So I am recovering from left shoulder surgery and 1st rib resection on left side which has been an adventure. I went to the doctor assigned by my pension today. He was checking pulse on right wrist and when he raised arm to shoulder height he lost the pulse. He acted surprised and did it three times. He continued to say he believes nerves get caught in muscles but didnt think arteries could. Well I think he believes it now. I can only use right arm for 5 weeks and it is starting to get painful. Constant tingling and stabbing pain in neck. Enough typing for now.

Welcome to my world............. bilateral V TOS is a pig, ain't it!!!!!!!!

I'm involved in a CBT course at the moment and the key tip is PACING. Keep your activities to a constant even pace if at all possible. DON'T push yourself too hard, if you ( on the very rare occassions of late) are ever lucky enough to have a good day.................... "good day" ??????? What is that, I've forgotten!! Even on bad days try to keep moving, if only alittle to prevent yourself from seizing up.
Try to keep a daily activity diary that includes small achievable goals and treats ( relaxation/meditation/hot bath??) A good tip from @Chroma was to use a timer when working, writing, household chores etc..... I try to stick to working in shifts of 20 mins at a time, then REST!
KEEP STRONG AND BE KIND TO YOURSELF!

Do any of you VTOS people get pain at the sternum?

Karen -

I flat lined in my vascular studies a few weeks ago. The operated side still looks great, the other side is definitely another story. I didn't catch everything they were saying but your comment about "He continued to say he believes nerves get caught in muscles but didnt think arteries could." coincides with what they were trying to explain to me. They said they sometimes find muscle fibers growing around the artery and I figure that they were trying to explain to me this is why I flat lined. When I have my next appointment in a few weeks, I'll be able to ask questions as I'm prepared now. They are ready to schedule surgery but I need time to deal with this.

Chroma - I've had pain at my sternum but it has always been related to ribs out of place due to muscle spasms. This may not be your case.

I have been trying to stay active for short periods of time, and a timer is a good idea. I know that I tend to overdue it, since I was always very active and independent. Never use to take long showers, but now they feel great.

Chroma, I do get sternum pain. Early on I went to ER twice because I thought I was having a heart attack

maybe spasms in the intercoastals??

I had that during my very worst spasms, scary stuff , but i had read already about these and that others had gone to ER and found out the heart & such was fine, so that left muscle spasms as the cause.
By then I knew I was having spasms. S i knew the cause. But things were thumping in my chest and i would need to cough at times chest felt like it was vibrating too.

not so much actual sternum pain though...for me anyway.


but if in doubt - always see a doc.

Yeah I get the sternum pain. Sometimes it is clearly where the ribs connect. And yeah I've had "spasms in the intercoastals". But other times it is more in the center of the sternum and deeper. I associate this 2nd feeling with poor circulation as I often feel other things at the same time, such as circulation problems with the left arm and/or grogginess.

I also went to the ER once when it got *really* bad. Heart checked out fine. Saw a cardiologist after that. More tests. More fineness.

Thanks for chiming in everyone.

I had it real bad a few times. Now it really spasms even post surgery. The other night my whole chest hurt and you could watch the area near clavical just spasm, if freaked my wife out.

I get spasm relief from diazepam, meditation and manual therapy (like a chiro or PT that will stretch out the muscles). My spasms have come way down. HTH

my spasms are down from where they use to be, the ART has helped some, but i have to wait now because of the recent surgery on my shoulder