a little frustrating because I can't find information on this. Virtually everyone posting online seems to have the pain that accompanies the neurogenic form of TOS.
It is uncomfortable for me to type for long periods, but once I get up and away from using a computer, I feel pretty okay. So all I know is they think I have venous TOS but they don't think it's the cause of the tingling in my arms and the other minor symptoms. Surgery just sounds like a really extreme solution at this point, for a problem that I can't even see the extent of it.
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Starfish,
Your descriptions sound similar to what I went through before I opted for surgery for arterial TOS. I am six months post op and glad I did it. My arm feels so much better and alive. I had surgery for severe nTOS on the other side eight years ago and yes, the symptoms are different. That time, the pain was horrible, my hand had clawed up, the hand and forearm had significant atrophy, etc. The same surgeon did both sides.
From my own experience, you may not realize the full extent of symptoms you are dealing with as you're dealing with the stuff on a day-to-day basis. They originally diagnosed me 4 years ago but said it was my decision when and if I opted for surgery. I eventually returned due to the progression of symptoms. What I didn't expect was the vascular conditions (impact on the artery and vein) to worsen so severely.