| Last Updated June 29, 2005 |
My TOS :
I began having symptoms in my arm, neck, & shoulders a few years before I stopped doing hair for a living. While doing that job, I was in school earning my paralegal degree & I now work for 13 attorneys in my firm's litigation department. I began aggressively seeking an answer for the numbness in my arms & hands. They become completely paralyzed at night & ache as well as being incredibly weak now. The first doctor I saw about the problems indicated that I had fibromyalgia & immediately prescribed amatriptilene (Elavil), but I told him that I would not take it because my mother used to take it & couldn't even get up out of the bed. I never saw that doctor again. So this year, I self-referred myself to Dr. Cox. He gave me a series of in-office testing & then sent me for MRIs (will full multiple sclerosis panel). Fortunately, I do not have MS, but he did diagnose me with TOS. I'm fortunate in that my diagnosis was quick (well....many, many years) once I figured out what type of doctor I needed to see. He sent me to physical therapy, but the director of our hospital's physical therapy department said that my problems were much more serious than anything that physical therapy could cure. He said that he thought it was arterial (due to my recent hospitalization last year for chest pain & no bilateral pulse with arms just barely up off my sides). So, Dr. Cox sent me to a cardio-thoracic surgeon named Dr. D. Adams. Dr. Adams gave me the stats after he examined me & reviewed my medical file; he indicated that he wanted to speak with the director of physical therapy & then he would call me back to make his recommendation. His assistant called me to schedule a 1st rib resection (on the left side) for December 10, 2004. Dr. Adams wants to perform the same procedure on my right side 6 weeks after the upcoming surgery. Anyway, I'm scared, but really excited with the notion of not being in pain. I've read all of the stories posted here & it seems that surgery is good for some, but not all people. I'm scared to death & like most of you, I needed pain pills last week (for the 1st time ever...) and the doc. kind of made me feel like I was a junkie begging for meds. I don't think he meant to; he is a very kind, knowledgeable, & understanding person). Well, my surgery is scheduled soon & I don't know if my husband or my 14 year old son understand: 1) the pain that I have now; 2) the actual risks of the surgery; and 3) what it will be like for quite awhile after I've had the surgery. Any encouraging words about the surgery would be great...I'm really scared of the cervical approach to remove the rib, etc., because of the artery being just beneath the incision. Thanks, & good luck to everyone. Please feel free to email me with suggestions or just to "talk" about TOS. I'll update after I have surgery.
Dr. Randy Cox, Neurologist