My Daughter had this procedure by Dr Donahue on 6/18…she is a softball player and is feeling much better and her range of motion in her right arm is the same as the left now which is all the way up.
Obviously you won’t know if it really worked till you go back to the all activities.
Has anyone had this alone and been good to go?
I know each case is different
TYIA
Guys please help.
Whenever i sleep and wake up and make my hand fold up like this while sleeping i get a numb sensation in both of my hands ( whichever hands makes the fist)
.i already have other symptoms like tight left shoulder and weaker left side but i want to understand where expiry is the compression happening which is leading me to this numbness. It goes away as soon as i move my fingers. Any help or suggestion woild be appreciated . 🙏
All started when I was watching a TV show with my little brother. I tried to crack my neck like always and ended up feeling a strange pop in my neck around my right hyoid bone, a little under it. This was followed by some ringing ears and some lightheaded feelings. The next day I had a terrible pain in my throat on the right side when I swallowed. Then over a week or so I started to develop nerve tingling in my face and my hands. Then my right SCM began to tighten. I saw a neurologist my MRI’s were clean other than some inflammation in some areas, he gave me a trigger point injection that didn’t really help in my occipital area. This didn’t help, and he then sent me to physical therapy. I formed a knot in my throat around the same area under my hyoid bone, and the nerve pain went away at this point after a month.
PT helped my SCM release, which released plenty of my muscle pains. However, over months the right SCM would just retighten over and over again. Eventually other muscles starting taking its place and role. Including my right masseter, and my right scalene. Then fast forward 8 months of this cycle happening. Some periods where all I’d have is pain in my throat, and a cough without any sinuses with only one of those mentioned muscles being tight. Then this summer it went from tightness in my right middle scalene to hot inflammatory pain in my throat around my hyoid bone. Then it exploded into nerve pain that would have extreme cross-talk between my trigeminal nerves and my great Auricular nerve and my transverse nerves on my right SCM. Along with plenty of cross-talk between my right throat nerves and both the SCM nerves and my trigeminal nerves at times. It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced; tingling, numbness, shooting, and muscle tightness.
Over this summer through plenty of rest in bed, good sleep, eating much better, and doing only light leg workouts I have had a strange process. The stages formed a pattern that I think I’ve had many times, but also I think it indicates the ability to heal, hopefully. First, my nerve flare ups calmed down slowly. Then my muscles have all stoped guarding for over a month now, except for my middle scalene which remains tight but specifically when I standup or sit-up. However, once my muscles all stopped guarding my nerve pain continued with flare ups. The nerve pain and flare ups have sort of platesued but it’s improved significantly from the a month ago. Many nights I experience hot pains now and inflammation along my scalene and in my throat around my right hyoid. I’ve also had some jaw pain and jaw numbness before, but both have significantly calmed down. Along with the inflammation, my right hyoid muscles seem to be highly overreactive when I try to swallow or flex them. To the point where it’s hard for me to flex the left muscles around my hyoid. Also some nights recently they have tightened around the right hyoid bone area and felt like they were guarding something. Point is that I don’t know what popped originally but it is interwoven with my nerves and muscular structure in a complex way. My MRI’s, CT scans, and my blood tests all come back clear. My current hypothesis is that it has to be something dynamic and/or deep. Something like a deep micro-tear in the longus colli muscle or the anterior longitudinal ligament. Which has led to the compression and interference with my sympathetic nerve trunk and cervical spine that a static MRI or CT scan wouldn’t catch with me laying down. Either way I experience nerve irritation daily and it’s very interconnected no matter where it starts.
What a nice and caring doctor. I learned a lot from that appointment. I was a little surprised that he recommends me starting with just a pec minor release given my neck pain and issues, but I trust his judgement. Very quick turnaround to get the procedure
I was diagnosed by specialist musculoskeletal dr with TOS with both arteries and veins affected bilaterally on ultrasound during movement.
My GP sent a referral to vascular clinic for further investigation and or treatment it got rejected
Saying “there was not enough information on referral”
What other information could they possibly want?
I’m going to call them tomorrow when I’m back home, as I’m out of town right now, but it’s just annoying that I have to follow this up
I had First Reb Resection and full Scalenectomy 9 months ago. My right subclavian artery was occluded (crushed shut) so were all the nerves.
Whilst I recovered I used my left arm a lot more. To the point where I could use both hands dominantly.
10 months ago I had scans on the left side that confirmed the left artery remained widely open. No vascular compromise. It was my safe arm.
Well I'm a 10 month span just from using my left arm predominantly I developed near total occlusion of the artery on the left. Meaning my muscles grew and are now also crushing the left side and I have to get a repeat surgery.
So I just wanted to share this as a word of warning that in a short amount of time things can change drastically. And to be careful if you feel symptoms on your non affected arm.
I had my second round of Botox to manage my pain until surgery in October. We stepped it up a notch though and included my traps and several areas wth trigger points. The weakness is insane. My swallow is even weaker. My biggest issue though is feeling dissociated. I feel delayed and brain-foggy. It was really bad for about a week, to the point I felt drugged. Since then it’s like I’m trying to go through my day but I struggle to think clearly, get the right words out or even focus. I have ADD and it’s significantly made that worse. I am also exhausted now that every task including basic hygeine requires so much more. I guess I am asking if anyone else has experienced this? It’s been over 4 weeks. The physical difficulties I understand but now it feels like it’s taking my mental capacity down too
For those who have had surgery, when did you start to feel significantly better?
I had surgical decompression (1st rib resection, scalenectomy, and pec minor release) on July 1 for nTOS and mild aTOS. I’m still experiencing quite a bit of pain, both at the surgical sites and nervy pain down my arm. I can generally take care of myself but the pain affects my ability to work (desk job), work around the house, and sleep.
For context, I dealt with symptoms for over 5 years pre-surgery and I have hypermobile Ehlers danlos syndrome.
34F (female) 147lbs 5ft 3in. ADHD, thoracic outlet syndrome, anxiety/depression, and autism. Mostly well controlled with Effexor, focalin, lamictal, hydroxyzine.
Sorry this is gross.
TLDR at the bottom.
I had my third thoracic outlet syndrome surgery almost 7 weeks ago. First 2 they removed my first ribs and some scalenes, and brachial plexus neurolysis on both sides. No throat issues. This time they went back into my left side to remove scar tissue and neurolysis of long thoracic nerve, brachial plexus, and maybe something else? I’ll attach the notes from the procedure.
I am in PT and healing well. The one thing that I am REALLY struggling with is swallowing. After my surgery when I woke up the first thing I remember is coughing up really weirdly sweet liquid with the worst sore throat of my life. For about 3 days pain meds didn’t even touch it and it was so much worse than my surgery pain. I also ended up with symptoms of a bad cold that night that progressed over a week, lasted about another week, and then got better. The lingering symptoms were just a cough with a lot of dark green phlegm and a feeling like a sinus infection (I’ve had them a lot). I assume I just caught a cold from the hospital. Since then I have had a weird feeling in my throat.
When I swallow liquid or even my spit I feel like I have to swallow over and over again to get it down. Food doesn’t really do this but I have been swallowing a lot of air with both. I noticed over the last 3-4 weeks a smell and taste coming from the very back of my throat, confirmed with a qtip I swabbed back there. It’s gotten worse every day and so has this feeling. I went to urgent care because I thought it was just some kind of infection bc my tonsils were covered with white mucus or pus. They gave me an antibiotic for tonsillitis.
After 6 days there was no improvement so I went to my PCP. She said the same thing, swollen lymph nodes, swollen tonsils, and redness in tonsils. Got a new antibiotic. That day I also scraped my tonsil and a small amount of pus came out of it. Not a stone but like what comes out of a pimple. She said possibly is just a tonsil stone but there are none visible. Totally fine with that. I’ve had 2 before over the years forever ago and came out quick and easy. Never was able to taste or smell or feel them though. Since then I have been swishing with warm salt water 5+ times a day. I also use an antiseptic mouthwash twice a day. About a year ago I got Invisalign so after every meal I brush my teeth and clean my Invisalign. I end up brushing and flossing at least 3 times a day.
I got a referral for an ENT and went this past Tuesday. By then I had been cleaning the back of my throat and maybe the antibiotic helped shrink everything back down and clear up the mucous. I told him the feeling in my throat was further down below my tonsils. He looked up my nose in my ears and in my mouth with a flashlight. I was hoping he would look down into my throat maybe with a camera or something? I’m not sure what’s standard so I can’t really say much on that. He said I’m fine and give it a couple months and gargle with salt water. Probably tonsil stones and he thinks the sore throat was from the breathing tube. All totally fine with me that’s good news right? I was bummed out because he didn’t offer to clean anything out but ok with the fact that it wasn’t something serious.
I’ve continued to clean around my tonsils with a qtip every other day or so in an attempt to get anything out. There is nothing really there. I managed to get out a tiny piece of something a couple days ago but really nothing significant.
What is bothering me the most is the smell and taste I have 24/7. The constant feeling of having a marble in my throat and almost like a numb feeling? That marble feeling sometimes causes a sharp pain down in the middle and left side of my throat and feels like it’s catching on something and yanking it. There’s almost like a clicking sensation at the same time but I can’t explain it. Is this my tonsils?
Could this be something from surgery? Or the breathing tube? Maybe just gigantic hidden tonsil stones making it harder to swallow? Could one thing cause the other? Could it be gastro related?
TLDR: nerve surgery in thoracic outlet. Severe throat pain after waking. Healed after 2 weeks but started to get smell and taste and weird feeling in throat. 2 doctors prescribed antibiotics for tonsillitis. ENT determined with flashlight there’s nothing but could be tonsil stones and gargle with salt water for 2 months. No improvement so far and symptoms seem worse every day.
Mainly I want to know if this is something I should bring up to the surgeon? I just don’t want him to think I am criticizing him or any of the staff members. They are amazing there. Should I go to my PCP for it again instead? Do I try again with the ENT in 2 months if it’s still there? Is there anything I can do at home to get rid of this taste besides what I’ve already been doing?
Developed right wrist pain while playing the sims back in November ‘25, and since then that worsened into numbness, tingling, and pain in the right arm. Then the left started acting up. Tried to avoid gaming for a while but still exercised, drew, and journaled. Couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t getting better, in fact, it was so much worse.
Talked to my doctor. Got an EMG which was negative. Saw hand surgeon who told me it wasn’t carpal tunnel. Saw OT who was convinced it was an upper cervical issue—she referred me to PT who strongly suspected nTOS and we worked together for several weeks doing nerve glides, soft tissue massage and dry needling. My traps, scalenes and pecs were TIGHT. She was worried about minor pec syndrome too. We got those to be looser and I was seeing improvement, but any time I did an overhead workout or used a computer, the symptoms would come back-to a lesser degree.
Finally got an xray, no anomalies.
Well, PT is phasing me out saying she’s running out of things to do. She may be right, I just gotta keep doing my nerve glides and avoiding things that trigger the symptoms…
But that’s no way to live. All my hobbies trigger these symptoms. I miss drawing! I miss my journal! I miss playing games on my computer and my phone! Just the other day I colored for about 30 minutes, and I’ve paid the price for it—both wrists and forearms were hurting, intermittent numbness and tingling in all different areas, and stiff neck. That’s still happening, 5 days later. It’s only somewhat better.
I told my PT and she said “maybe it’s time to see physical medicine and rehab.” Listen, I’m in healthcare. I know what they’ll say- either keep doing PT, or maybe a repeat EMG, maybe an MRI of the brachial plexus. I don’t want more imaging, I just want relief! Surgery is not an option as I want to get pregnant…idk what to do. I’m torn and scared and miserable. I miss my hobbies. I’m so mad at myself for letting it get this bad. curse my years of bad posture!
Anyone have advice? What did you do to improve?
I have had severe debilitating left scapular pain for six weeks now. No injury occurred. I am a rn, work long shifts. It just came on suddenly one morning. I have undergone multiple cervical and thoracic x-rays showing that I have scoliosis. I am 50 years old and have never been diagnosed with this before. They sent me for an MRI that showed that I have three cervical bulging discs. They did trigger point injections with no relief, lots of pain meds, muscle relaxers, steroids, chiropractic therapy, cryotherapy, Acupuncture, massages, red light therapy, tens unit with no results. They finally sent me for an epidural in the neck a little over a week ago with no results. Can somebody help?
Last year, I woke up one morning with pain in my shoulder ball. I didn't pay much attention to it and went to the gym as usual. A few days later, I got intense pain in my left shoulder along with sweating. The episode lasted about five minutes, after which my shoulder, left trap, and upper back felt cold. The next day I went to a cardiologist and underwent all the standard tests, including an ECG and CT angiogram — everything came back normal.
Over the following months, I began to feel a sense of dread after every workout. My left hand and left side started feeling weaker (I'm left-handed). If I don't eat for two to three hours, I get a metallic taste in my mouth. I also sometimes wake up with numbness in my ring and pinky fingers, and my left leg occasionally has a burning sensation. After walking, I get pain in the front of my right foot. At night i also sometimes get heart palpitations, (,i can clearly hear my heartbeat)
I went back to a cardiologist recently, and again he said nothing was wrong. However, every time I do any cardio, the dread returns and my left shoulder and left trap tighten up. It eventually reached the point where the left side of my head, near the temporal vein, also started tensing up. I am currently seeing a physiotherapist, which has helped reduce the tension in my left trap and shoulder...
I would highly appreciate if anyone can suggest anything here please thanks.
I got an EMG and it came up as negative. Honestly kinda hoping it’s TOS because otherwise I have tendonitis everywhere on my arms. My biggest issue is with my wrist and my fingers. There’s a constant pressure on my wrist that gets worse with exercise. My fingers have a strange painful feeling as well.
I also have horrible allodynia all around my elbows, however I’m not sure if that’s because of TOS or because of a triceps injury I suffered last year.
Could this still be nTOS or is this likely a bunch of other issues put together?
Went to the neuro today. Let her know about these cold sensations I get all over my body, seemingly when my neck is a mess from TOS. She’s insistent that it is not caused by TOS and is something else like small fiber neuropathy. I finally see dr Donahue Monday and am curious what he says about it. Maybe I’m indeed that unlucky and not only have TOS but also have nerve issues elsewhere that are unrelated to
Hi.
I had TOS surgery last Wednesday the 5th. Classic surgery. First rib removal and scalene and pec minor cut.
Since then, I have not been able to walk 5-10 steps without being completely out of breath. Sleep is the worst. Sleep in the great healer, right? Well, I can only sleep in certain, very uncomfortable positions and only for a small amount of time. Otherwise, I feel a colossal and crushing pressure on my chest and I cant breathe.
Then bolt up gasping for air.
And the “ok” positions are only doable because of my cpap.
If I sit down, I have to either sit rigidly straight or hunch forward to breathe.
I’ve tried all sort of pillows, wedges, etc but nothing is changing nor getting better.
Despite the fear of it, I try to walk around the house as much as possible. Getting water, medicine, etc. I’m also still using the dumb Spirometer.
The surgeons nurse called me and said I’m doing everything right but don’t worry, I will get better.
After 8 days now of this crap, I’m hopeless. I do not want the rest of my life to be like this. It’s funny because the pain is the least of my concerns and I should be sleeping all day to heal. Just can’t.
Does anyone have a similar story?
32 years old 5'11, 158lbs, non smoker, no medication.
I have been dealing with neck and left shoulder and arm issues( numbess and tingling into pinky and ring finger and on the top of my hand) with mixed in upper chest pain with ear popping and floating sensation in my head. To start off I have been seen by
Primary care
Neurology (EMG/NCS done of left arm up to neck)
Cardiologist (7 day EKG and Echo)
ENTx3 (CT scan of sinuses)
Physical Therapy (currently at 13 weeks)
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Scans done:
MRI of Brain, Neck and Left shoulder
X-ray's of head/neck, Chest and Spine
EMG
Echo with 7 day EKG
CT scan of Sinuses
Full blood panels to include tested for rheumatoid arthritis and Lupus
C-3 to C-6 Medial Branch blocks
Trigger point injections
This has been going on for over a year now. With a sudden onset of issues last August. It was 9 months of Dr visits and scans before being seen by Physical therapy. The previous scans and tests did not give any proof of issue or diagnosis. Im currently at 14 weeks of Physical therapy and have seen and felt most improvement with 1 round of trigger point injections but still have good days and bad. While my left shoulder and arm symptoms are minimal now. I still have issues with pressure at the base of my head and headaches every so often. I have a constant floating sensation that comes and goes in waves along side constant ear popping.
I do not know what to do next to continue the healing process any guidance or help would be appreciated.
To clarify:
I do not have issues walking or balance problems
I have never had issues gripping or using my hands
Laying down or sleeping has been beneficial for symptoms alongside hot showers and over the counter ointments like Lidocaine or tiger balm.
Results so strange they had to check twice
Did anyone have issues with headaches with nTOS that resolved with surgery? My vascular surgeon is confident my arm will improve with surgery but couldn’t promise improvement in my headaches. I’m 31F and have lost a ton of quality of life, have been struggling with dysautonomia for 4 years, and am at my wits end. I’m heavily leaning towards just going for the surgery but would love to hear your feedback 🙏
I’ve noticed my hands are feeling more swollen and are mottling a lot more, to the point where it’s noticeable that my finger tips are red/blue.
Should I be worried at all of DVT or a blockage? I am being seen by a TOS and vascular specialist but due to long wait times I won’t be seen again for a month.
I do have confirmed vTOS, aTOS and nTOS… fun!
TIA!