Dishonesty about recovery times
 

Hi folks,
it's been awhile since I posted. It's been 15 months since my 1st rib resection A/VTOS. Due to have the other side done also but I have cancelled that one. The surgery has been far too intrusive.
WHY OH WHY...... are consultants/doctors NOT HONEST about the length of time that it takes to recover from this sort of surgery. I am still unable to do any light jogging and have absolutely no strength to do any kind of push up!!!!!!!!!! I attempted 10 mins VERY SLOW PACED JOG with ample gentle stretching the other day only to be left with an extremely tight neck which triggered a headache and sore tenderness around my scarring and collarbone region. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING.:mad: My surgeon certainly didn't fill me in truthfully about the rate of recovery, in fact he very much down played it, as if I should be up and running in a few months! HA..... as if.
Anyway grumble over.
Take it nice and easy people.:grouphug:

dishonest or ignorant or denial?
 

Hi SD, I have to agree with some of what you said - and disagree about the rest.

Some Dr's may be totally ignorant of recovery times because they don't understand how each individual with TOS is unique and will have a unique recovery. Heck, they may not even understand TOS, but are willing to operate anyway.

Other Dr's may see your problem as 'fixed' in order to please the insurance companies. A successful surgery may not mean a complete return to normal activities. It may mean an improvement or an end to the progression of symptoms.

But when I read your expectation of jogging!?!? Pushups!!!??? :eek: While it's my hope that someday you can return to these exercises, I'm afraid the reality of it is that you do yourself more harm by trying to resume them. Jogging = percussive pounding on your body, especially at the clavicles which are like shock absorbers for the upper body. Pushups = too much pressure on all the chest/arm structures.

Find another way to exercise for now. Walking, stretching, etc. My opinion... do NOTHING to aggrivate the thoracic spine, cervical spine, nreves (no accupuncture) and arm/chest muscles. You may try to test these muscles after a few years of being gentle with them, and if you have no symptoms - try a little more.


Patience, everyone
Anne

Yes, we all recover at diff rates. Given how intrusive the surgery can be, year recover at a MINIMUM. No weights, no running. Baby your body.

Everybody is different & surgeons outcomes vary too.:(
I do think they need to be more honest about full recovery times and not just say the surgical recovery time frame...:(

Maybe something else is involved, or was missed, or the side not done yet is the culprit of ongoing pain and affects all.

I would forget about push ups completely and find other ways to gently tone up. But with only 1 side done you don't want to worsen the side not done yet.

SD38 -
I'm sorry you are having such a tough time right now. :-( It's so frustrating to feel so limited - it never ceases to amaze me that muscle/tone that takes months to build can deteriorate in a few weeks, and then you have to start all over again. I feel like such a wuss when I'm at PT and using half-pound weights or a resistance band totally wears me out. I imagine you'd expected to be at least "normal" 15 months into recovery, if not back to being fit, and I can imagine how frustrated (and saddened) you are.

My surgeon and my PT both told me that when the time comes (and I'm only 8 weeks into recovery at this point, so it'll be awhile yet) that I can start working back into "jarring" activities, like jogging, to expect to have to take baby steps - maybe only a minute at a time, building up really slowly. Instead of starting an exercise program the way a "regular" person (i.e. person w/o TOS and who didn't have to recover from surgery) would, we might have to start it the way an invalid would - little bitty baby steps.

Every individual and every TOS surgery is different, and recovery times vary greatly - I mean, Chris Carpenter is already pitching again, and he had surgery 2 weeks before I did! But for most of us it will take longer, especially if we are thinking of "recovery" as "A return to everything I could do before I was drastically affected by TOS" rather than "A return to what I could do pre-surgery" which is usually what is meant by "recovery."

I hope that, on a day to day basis at least, your surgery has improved the quality of life you had presurgery. I know for me, while I cannot yet do all the activities I want to do, my surgery has at least resulted in management of my condition - I can work now, when I couldn't before, for instance. I know it can be hard to hold on to that kind of thought as time passes, and 15 months is a long time - but how long ago was it that you wouldn't even have considered trying to jog? ;-)

If your surgery did not help you at all, then I am doubly sorry. Hang in there.

Some excellent points guys.... many thanks to all. I guess I forgot that TOS doesn't clear up ( for me anyway ):rolleyes: Prehaps I am expecting too much of myself and your comments were a good reminder for me to be more mindful of my body. BABY STEPS!!!!!! :grouphug:

I understand how you feel. I am only at my 3rd week of recovery and not being able to go out for more than 2 hours at a time is frustrating and hard to do but I have to keep telling myself baby steps. Still having trouble sleeping especially if I over exert myself doing things around the house. It is so difficult taking it slow...it is just not me. Then my spouse reminds me its my road to a new me with less pain then before. If only I could stop myself when I "forget" that I must SLOW DOWN!

Amber
:grouphug: