[tshadow]

I'm big on surgery because it slowed down the progression of the TOS and stopped headaches and RSD for at least a year.

PT was worthless, except for light massage. There is absolutely no way to "strengthen" your way out of this, unless you mean by walking and general over-all healthy activity.

I had to go off of work because I couldn't function in the daily activities of life anymore, let alone do my job reliably. So going off of work didn't result in a rest which resulted in returning to work, it just stopped it from hurting so bad.

But after going off of work, we had surgery, I continued to experience worsening type of nerve damage, including my left foot and not being able to swallow, etc.

This has changed my life completely.

[Jomar]

Originally Posted by farmgal

Told him that I really didn't want surgery because I felt it was a last resort and wasn't ready to play that card just yet. So the only thing I haven't tried is taking a break from work and trying to rehab. I have disability insurance through work and he's willing to fill out the necessary paperwork. So my new plan is to take at least a month away from work and do physical therapy 3x per week for the next month. Then I'll go back to the doc and see where we go from there. I'm also on some new meds. Tramadol ER, Baclofen and Soma for breakthru spasms.

Given my new plan, I have some questions for you guys. How many of you saw improvements after taking a break from work? Did PT seem to help or hurt? How many of you have opted for surgery? If you've had surgery would you do it again?

I did see improvement after being off work and was even able to work up to strengthening at PT, but that was after finding really good PTs that went slowly. To relieve/reduce the pain first - before moving on to anything else.
PT while still working, even on light duty did not help at all - it was just maintaining, not improving anything.
I had moderate, and now a fairly mild case of RSI/TOS.

I wasn't on any pain meds except for Advil/Motrin {and taking too many of those} to be able to keep working. Once I was off work and had a few PT sessions with the good people , i was able to stop taking the Advil.
I was taking a good multi vit/mineral, cal/mag blend, extra vit C, some grape seed extract & MSM - I think those were a plus in my case.

My pain was only up at 6/7 for a short time {a month??} at the worst with the severe spasms. At that time was when I came across my chiropractor, and he did very well with relieving the locked up feeling, spasms & trigger points for me.
For the most part I didn't have high pain - just constant aches and buzzing in my arms and a burning in my neck/upper back muscles that I would consider a 3 or 4 on the pain scale. My fine finger coordination & hand/arm use was quite limited during those 1.5 years though.

All in all, it took me about 2.5 yrs and about 5 docs and 10 different PT people {some were duds} before I really got to the functional place I am at now.

Honestly, I think 1 month would not be long enough to see a big improvement. Unless you were very early into the pain & symptoms....
It would be a start and possibly a good test to see if you can respond with rest and with excellent PT or some sort of pain relief therapies.

If you can seek out a very good PT, or PT place, a body worker of some sort, an expert chiropractor and a therapeutic massage specialist or some mix of those that would be a great thing to do. Sooner or later you will probably need to have a list of very good people to see for various problems when they come up.

I learned a lot from reading many RSI, posture, self help, spine care, back pain books and websites and some videos too.

I don't know if you have looked at all the stuff in the sticky threads yet but lots of links, articles & video links are saved there.

[finz]

Hi FarmGirl !

Welcome to the club none of us wanted to join !

My TOS started as a work injury, so I was off work right away. Delays in treatment galore. I finally found an excellent PT who did myofascial release that eased my TOS, but now I am left with RSD (and fibro, cervical disc bulges, arthritis, occipital neuralgia, etc)

Waiting for approval for the pain clinic now.........

[(Broken Wings)]

Originally Posted by farmgal

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I appreciate all the tips and advice . . . seems there's always something new to learn about this crazy condition. Also wanted to give you guys an update after more dr appts this week.

I consulted with the ortho doc on Monday about the new MRI. He said there wasn't a significant change from the 2005 MRI so he wouldn't recommend surgery for the cervical issues. He sent me to see another doc in his practice for a new nerve conduction test. Results were normal so no nerve damage yet. This guy also agreed with the TOS diagnosis but thinks I may have the vascular type which is a little scary. I believe he based this on the temp difference between might right and left hands along with my pulse cutting off when right hand was held above shoulder-level for a minute or so. My right hand gets cold and pale but it doesn't turn blue or have any swelling. He said I would have to see a cardiac doc for an angiogram/arteriogram or something like that to know for sure.

We also discussed the treatments I've tried in the past along with my current meds. I told him that I'd been considering surgery because of how much pain I've been in recently even on max doses of my meds. Told him that I really didn't want surgery because I felt it was a last resort and wasn't ready to play that card just yet. So the only thing I haven't tried is taking a break from work and trying to rehab. I have disability insurance through work and he's willing to fill out the necessary paperwork. So my new plan is to take at least a month away from work and do physical therapy 3x per week for the next month. Then I'll go back to the doc and see where we go from there. I'm also on some new meds. Tramadol ER, Baclofen and Soma for breakthru spasms.

Given my new plan, I have some questions for you guys. How many of you saw improvements after taking a break from work? Did PT seem to help or hurt? How many of you have opted for surgery? If you've had surgery would you do it again?

Good questions.

I've had noticeable improvement in my pain level when I've reduced or not worked. It can definitely be a pain triggerer for TOS, depending on your job is just how bad it will be. Erogonomics is important and posture, stress as bad as I hate to admit it, driving, lifting, carrying, pushing/pulling, and... well, it's tough working with TOS. So taking some time off is a good plan to start with.

I have a lot of other issues, neck, back, hip, leg that coexist with TOS and overload headaches, scalenes, arms, thumbs, and scapula... You need an experienced PT for TOS therapy. Myofascial release is good for me, yoga and stretching, aqua therapy, balls and other passive modalities. I've tried Kinesio tape, inversion boards... I've been in therapy 8 years and now am in wellness and doing good. A month... hummm.... Just remember, you can only eat a whale one bite at a time

I would expect, however, to get a good assessment, some much needed therapy (just not sure you can expect results in a month-therapy rough at times), ultrasound, e-tem, lights, hot/cold packs, maybe even alternate, advice, home exercise program that you understand how to do them the proper way. Realistic goals for the short term and a plan for the long term, readjusting as you go.

I opted not to have surgery for many reasons.

Lots of good info here. I had "51 Tips for TOSers" that I've shared if you can find that. Maybe something might help.

[TraceyW]

hey farmgal!

i used to work in an office - heavy computer use/stress etc....i worked there for 12 months after developing tos symptoms from a fall down some stairs. I should not have pushed myself for that long, would often end up in tears due to pain and just being uncomfortable pretty much all day - i ended up doing very little work and seeing an OT who said it was unlikely i could even do part-time finally convinced me to leave.....i completely changed roles and now work with children - a job where my posture changes constantly and im mostly on my feet. It has reduced my symptoms by probably half. A work break should have been what i did 4 years ago when this all started and i wish i had learnt quicky to NOT do the things that make me worse. I dont carry anything heavy, dont drive long distances, dont (and cant) sit on low backed chairs etc

i would defo try a break from work and possibly an entire change of career before going down the surgery route.....

Originally Posted by farmgal

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I appreciate all the tips and advice . . . seems there's always something new to learn about this crazy condition. Also wanted to give you guys an update after more dr appts this week.

I consulted with the ortho doc on Monday about the new MRI. He said there wasn't a significant change from the 2005 MRI so he wouldn't recommend surgery for the cervical issues. He sent me to see another doc in his practice for a new nerve conduction test. Results were normal so no nerve damage yet. This guy also agreed with the TOS diagnosis but thinks I may have the vascular type which is a little scary. I believe he based this on the temp difference between might right and left hands along with my pulse cutting off when right hand was held above shoulder-level for a minute or so. My right hand gets cold and pale but it doesn't turn blue or have any swelling. He said I would have to see a cardiac doc for an angiogram/arteriogram or something like that to know for sure.

We also discussed the treatments I've tried in the past along with my current meds. I told him that I'd been considering surgery because of how much pain I've been in recently even on max doses of my meds. Told him that I really didn't want surgery because I felt it was a last resort and wasn't ready to play that card just yet. So the only thing I haven't tried is taking a break from work and trying to rehab. I have disability insurance through work and he's willing to fill out the necessary paperwork. So my new plan is to take at least a month away from work and do physical therapy 3x per week for the next month. Then I'll go back to the doc and see where we go from there. I'm also on some new meds. Tramadol ER, Baclofen and Soma for breakthru spasms.

Given my new plan, I have some questions for you guys. How many of you saw improvements after taking a break from work? Did PT seem to help or hurt? How many of you have opted for surgery? If you've had surgery would you do it again?

[JennyHurts]

<<Welcome to the club none of us wanted to join !>>

That's hysterical!

[farmgal]

Yeah, I'm not sure a month of PT is going to cut it. It took years to get this bad so it may take years to 'undo' if that's even possible. But I'm going to give it my best shot and hope for some improvement. I have a feeling it will turn out like TraceyW's story . . . some of the things she said really hit home. High stress job on the computer all day, crying fits before and after work because of the pain, and feeling some relief when I'm moving around instead of in a static position for hours.

Maybe this is a sign it's time for a career change. I've always wanted to be a full-time farmgirl and I have many empty stalls in my barn that I could use to board horses for other people. I wouldn't get rich doing it but at least I'd enjoy what I was doing and not be hurting so much.

[Jomar]

a funny thing /odd for me is that I can stack hay, shovel, clean out the barn, drive my little tractor and other 'heavy" jobs but if I try to write a few sentences or other fine work the fingers don't work right for very long...

I hope the farm gal thing works for you too