Roman,

I am six months post op and 8 years on the other side. If the downturn just happened recently, then it might be from doing too much. A few weeks ago, I was fearing the worst as my pain was unlike anything I'd experienced since the 1st side developed TOS nearly 10 years ago. For me, this recovery was fairly easy compared to the other side except I've had several incidents, including a new car accident 6 weeks post op, that caused me set backs. I will not be surprised if this side doesn't fair as well as the other side due to all the setbacks.

For me, my recent downturn turned out to be from the impact of a whiplash coupled with working 7 days a week, 16+ hours a day for many weeks. I started seeing a medical massage therapist and my doctor did some injections hoping the flare could be calmed down. The massage turned out to be a very good idea. There is someone else on the board who had a repeat surgery last summer who posted awhile back that he started doing massage and acupuncture and has finally seen some improvement. His screen name is brmr19 and he posted in January about his progress. The massage isn't a spa type massage. The massage therapist focuses in on the area involved and was better at calming down the situation than the physical therapist.

What works for one person may not work for another. You might need to see the surgeon again; or consider seeing another TOS surgeon.