Hi, I'm a 19 year old male based about 45 minutes North of Toronto and suffer chronic pain through my upper extremities on a constant, daily basis. I havent been officially diagnosed but through vast research over the past year and frequent hospital visits with no results, I'm fairly certain I have Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and I don't know what to do.

About a 15 months ago I went swimming in a public pool at night with some friends and accidentaly dove head first into the shallow end of the swimming pool. I could move my head for a month, i got xrays and they said i was okay, my head started to get better and i started working full time on an assembly line. after 6 onths i had to quit because i was suffering eexcrusiating pain by working. Ibuprofen did nothing.

I now have to stretch my shoulders and crack my neck on constant basis to keep my neck and head from seizing up in pain. I cant lift my arms above my head, my vision goes dark when i take a deep breath, my lymph nodes are always swollen and there are lumps forming on my esophagus. and i have had a blind spot in the center of my right eye for 2 months, I cant wear a backpack, i cant drive because i start to swerve whenever i have to crack my neck which is about every 5 minutes or so. I now work 3 shifts a week at a convenience store and even that's over baring to do, the pain's taking control of my life and every doctor i go to tells me im fine.

TLDR: Does anyone know of a Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Specialst in Ontario because I feel like I'm dying.

Hi, did you have a detailed cervical screen? MRIs are necessary not just x-rays for any disc related issues.

also, please try not to crack your neck too much, you could be contributing to cervical instability by weakening or spasming your overactive muscles.

a possible alternative could be to take some pain relieving gel and deeply massaging your muscles.

A vascular surgeon can also dx & treat NTOS I believe.. they aren’t limited to Vascular issues only..

So you had a concussion or possible TBI from the pool diving? You hit your head?
That can cause quite a few issues also..
If so you might benefit from some upper cervical chiropractic care.. it is not scary, if you are leery of general chiropractic the upper cervical is so gentle. look it up on you tube.. but basically your c 1 c 2 probably got really misaligned when you hit your head in the pool..
info-
www.upcspine.com
http://www.upcspine.com/self.htm

A full cervical MRI should be done as mentioned..to clearly rule in/out any injury.

Have you had any expert PT at all?
They can do some positional & other testing during the evaluation..

I have been looking up upper cervical chiropractic on the net, but can't find any evidence to support it.

Did it help your symptoms Jo mar?

Yes, but I know I had a concussion event at age 15 , and my shoulders, hips even eyes & ears have been slightly off level for quite awhile.
So it made sense to me after I found out about upper cervical..

Plus the chiro was a multi modality practitioner, so soft tissue /posture was addressed also.

If anyone has had any head/shoulder hits or falls , sport injury, it might be a good thing to look into..
Many w/TOS do report uneven shoulders..and later on hip problems...

Some upper cervical hard liners will say it will fix everything.. but I and many others on the PCS/TBI forum don't agree with that, we feel many other therapies are valid and a mix is needed for each individual..

I have no idea. Anything could have happened to me after that pool accident but I wouldn't have a clue because apart from the chiropractor who took a look at my x-rays, everyone i've been to has told me I'm completely fine. And having such severe damage to my neck go untreated for 15 months, it's possible many more complications have arisen.

I'll make sure i mention all of this to the chiropractor im going to see tomorrow. I've been suggesting PT and asking my doctor for an MRI for months but he has had no interest in helping me from the start. Due to my young age, I believe he thinks me to be another teenager complaining about non existent symptoms in order to get pain killers or pot or something. My first appointment with my new doctor isnt till Nov. 2nd so I wont be able to get an MRI until sometime after then, unfortunately

No i have not. I've been trying to get an MRI for months and I just had to change my family doctor because my old one kept insisting i was fine, and that i just have muscle soreness and gave me a celebrex prescription which ultimately worsened my condition.

I have a massage scheduled for tonight and an appointment with a chiropractor tomorrow who specializes in head trauma after upper cervical treatment only provided me with temporary relief.

I'll try 3 treatments with this new chiropractor and if that doesn't prevail, I've been recommended an Osteopath