Hi Everyone:

I just returned from a frustating visit with my ortho dr. I've had symptoms for TOS for some time including: heaviness in forearms, pain in right shoulder, pain in neck and upper back, mottled skin in right arm, numbness in fingers.

I have been visiting doctors for months, and they all tell me they can find nothing wrong. Finally I found a website on RSI and ordered some books and did further research. I am a programmer who used to spend many, many hours typing probably with poor posture and no breaks. I have had upper back, neck, and shoulder pain for years.

My ortho doc. is now saying that I may have tendonitis in the shoulder and ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow. He won't address the pain in my left forearm and fingers.

After my lengthy introduction, I have a couple of questions...

1) Will a MRI of the cervical spine show compression at the brachial plexus?

2) Can fluctuating high blood pressure be a symptom of TOS?

3) Is it common to get the runaround from doctors, and is it difficult to find one who specializes in repetitive strain injuries?

Thanks!

Hi sunnydee, you have certainly found the right place - im fairly new here and have had loads of help, advice and support during the last 5 months or so!.

I have had big probs finding a good dr - as have a lot of people on here with TOS. I have been to a rheumatologist, neuro surgeon and now im moving onto a vascular surgeon.....it is a very frustrating process but most people on here seem to have been given the runaround. Persistence is the key i think, although it is extremely difficult to stay motivated when you are made to feel that its all in your head!

My story sounds fairly similar to yours - i had a computer intense job and perhaps that combined with a fall down some stairs triggered my symptoms.....short list is: severe shoulder blade pain, hand pain/coldness/colour changes, arm & neck heaviness/weakness, collarbone pain and boniness the list can go on and on!.

I have had an MRI with and without contrast dye....one showed up some abnormalities such as thickened neurovascular bundle and asymmetry under my collar bone - however i have not yet had anyone talk in any detail about this to me as they keep passing the buck!!. Im not sure that many people on here have had much success with MRI's - diagnosing TOS is much more of a hands on examination diagnosis - such as the adsons test.

Others here will be able to help you so much more and im sure they will be around soon!

take care

Hi Sunny nice to meet you and glad you found the forum!
There are only a small percent of doctors that ever run across TOS and even fewer that want to attempt to diagx or treat. It is not like setting a broken arm after a bad fall...it is nerve injury and they do not heal into new healthy nerves. They can develope into dead grayish matter, adhesions attach and entwine the nerve bundle. It can be a repetatitve injury, stretch like whiplas, genetic make up like extra ribs connecting to collar bone, Short bands that support the neck attached to the collar bone predisposting, large rib cage, tiny rib cage, long necks with longer cervical length above the claviacal.

Most test do not show TOS, with exceptions. They can rule out other ortho problems or mimic them, further frustrating doctors that EVERYTHING has to show in a test!
TOP TOS doc's can reproduce symptoms to identify the triggers of TOS, or the brachial entrapment. Only a handful of docs can do this or will do this.

Some 3-D MRI may show some injuries, xrays can show extra cervical ribs, some EMG when the damage is severe enough will start to show damage to the nerves tested that make muscles move. The sensory nerves the first affected in TOS are too small to test. They are the ones that feel heat, the muscle nerves are larger and are the ones that feel the heat and make the arm jerk away.

Blof Pressure. Because of my entrapments I have terrible reding one arm can say I should be dead, the other is off the charts. The blood clows into my arms because of the entrapments the bloodflow out through the compressed site is not good. My rings had to resized,

The only correct reading I get is on my leg, and listen for the paulse above the ankle. My docs are all use to this. Other wise I could show low readings or unreadable,
I do not have palpable paulses either, they need to use a stethascope, or they will feel their own and think it is mine.
Oh, and dental work, I can not take valium before numbing as the enzyme will not allow me to get numb. There is a newer one the dentist used to fix a tooth last week was better to numb. (Oh, take a foam, or towl to support your neck during dental cleanings and work. It can be a killer strain in that position without support.

Hope many others can share their experiance as I only had the herniations show on My MRI and they were the opposite side as my symptoms where were TOS injury side. One EMG did not show results, but CT, the second one by someone that wrote about TOS EMG results identified the compression at the collar bone area.
Welcome here hope you feel better,
di

Hi DiMarie,

I went to the dentist around 6 months ago and had to have around 8 needles to numb my mouth. Usually it only takes around 1 - 2. The dentist couldnt believe that I could still feel it. It freaked me out a bit because it took a whole day for the numbness to go away. I take valium and lyrica, could this be the cause??? Its never been mentioned to me by any dentist / Dr. Then again half of the info on here my Dr's dont seem to know about!

I also have high blood pressure one day and normal the next. Whenever I visit my local Dr he has made a note to check it everytime due to the inconsistency of the readings. He doesnt know a great deal about TOS and I am the only patient he has ever had with it. My fingers are also very swollen, which I find somewhat embarassing when looking at jewelry etc. People are always looking at my little chubby fingers and I am sick of explaining myself to people!!!! Just whinging.

Ozzy

Hello and welcome,
Here's our useful sticky threads, tons of info -

Our Useful Links - Websites, Articles & Polls
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html

DOCTORS & PTs List and saved PT info threads
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread135.html

It very well could be the valium, but I am not a doctor nor claim to portray one on TV...But, I was told it was an enzyme I have produced from the valium.
I will ask what I used last time that worked with a second shot. The first shot, I may have been 75% numb, but with the second shot I was good and numb. I had to replace a total big filling on the second to last molar, plus rebuild the inside wall I broke off on a bite of food.

Have him check the BP in both arms during the visit. I think you need to wait a set amount of minutes so maybe the nurse check one arm when you go in then have the doc check it again the second arm. I almost ended up on BP medicine, then they went to checking on my leg instead when I go in. Fine BP.

I hated going up two sizes in my rings.....I look at rings and almost wear the same size as my husband. Summer is worse too.

Join the gang!
Hugs
di

a trip to the dentist is like a visit to hades, just a few pulls on the jaw, a twist of the neck and I am off and running.