Hi Eight, apologies for the confusion. The range was so large for the doppler, that only 50% is detected, that the presiding Radiologist all was fine since my compression was not 50%. However, after speaking to some other doctors who consecutively ruled out spondylitis and all other issues, TOS was diagnosed.

I have all the classical symptoms - hand pain, tingling, right shoulder seizes up and even my left foot is vibrating/tingling like crazy. I have been spending some time going through all the threads here, and while depressing it is educational. Looks like other folks also have the same issue with foot problems on the same side as TOS.

Um, did they do an MRI of your neck? Your foot isn't supposed to be involved. I have weak hip flexors after having TOS for ten years but didn't notice problems until getting botox injections in the anterior scalene. I've had five or six MRIs of my neck to rule out my neck over the past ten years, it is beautiful, for the record.


Oh, and. My Doppler was just fine too, for the record....my CT scan wasn't though. I think the Doppler is really only good at diagnosing urgent cases.

Got three MRIs done -one after my accident in 2008, another in 2009 - first brain+cervical, second cervical, third in 2013 - lumbar detailed, cervical screening. Disc bulge at C6-C7, but doctors noted in 2014 its not a cause of my issues. It makes sense, because when I looked at the 2009 report, it says no impingement in foraminal areas, which in hindsight should have been a big flag for me to get away from a doctor who was happily stringing me along saying it was a disc issue. I finally got to know in 2014 that it was not spondylitis but TOS - took 4 doctors to do that. Six years of my life wasted, living in misery without even an accurate diagnosis.

Have you considered any expert bodywork or expert chiropractic care?
I had the best results from a multi modalities chiropractor. ( did ultrasound/deep tissue/LLLT/IF stim)
If you have any sort of accident or fall I really suggest chiropractic and/or upper cervical (atlas/axis/c1 c2) chiro check up.
http://www.upcspine.com/self.htm

This thread and post #1 is crash course in TOS , related conditions and therapies..
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html

Jo*mar, where did you go for your chiro treatment? I am very scared of chiros given they would be touching the spine. But at this point, all out of options I guess.

I more or less came across mine by accident , but I had been reading about chiro care and was considering it.. luckily he was very good and gentle with his technique and happened to be very knowledgeable overall.

I suggest doing web searches in your area and see what kind of websites you find for those near you. If you find a generic looking site or if they say they can fix everything, I'd avoid those.

Look for one with some real information ad a dc that has extra training, uses other modalities like ultrasound, IF stim, low level laser... and perhaps some triggerpoint and massage. The extra upper cervical knowledge is good if you ever had a head hit or whiplash effect. It takes extra training to adjust the c1c2..

If you have recent x rays / MRI it is good to take them so the DC can review, many will require x rays before any tx.

I had to laugh because my PCP sent me for a regular doppler ultrasound to check for circulation issues. They didn't compare it to my non-symptomatic arm, they did check positions (arm down, then raised over my head.) I asked the tech--this is just checking for blood clots, isn't it? She said yep. I know I don't have a blood clot! Grrr....my insurance probably won't approve any more testing, so what now? They did pay for an emg/ncs, which was....normal.