My TOS

My TOS  : 

At age 18, I had so much pain in my right shoulder and neck, that I wanted to die. I was sent to doctor after doctor. Every one of them said that they didn't know what was wrong with me. My right hand tingled and I dropped items. There was one spot at the top of my vertebra column that sent electrical shock down my body if it was touched. I went to chiropractors, had test after painful test, e.e.g.'s xrays, etc. It was discovered that I had extra ribs and recommeded that the cervical rib be removed. This was 30 years ago, so they went directly through my chest, which of course, left a huge arched scar. I thought I was cured. Unfortunately, soon after the surgery, I knew that nothing was any different. The pain was still there. I begged people to hit me in the shoulder muscle just to try to relieve the pain. I continued to see doctors for years. I had two children and worked full time. I don't know how I did it, looking back. After suffering with that pain for over 10 years, I finally went back to my doctor. He was going to do an exploratory surgery through the front of my neck and possibly fuse the upper vertebra. As he sat on the side of my hospital bed, I begged him to please go through the back, instead of the front. I could reach back and put my finger on the spot. He was reluctant to go through the back because of the danger of cutting important nerves. But, after he had me in the operating room, at the last minute, he told his staff to turn me over. He proceeded to open me up by cutting from just below my hairline on the back of my neck to about 6 inches down, off to the side just a bit. After proceeding through the first layers of tissue, he immediately called attention to his staff. "Take a look at this", he said. The entire operating room staff were amazed at what they saw. Apparently, a large nerve growing downward into my body ran into my spinal column and got stuck there. Over the years, it was still growing, but only into a golfball size tumor of my own tissue. That golfball size nerve created so much pain and confused every doctor I ever saw. You see, back then, something like that would not show up on any test. It was my own tissue and they didn't have the technology that they do today. When I awoke from surgery, my doctor was sitting at my side. He said, "If I hadn't gone through the back, I would never have found it, again." So, in my case, the removal of my cervical rib was not necessary and did nothing to eliviate my pain. I don't know if I have TOS. I have not gone back to the doctor for that same pain again. I can live with my small discomforts now. But, at that time, the pain was almost unbearable. I sympothize with all of you who suffer from TOS. My doctor was going to write an article and have it placed in the medical magazines because he thought that my symtoms could have been mis-diagnosed. If any of you have similar symtoms, please tell my story to your doctor. It may save you un-necessary surgeries. Apparently, if you have birth abnormalities, such as, extra ribs, cervical ribs, etc., it is also possible that a large nerve has not grown properly and may possibly be the culpret to your pain. I only tell you this because it happened to me. I have numbness in my shoulder muscle, slight numbness in my right arm, but NO PAIN. Sometimes if I touch the front of my chest, I can feel tingly sensations in other areas, but still NO PAIN! GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS!

Doctor Recommendations  : 

None.