Will be interested in what you hear from the MGH PT. Dr. D. gave me the contact for their PT, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I'm curious to know if their approach is specialized/different from what we've all read around here.

40 minutes south of MGH...where? I'm on the south shore in Scituate.

KY

Hi everyone,

I had a PT visit this morning with Eileen Collins at MGH. I'm not sure if anyone else here has seen her for PT.

I left my appointment feeling pretty disheartened. She spent an hour with me completing all sorts of strength tests, asking me about my symptoms, etc. At the end of the hour, she said that she didn't feel like any strengthening or exercises she could give me would be helpful to me at this point. She said that if after seeing Dr. Donahue again and my situation changed somehow, she would be happy to see me again, but for now, it would not be worth the effort and money.

Eileen apologized a couple times at the end of the appointment, as she is not able to help me at this time. Of course, this is not her fault; I'm in a tough spot.

I'm feeling quite hopeless, as I'm not sure what options remain at this point. I've had a CT scan, x-rays, an EMG, nerve conduction study, PT with two different specialists, vascular study, and Botox. I'm tired of the run-around, and uncertain as to the next steps. I have the vascular ultrasound tomorrow at 8 am.


I did receive a holiday card today from my former PT at Spaulding Rehab in Cambridge. She is just so fabulous, and her well wishes could not have come at a better time.


To make matters worse, I received a bill for $1500 from my insurance company for the Botox treatment. It's a battle I'll have to fight though, because I have another letter stating it was approved.

Curious why she thought the exercises would be of little value? Was it just a plateau? Or she feels it won't help you at all?
Surgery next up or?

I think it's because she feels like exercise would not help me at this point. I have no idea what is up next. When I first saw Dr. Donahue, he mentioned wanting to try PT and Botox before surgery. I've tried both of those routes, so we'll see what he says. I had an vascular ultrasound today, and I hope that gives him some more info.

All I will say is I believe you are in good hands with Dr. Donahue, but in my experience, certain surgeons like to use particular PTs. If you fail with that PT, you will become a surgical candidate.

I failed with a very prominent PT in the area of TOS, but have made headway with a no-name who has never treated TOS. We are all different and finding a person who works for you may be a challenge, but worth the effort in the long run. Good luck.