New to thoracic syndrome and have a lot of questions
 

Hello, my name is Kelly and while I don't have an official diagnosis yet of TOS, I'm sure that's what the problem is. Mine is due to a repetitive motion injury at work and this has only been going on for about 2 months and I'm already fed up with the whole WC system. The first doctor said that it was just a strained muscle in my shoulder although I told him it felt like a pinched nerve. He just prescribed Naproxen which only bothered my stomach so I had to quit taking it. He then told me to take Ibuprofen which I'm sure all of you know isn't helping a bit. Now for my first question, is there a website that documents how painful this condition is? Even though I tell the doctors my pain is between a 6-8 all the time, they still won't prescribe me anything for the pain. He also sent me to PT and fortunately I had a great therapist most of the time (I had 2 sessions with other therapists and they tried to force me to do much more than I can do). My therapist is the one who first suggested the possibility of TOS and has passed that information on to the doctor. The doctor ordered an MRI of the wrong part of my shoulder (all he got was the rotator cuff area) so of course it was normal. He also did xrays of my neck and shoulder and again all was normal. He finally referred me to a physiatrist within the same clinic and I have no confidence in this man at all and suspect he's always in favor of the insurance company. The first time I saw him he insisted that the problem was my rotator cuff and gave me a cortisone injection in the shoulder and told me it should fix everything and sent me back for more therapy. When I went back to see him today and told him the shot did absolutely no good, he asked if I had neck xrays done. None of that was in my chart so he ordered new xrays. Once again they were normal. Since I have pain in my neck (and my shoulder and arm, numbness & tingling in my right hand in the pinky and ring finger and my hand is much colder than the other) he said the problem is stiffness in the cervical joints and insisted on a cortisone shot in the C3-C4 area and once again told me that it should fix everything and that I would have immediate relief. Yeah right! I am in even more pain than I was before! I went to the hot tub at the YMCA on the way home from his office as that usually helps a little bit but not today. I just sat in there an cried because I hurt so bad! To top it all off, I've been off work since all this started as my employer doesn't have any light duty work for me; today he was going to send me back to full duty even though I am no better! I don't know what to do at this point....the WC laws in TN are definitely not in the injured worker's best interest (why did I ever think they would be???). I don't have any health insurance and don't want to mess up my WC case but somehow I need to see a doctor that can at least take this seriously. Can someone direct me to where I can find information on what medications are usually prescribed for TOS and what activities aggravate it?
Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on so much....I over did it on typing so now it's off to the couch with my new best friend....my heating pad!

I wish that I had more advice, but here goes..... (esp. since I don't know how WC works in TN)
I would try to get a referral to a neurologist, who will probably do some tests that may or may not show anything. Tam (tshadow) has posted a list of these in the past...I'll try and find them for you.

If the neurologist doesn't help enough, I would try to get a referral to a pain mgmt doctor. I'm a big proponent of them because I happen to have found one who a). cares, and b). knows what he's doing.

Different things aggrivate different people. Typing too much seems to be universal. I can't/shouldn't lift anything over shoulder height or at arms-lenght from my body. Lifting even 1/2 gallon of milk with my left hand is baaaaaaad. Sleeping on the bad side can make it worse. Weather changes and cold weather can make pain worse.

Finally, I"m sorry about the cortisone shots! I had one in my other (right) shoulder about 6-8 weeks ago, and it hurt like all hell. It took a medrol dose pack and about 6 days for the pain to subside.

I also am in TN, and would be glad to give you any help I can. Send me a PM if you have any specific questions.

no links allowed sorry

Oh- i wanted to ask you if you had a work comp atty on your side for this injury/claim?

If not I really suggest finding a good and competent one- interview quite a few - to feel them out and get their thoughts on your claim- before you sign with anyone.

The good ones may have listings of dr that are good with claims and procedures, but you need one that is good with "soft tissue", neuro, muscular pain and symptoms.

Check on your state website to for workers compensation info.

Unfortunately I'm at the other end of the state. :(

Yes, I have a workers comp attorney. I had trouble finding one that would take the case this early on....I had several tell me there just isn't enough money involved yet for them to get involved. I guess time will tell if the one I hired is good...if not I can always fire him and get a new one. I've already read all the TN workers comp stuff over and over and the state is already involved with getting the TTD started. I just talked to the guy at the Dept. of Labor and all he would tell me was that his decision would be going out within the next few days. Thanks for the advise though, I really appreciate it, as well as everyone else's!

[Now for my first question, is there a website that documents how painful this condition is? Even though I tell the doctors my pain is between a 6-8 all the time, they still won't prescribe me anything for the pain.]

sorry - kind of missed that ...
I don't recall if any of the sites specifically say anything about pain levels- but I'm pretty sure a pain management referral is recommended if symptoms persist and PT or conventional treatment does not resolve the symptoms or pain.

Did you find our useful sticky thread - full of TOS site links, images, therapy info, articles, polls and important threads?
here-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=84

Memphis?
There are a few docs listed in the Doctors and resources sticky thread at the top...

The sad reality is that a great many (if not the majority) of us need to travel long distances, sometimes several hundred miles to get the care we need.

Some figure that out sooner than others...I don't mean to sound harsh, but get used to the idea that it's not crazy to travel to get appropriate care, dx, etc.

One report from a TOS expert, even if you have to pay for it yourself...is gold when you start battling HR departments, insurance companies, and even WC.

-marabunta

I am so sorry for your pain. A pain management doctor is a great idea. When I was first diagnosed I was on major pain meds until my surgery. 1 year after surgery I was pain free for 6 years. I have had a relapse but, only on low doses of pain meds. Make sure you see someone who understands TOS. Some doctors don't like to give patients pain meds but it can be necessary. I hve been on this site for awhile now and many people will pass on very important information. Best of luck, Linda

Hi Kelly......sorry you had to find us here

Finding the right doctor is key to getting the right dx and then the right tx. Hang in there in the search...keep at it, don't give up hope. Also, don't get too invested in counting on the next doctor/pain clinic/etc to be "the ones who get it and will help" I've been disappointed so many times :( Just keep pluggin away until you do find the right doc.

Good luck