My deepest sympathies on the loss of your father, and your mother's illness.
:grouphug:

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If you are taking rx'd pain meds, have they added an anti depressant with it?
Often the combo will work together to lessen pain levels.
Of course meds won't fix the TOS, but you might feel a bit better to deal with symptoms and such.

Jo*Mar,

Thank you for your condolences.

I am on depression meds and have been for many years.
For the most part they seem to do the job, and leary about changing anything up in that area right now. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Teresa,

I'm sorry that you've had to deal with so much simultaneously. I'm overwhelmed just dealing with how I feel let alone what you've been dealing with. I hope you'll find some comfort here.

Kelly

Hi JKL,

I read thru your story and now am not sure about some of the folks I deem my team.

I am going to give you a little more history about me.

TOS was suspected by my Spine Dr. Along with. Herniated disc C/6-C7 and mild cubital tunnel in my right elbow.

Spine Dr kept sending me to various therapy's but never really explained TOS. I really thought I was more dealing with the herniation then the TOS and set the TOS aside.
The therapy team I am happy with is
Playa PT- Aaron Willis
Synergy Chiropractic- Dr. Dilo
Dear friend of mine who is a massage therapist and learning trigger point
After all these guys got me to a certain point and the pain continued to return I started to seek out more info about TOS.

I went to Dr. Gelabert at UCLA, he is the one who diagnosed the bi-lateral TOS and he sent me to Dr. Willams with Kerlan & Jobe.
Dr. Williams ordered a Spinal Q brace and a bi-lateral MRI of the Brachiel Plexus. The brace came, and it works great, it takes care of the scapula and shoulder pain that has plagued me for over a year. It did not take care of the muscle pains in the neck.
My insurance company did not want to approve the MRI until they spoke with Dr. Williams as to why it was needed. Dr. Williams did not talk with the insurance company and it was going on over a month since the MRI was ordered so I solicited the help of my Spine Dr. Since they are in the same group. My spine Dr. Got the MRI approved which I had last week and I am due to see Williams this coming week.

I took some time and read thru yours and others stories that reside in the LA and OC area and now I am Leary of Dr. Williams. I thought he was the right guy since Gelabert sent me to him and Gelabert from the research I had done seemed to be the TOS guy.

So now I am a little lost and thinking that Willams is not the right guy. I am still going to keep my appt with him next week as I want to see what he has to say as well as address the lack of follow thru on the MRI.

Most of my pain has been the neck, scapula, shoulder and upper arm region and affects the left side more than the right.
Within the last 3 weeks or so I am noticing some weird issues with my hands, arms and fingers. What I get is mild burning down the arms, itchiness, swelling, and what feels like my nerves are sitting on top of my fingers as if I hit them on a counter it is painful....not sure if this is related to TOS or not...it sounds like it from what I have read.

Sorry for the lengthy reply....I am now just so lost with this thing. What I thought before I joined the forum was I would get some shots that Williams mentioned and my life would turn around, and I would put and end to this mess, but after really reading thru the posts, the onset of the new symptoms I am in a lot of fear.

Hi STOS,

Thank you for the suggestions, I am starting to realize there is a lot more to this TOS than I originally thought.

In regards to your questions
Please see my reply to JLK626 on the Dr.'s who diagnosed this and whom I am dealing with.
I do not take any nerve meds, up until recently I really did not have any constant never type issues that I was aware of.

Dear Tat,
I am sorry you are more confused after reading my thread. That is not the intention. I also went to Dr. Williams and I am grateful that he was the first dr to diagnose TOS .I also have a bulging disc at c5-6 and it is still questionable whether that is the cause of some of my pain. I have similar symptoms as you do but also occaisional nerve pain. I just didnt feel like there was any communication with dr. williams and nospam had the same reaction. He wasnt answering my questions and I had to ask him for the scalene block as I had already gone thru 8 months of PT and Chiro. I wasnt comfortable with the interface between him and the surgery center even though it would have been covered through my insurance. One problem was that they couldnt tell me if it would be him or another Dr doing the injections.

In the meantime I had gone to see both Dr. Jordan and Dr. Filler and got confirmation diagnosis. Dr. Williams trained with Dr. Jordan. After meeting Dr. J , I decided to use him as my primary Dr, but I also see Dr. Aufiero at Orthohealing who is fully covered under my insurance and only now see Dr. J for things that no other dr. does.I may be having a diagnostic epidural with him to find out once and for all if the disc is problematic. At one point I had called Dr. Miller but canceled my appt after I found Dr. J. so I dont know him. The VERY best thing I have done is going to O county to see Dr. Ando. He has been the most help. I am about 60% better but still not able to go back to work as i use my arm and shoulder and it is a Repetitive Strain injury

The bottom line is you need to feel comfortable with your Dr's. and if you do then please dont let my experiences change your mind, but a 2nd opinion is always a good thing. I think you should follow up with Dr. Williams after the MRI and see what he tells you and if you are not happy with him, then you might try Dr. Jordan. Does Dr. Williams do Botox injections? It is interesting that Gelabart referred you to dr williams and not Dr jordan since they work together at UCLA and wrote a paper together. Maybe it has to do with insurance. Dr. J doesnt take it and you have to submit it ourself and it can get expensive but it was worth it for me.

It is also interesting that Dr. W prescribed the spinal Q as he only prescibed for me the alignmed shirt of which he has a stake in the co. The spinal Q is much more superior. Dr. Aufiero prescribed for me it much later.

Who is the spine dr. ? I am also looking for a good Massage therapist and good chiro closer to home . Maybe you can recommend your friend. What does the chiro do ? Also what drugs work for you. I have tried Relafan, Celebrex, Flexeril and Tramadol. I dont like any of them and none of them seem to work very well. I havent tried Nuerontin Dr. Aufireo gave me some compounded creams some of those ingredients which I am trying now.

Sorry this is so long too. Where in L.A. are you? I'd like to talk more, but too much typing isnt the best. I will pm you and maybe we can talk by phone. Take Care,JKL