Visiting L.A/ Dr. Jordan/TOS?
 

Hi I've been browsing here for the past few months after a year of scouring the internet trying to find out what my condition was. I apoloize for this long post but I would really like to hear some feedback. Here's my story:

I began to have pain in my right thumb about 4-5 years ago, which I attributed to heavy mouse use, as I sit and work at a desk all day. I began alternating between right and left hand when using the mouse to alleviate some of th pain. Consequently, my left thumb began to hurt.
After a few months, the pain spread to my index, middle and sometimes my ring fingers, on both sides. Of course I immediately thought of carpal tunnel.
The pain was still manageable so I "worked" through it and began stretching and massaging my fingers often (strangely, there was no pain in my wrists).

This went on for about a year until my son was born and I developed golfer's elbow (both sides) which I attributed to picking up my son frequently. I had a cortisone shot in my left elbow which cleared it up but was ineffective in my right. After a few months and some research, decided to try prolotherapy on my right elbow, which was very effective. Had an MRI done through this point which a slight compression in cervical spine but nothing significant enough to warrant the kind of pain I was having with my hands. Was prescribed and began taking neurontin along with deep tissue massage and accupuncture but nothing helped much.

However, a month after that I developed a compression in my ulnar nerve (right), which left my ring and pinky with numbness and pins and needles. Did a lot of stretching exercises to no avail.

Beginning in 2014, boths arms (biceps and forearms) were getting numb with pins and needles, especially when I've been on the comuter for an extended period of time. Left side was more severe. It seems that sitting with my arms extended in front of me is the worst position. Had and EMG (clean) and elbow MRI which showed slight ulnar compression. I'm now using a mouse with the pad on my lap as this is the most comfortable position. Typing this difficult and all 10 fingers have shooting pain along with pins and needles.

I've also had a clicking left shoulder for as long as I can remember but only recently has it been hurting. The clicking occurs when I rotate it or move it back and forth.

I've been to 7 doctors here in Korea and no one seems to be able to diagnose my problem. Over the years, my pain has been spreading upward from my fingers to my arms and now my left shoulder.

Having read your posts and doing some research, I suspected it might be TOS or perhaps pec minor syndrome as my chest has some numbness as well. I've been doing a lot of stretches for this and it has heled minimally.

Finally to the point: I will be in L.A on vacation and decided to see Dr. Sheldon Jordan for consultation to see if he can shed some light on this.
1. Do you think he's the right shoice given my symptoms?
2. Is there another Dr. you think I should see? I'm reluctant to see a surgeon since it seems their first instinct is to go for surgery.
3. Dr. Sheldon's asst. said I'd be given a block (scalene I assume) and maybe botox thereafter. Any idea on the cost? I'm an expat so I have no U.S insurance and will be paying out of pocket.
4. I'm also planning to visit a chiro. Ken Best I think his name is. Any experience with him?

Thank you so much for reading this and I look forward to your comments.

Hello,
Your story sounds quite familiar to me..:(

Dr. Sheldon Jordan has been mentioned in some of our past posts, if you do a search here you may find info on costs and other comments, most were good that I recall. You might have to search back to 2006-08.
I'll locate a few threads to link here for you on Jordan..

I hope you have time to explore our sticky threads, there is so much saved info there.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...Sheldon+Jordan
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...Sheldon+Jordan

You should have cut off your thumb!!!

Has anybody looked to see if you have a cervical rib?

No cervical rib. Jo*mar, thanks I will take a look at the threads.

Jo*mar, is there a thread where I can read about your conditions? How are you faring now?

I'm doing quite well now, my RSI version of TOS was 2003 to 2005 for the worst of it. And a work comp claim, :( I didn't learn about TOS until late 03.
I have posts on what helped me scattered around the forum..
Best info can be located in the sticky threads.

Hello Kexpat,
I live in L.A. I have seen Dr. Jorden. he is an expert at diagnosing TOS but he is quite expensive. His initial visit I think is about $650.Follow ups are $200. I did have a scalene block($2000) with him and botox.($3800) I think if you explain to him that you have no insurance he may give you a break or send you to someone else to do it. (Molly Joseph at UCLA was his student, I dont know how much it costs there-and I have heard it is hard to get in)

I am seeing a dr at CEDARS, Dr. Rosner and he does injections but if you dont have insurance it could be way more expensive. . Some of the surgeons can help diagnose you too-Dr. Gelabart at UCLA is one. If you read my thread JKLS TOS Journey- you can see I have seen many dr's here in L.A.

If you can afford it it is worth seeing Dr. Jordan for a consultation and maybe you can have injections somewhere else. I havent heard of Ken Best- where have you heard of him? I am curious about him and what he knows about TOS. Good Luck and feel free to pm me, JKL

JKL, thanks for the input. I did read your TOS journey post and it was very informative. Wow, the injections are more expensive than I'd imagined but I'm more than willing to shell out $650 to get a proper diagnosis. I think I'll try getting a consultation from Dr. Gelabert as well, just to get a 2nd opinion.

I found Ken Best from a yelp review. It seems like he's a celebrity chiro fwiw (Jessica Simpson is a patient according to the website).

My biggest issue is getting an accurate diagnosis. As the majority of my pain is located in my fingers, I'm hoping it's something other than TOS, which from what I've read on this site, is very difficult to correct.

I think I will pm you in the coming weeks, thank you for the offer!

I looked up Ken Best too-i think a friend of mine used to see him.I looked at his website but decided not to see him. Celebrity Chiros are usually very expensive. I would call him first to see if he knows anything about TOS. I would think about seeing a chiro or pt that is familiar with TOS. I can give you a couple of names. Usually they do not diagnose-they just treat you for the symptoms. I have seen 2 here: Dr. Horrigan and Dr. Kleinbrodt. Dr. Horrigan knows alot about TOS, but he mostly does soft tissue work. Dr.Kleinbrodt does Active Release Technique. I have been meaning to try Dr. Kleinbrodt again. I would highly recommend going to O county if you can to see Dr. Ando.