Hello out there,
I was born with a cervicle rib and for years I have had problems--tendonitis, carpal tunnel, de quervain, oa. Now doctor's are looking at fybro. Not working at the moment 2 years. Need to know where to go from here. I'm kind of thinking I should be looking at SSI. Does this make sense? I've been to chiorpractors, orthopedic(sp), rhumatoid dr's, and general practioner, nathural path also, for each new thing that pops up or really bothers. Any ideas?

Hello,
Was your extra cervie rib removed? And you are having more problems? Or the drs never discussed removal of it?

hello and welcome,
I am not really sure what info you need??
Are you asking what kind of a work up you need to find out if you have TOS??? because the carpel tunnel and other sx could be coming from a compression higher up than just the arm......neck area at the brachial plexus where a bundle of vessels and nerves are that supply the arm and neck with all the blood and nerve supply. so your issues may be higher up than just your lower arm.

You may like to have an EMG done to assess your Brachial plexus (BP) to see if you hve problems there.....although most of us have normal EMG unless you are in realllllllly bad shape and have had tos for so many years that permenant damage has been done.......a veinogram is a good test to see if your blood vessels are being blocked or not due to the decreased space in your BP as a result of your extra cervial rib....as was/is my case.
A neurologist who is familiar with TOS is also a bonus as there are some who do not believe in the diagnosis as it is a diagnosis of exclusion....ie we think of everything else then if nothing else makes sense then TOS may.

An ultrasound to your brachial plexus could tell you if you have vascular blockages in the area......in my case I had 90-100% blockage in a provocative position.

let us know more if you still want some more help!!!!

happy to answer questions and you can always PM me with them if you don't want to put them here....but the more answers the better here as we all have such different experiences!

take care and I hope some of what I have written helps....
hugs
Victoria
ps re SSI if you can't work then this is always an option but a good US member will answer that question better than I can as I am in Canada.....I am on the equivilant which is CPP canadian pension plan disability pension.

so always remember that with ssi it is a battle and then the US guys will for sure tell you that too....I had to appeal and was lucky to get it.
take care,
Victoria

you really need a specialist in tos, going to see an orthopedist, neurosurgeon, vascular surgeon not well versed in this insidious disease is generally a waste of time and the specialists are few and randomly placed about the usa in what seems like about 6 or 7 pockets.