[Daine]

HI All,

I am new here and a little intimidated by the excellent, in-depth site you have. Not very techy so hopefully I can figure out how to use the tools here. I had a bad fall a few months back, dislocated my shoulder, and have a BPI injury (left upper trunk brachial plexopathy). The shoulder wasn't reduced for seven hours (too many things to tell right now). I live in the NW US and need some recommedations on who to see for diagnosis and treatment. Does anyone know if the U of W Physical Medicine Dept is good for this? I could write a book about the bumbling treatment I have had so far. Due to a history of a brain tumor, I do not want CT of any kind, and just found out MRI may be a problem due to the supposedly titanium stuff in my head getting magnetized in MRI's and causing heating, thus making that not a wise choice either. I have read ultrasound is used in Europe to image the brachial plexus--anyone heard of this? My main problem is pain in my neck, across top of shoulders, scapular area, pectoral area, armpit, inside upper arm, upper forearm, and hand pain with more use. My wrist has a very weird appearance--it is getting larger and looks swollen, particualrly on the inside. The arms has a heavy feel and sometimes feels like it isn't getting any oxygen or has a tourniquet around it. Friends who haven't seen me for a while are asking what is wrong with my wrist. I have pretty good function, except lifting the arm, and get pain when using the arm out from the body. Not sure where to go from here. I have seen two orthopedists, a neuro who just did the EMG, a chiro, and several PT's. Any recommendations? I quit PT because the pain really ramped up a few weeks ago in my neck and mid-upper back when trying to lift a dowel stick over my head in a lying down position. I am also wondering if TENS ramps things up. Due to the dislocation and wearing a gunslinger brace for seven weeks, I also have a frozen shoulder. So, several issues going on but the one I am most concerned about is the brachial plexus issue. How would you recommend I proceed? Can you recommend any good practitioners in the NW? Thanks for any input--much appreciated!

Daine

PS: I am confused about BPI and TOS--are they the same thing?