DA,
Unfortunately some times that is just the better quality of life, to not work and to take medication. TOS is about a new different life. One of accommodation and reduction. Accommodating how we do things not to flare up and to reduce the symptoms to a point we get through the day with just feeling wiped and sore as opposed to needing a hospital bed and masseuse.

Coming to terms of taking the disability is as hard as the physical pain itself. It is one of the family member can't see a injury and don’t understand why the pain. I was the first PA municipal police chief. I loved my job; it took me 13 years of battling discrimination to attain my first police job. To lose all that , I lost my credibility with the department. I was malingerer and lazy, not really injured and getting monies.

I had to retrain, create a new me, not for realistic full time employment, but for my mind, I attained my BA in criminal Justice and sociology. Graduated top 1% of my class, tons of honors and awards. It was something that could never be taken away from me I earned it. Every back ach, migraine, inability to even hold a pen for notes, I did it!

I am fortunate that I was off work nearly weeks after my injury so I believe that helped in reducing my injury and symptoms. Far to many TOSers realistically could not work, finish school, or be productive even in their own homes.

Life as we know it is gone and grieving that life and getting a new life with meaning and as less of pain as possible.
Stick to your guns about PT, nothing with weights, bands, NO HANDBIKE; I was OK. backwards not forward, but even that got the under wings flared up.

The best I could do was heat packs, ultra sound, some aqua therapy, range of motion, and a dang good rub out. I needed someone to work on the knots not create more!

There was a link about what to take to the doctors, somewhere on there is a pain diary picture, fill it in for two days this week for the doctor to see where the pain, what kind; radiating, aches, stabbing, burning, numbness, etc.

It is much easier to write ahead what you want to say AND SAY IT. Don't let them of with a two minute overview and out the door!
I thought I heard Dr. McKinnon is in Louisville, I have to check the doctor list.
Having a doctor that understands not only TOS vascular, or true TOS from neurogenic TOS is valuable in your ongoing care.

THe compression is under the collar bone and above the first rib, the cervical nerves as they left the cervical spine in the Brachial bundle C5/6/7/8 & T/1 travel across the shoulder, behind the collar bone and into the arm to fingers. They become the major nerves of the arms, medial radial and ulnar, then travel all the way a long three feet to the finger tips. Anywhere along there is a hinge like shoulder, elbow, wrist, can be a crush and inflamed nerve being aggravated crating further symptoms.

Understanding how you first got hurt, if it is repetitive, stretch injury, and even extra or misshapen ribs can incite. So understanding the physical reason of what TOS is, keeps us tuned into the doctors exam, how he will try to reproduce symptoms, and exam the extent of how much sensory damage is done.

For example: EMG maybe ordered, but an EMG test the large nerves that make muscles move, TOS affects the sensory nerves first. The large nerves feel heat from a candle and make your arm jerk, the smaller nerves are the ones if you got burnt, now take the pain signals of burn, hurt, soreness to the brain,. They are smaller nerves unable to be tested with an EMG. Much as a MRI will not show TOS, well some people it will show extra rib, or chest shape problem, but not a nerve inflammation. They can use an MRI for noticing spinal problems, but at our age, everyone ahs bulges and that will not explain the symptoms. But if a true cervical injury happened it could rule that in…but you can have both!

I have several herniations on the left side, but my TOS major problems and pain are right side, that is how I knew the difference from symptoms from herniations and TOS, there were opposite sides.

Docs should do sensory testing with needle picks, soft from rough, and if picked one place how the pain travels to others, like face, back of arm, to the fingers etc. This is a knowledgeable doc. Otherwise it is a meat wagon with PT script.

Also, anti inflammatory, something for spasms, IF you can try zanaflex it works on the nerve were it inserts into the muscle to calm down the nerve. Then the muscles will not spasms and create a brace around it.

I had trigger points in the traps on my trigger points yesterday; WOW they helped me so much! I really do receive such good reduction in the feeling of the butcher knife in the upper wing area.

I hope the visits go well, he spends a lot of time addressing your concerns and validating your pain.
Dr.Toguts first visits often last for hours!
yIKES TOO MUCH INFO....cLASSIC tos 101
Safe travels and get all you can out of the visit!
Di

So, did you get the surgery? Did Dr. Atasoy do it? I am 5 days post-op from a surgery dr. atasoy performed. I would love to chat with you if you had the surgery. Amy