hi

Ive been reading peoples posts on here for the last few months but never posted, so i thought i would share my experience.

I'm an active 23yr old male from the UK, last september i started going to the gym alot, i always had this pain just above my shoulder blade on the left but never really thought anything of it. Then after doin a lot of heavy weights in the gym especially on my shoulders i started to get strange feelings in my left arm, i can only describe the sensation as wearing a watch on my wrist but there was nothin there. Anyway the pains in my shoulder got worse so i tried stretching it, as it felt like i had to click a joint. As i did this my whole arm and shoulder swelled up to over twice the size and went a blue, purple, redy colour. The pain was horrible in my arm, felt like all my tendons where going to snap off.

to cut a long story short i had all the test done for a blood clot and the hospital found nothing and asumed i had an infection and it would take time to go away.

The swelling in the arm went down but never fully, i was left with a red patch on the back of my arm which is worse near the elbo. Also i found the arm got very tired fast like it was being starved of oxygen. After 5-6 months of the doctor saying just give it more time i decided to go through work and go private.

I had another ultrasound and an MRI scan. These said my vein was crushed by 75% by the 1st rib. So i was planned in for a 1st rib removal.

I have now had the rib removed, the surgeon i had was great and the cut is really neat and tidy. It starts from just under the colar bone and goes towards the back of the shoulder, its about 5 inches long. They stitch you on the inside nd glue th skin together. Very neat.

After the OP......When i first woke up i was in quite a bit of pain and found it hard to breathe, but within a few mins i was injected with more pain killers and then i was ok again. You can move the arm quite easily after the op but just becareful what you do. Also for the 1st few days u will need to sleep sitting up slightly as you can find it hard to breathe on your back. My arm did swell up slightly, just make sure you have anti inflams and pain killer tablets. The pain is not as bad as you think .

(BTW...if you sneeze or cough in the 1st 2 weeks god help you..ha)

The first 2 weeks are the worst, no driving what so ever in these weeks, it took me about a week for my breathing to return to normal. Nothin major you just feel out of breath slightly when speaking.

I am now 3 weeks post op, my arm is still slightly swollen and i still have the red patch on the back of my arm. I also have a bit of nerve damage where the red patch is but this seems to be gettingf better. The skin around the cut has no feeling what so ever and i did have some nerve damage there too. This feels like sharp needles being scratched across surface. I have been given patches for this which takes the sting out of it. You will need 4 weeks min off from work, my job is a very manual intense job so i'm not going back until i know i'm ok again.

The only thing i am left with now though is wondering if my arm will ever return to normal size again and if the red patch will go. As it was left a long time with very poor circulation.

Has any one else had similar problems?? did their arm return to normal again?? or will it always be bad??

If any one wants to know or ask anything just let me know. The operation is not as bad as yout think though.

thanks

Hi John,

I totally forgot about the wrist watch feelings - I had that one too.
couldn't stand wear a watch or bracelet for yrs because of that feeling and still don't care to wear them even now. I guess it is just an added irritant to my wrists.

Good to hear you are doing pretty well post op.
Be sure to be careful about any quick moves - seems that has messed up a few.

did they give you range of motion and some simple arm moves so you keep thing loose?

I hope some of the others that had surgeries can address the swelling of your arm and how long it might last.
Sometimes each case is so different though it's just hard to tell for sure what will happen.
If you notice any bad changes with it be sure to call the doctor right away.

he just said make sure you keep the shoulder moving slightly, little circles. I was holding my body on a slight angle though because of the pain and not really moving my neck for the 1st week. I'm ok now, just have to watch how quickly i do things

If the swelling persists , maybe some lymph drainage massages would help a bit.
could be fluids needing a little help out of the area.

some video links -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...713#post478713

- Of course check with your doctor before you try any of these yet - so soon after surgery.
they may come in handy later after you have recovered more.

Hi John, glad you decided to post!

I had the 1st rib and cervie rib removed on both sides. My left arm has returned to near normal size (5 years post op) but my right "quarter" (arm, shoulder and shoulder blade) is quite swolen still.

Sounds like you are progressing well!

Anne

Hi

It has now been about 5 months post op from my 1st rib removal on my left arm, It has settled down a lot and i am back to doing normal things. The arm, shoulder and pec are still quite swollen tho and when i have a few drinks i get a strange sensation in my left arm. Like there is something touching the skin. Will this ever go back to normal? or do you think i will just have to live with it for the rest of my life?

your post op experiences would help

Hi John, sounds like you got some immediate relief from the rib resection - a good sign!

Your weird sensations will subside, but it can take years... and you may always have some minor issues with tingling, arm feeling 'wet', etc. It took many years for your brachial plexus nerves to get sick, it can take a while for them to get well.

Good luck, and do those arm stretches - don't want scar tissue to limit your range of motion!!

Anne

It's odd about the few drinks affecting the sensations on your arm.

are you pain free , or if not what pain rating # would you give yourself on average now?

Great to hear you are doing so well post surgery.

On the time part, I didn't have surgery but it took nearly 3 yrs for me to get back to 85% of normal.
That was with lots of self care stuff, some PT @ the beginning & regular chiro appts.
Mine was more of a myofascial based rsi/tos.

I remember years ago seeing the actor Kevin Sorbo from Hercules talking about a blood clot he got from weightlifting and how serious it was. Something about the blood vessel rubbing and being compressed by the action of lifting.

Are you sure you want to go back to a manual type job? Most of us would be happy with a recovery that let us lead normal, less physically demanding lives. You are young and that arm has to last another 50 years!

Welcome to our community of TOSers

So glad to hear your story. I pray all goes well and you recover Godspeed.

Keep us posted.

(Broken Wings)