Jo*mar,

I probably am not getting the TrPs fully resolved. Some of them are so painful! How can one tell when they do release.... or not?

Flying by the seat of my pants with this, and now I am really frustrated because I was feeling pretty darn good the last few days and then about mid-day today-- after a concentrated and relaxing session with my tennis ball and stretching....

....my entire right side: arm, hand, elbow, shoulder, collarbone area, upper back and neck all went into full blown excruciating pain.

My hand and elbow started throbbing like they had a migraine headache.

My back felt like it had a terrible toothache (only way I can describe pain).

All of these areas were tingling-- had pin-pricks-- shooting, radiating nerve pains like I had hit my funny bone EVERYWHERE!

Three Aleve didn't touch it! Still killing me. This is just insane! I really thought I had a handle on this TOS thing...but NO!

Now I'm starting to wonder if it isn't Lyme disease after all (wrists are starting to crack again too).....or....if I did some damage with the tennis ball.

This is exactly the kind of pain I had when I first suspected Lyme but my doctor only kept me on abx for 6 weeks because both my blood tests came back negative for Lyme.

But maybe TOS can present with this kind of pain and other nerve symptoms?

I am really freaking out wondering what IS really wrong with me ??? being that I feel okay and nearly pain free one day and then get hit with pain like I'm having today.....the next. So unpredictable...and scary.

This past summer I was in perfect health with not a pain in my body....and now I feel like a one sided cripple.

I sooooooo sympathize with everyone here who has PAIN....or TOS...or whatever the syndrome or cause might be.

Wish I could be helpful and had something to offer other than my own condition.

You can do a whole forum search for Lyme posts & threads, do you recall ever having a tick bite? I think they could be easy to miss sometimes though.
whole forum search - http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/search.php

We do have a Lyme forum here @ NT if you want to check it out.

Some swear by the western blot test, but it's been years since I read up on it so i could be wrong or there could be new info. Sometimes the tests results an be wrong so a secondary or follow up might be a good thing.

One member had TOS & then RSD and after many yrs she found a dr that did some in depth tests for Lyme.
She did have it according to to those results and it had crossed the blood brain barrier causing all sorts of problems with her health.
She had to had very extensive antibiotics for a long time.

TrP info
[To treat Trigger Points, sometimes firm pressure must be applied to the Trigger Point for long periods of time, some shiatsu techniques say 1 to 3 minutes of firm pressure then repeat! Trigger Point therapy can reduce pain, increase movement, and allows the muscles to lengthen and become stronger again. Light pressure is not effective for treating Trigger Points, and in fact may increase spasms as the muscle tries to protect itself, leading to increased and more constant pain. In contrast, moderate to heavy pressure applied to a Trigger Point causes the pain to initially increase, but then as the muscle relaxes the pain will fade.

Pressure should be applied slowly and released slowly for best results. The pressure should be maintained until there is a change in pain. If there is no decrease in pain after one minute, stop the pressure - this is probably not a Trigger Point! While, or after applying pressure to Trigger Points, the relaxed muscle should be stretched for more effective treatment. Either way, if the muscles are not returned to normal length, there is a greater likelihood the Trigger Points will reoccur. ]
http://www.pressurepointer.com/Users1.htm
Referred pain chart -
http://www.pressurepointer.com/pain_reference_chart.htm

I printed out the 'pressure pointer' info--- really great! Thank you Jo*mar!

Feeling a bit better today and will do the TrPs many times a day.

Just wondering if it's good to stretch a stiff neck/trap muscle which is what started this whole thing in my case. It was my first symptom---just woke up with it one morning and it led (almost immediately) to all my other TOS issues.

I've not been stretching it because I'm scared that bending my neck will worsen the disk bulges etc. But perhaps that's an unfounded worry and stretching will help to alleviate the pain and eventually make it go away.

It's so annoying to have a 'settled in' stiff neck for several months.

I'm seeing the doctor who diagnosed my TOS in about a week and will ask him....but just thought I'd see what the concensus is here in the meantime.

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If my mental picture of that trigger point treatment is accurate, that manuever might also be serving to do some myofascial release work.

Another trick for that I like to do is rolling up a bath towel and lay on it positioned lengthwise down your spine while pressing your shoulders back. It really helps to open up that area.

I just caution people who have vascular TOS about doing that type of stretch (the bath towel one). Anything that draws the shoulders back like that, as in a "military position" can close the costo-clavicular space leading to further compression of the arteries and/or veins.

Hi. My symptoms are so very similar to your including the pain all over. I've had it for years. If one part of my body has pain, it seems to spread all over most of my limbs. Diagnosed with Fibro, have had brain surgery for Chiari I Malformation, and after years of shoulder, arm, neck and hand pain, just diagnosed with TOS. Started on he left but now I have it on both sides, left being much worse. Now looking at surgery after years of PT, trigger point injections, chiropractors, accupressure, etc. Not sure abou he surgery or exactly what the surgery entails. He wants to go in under my armpits.