# can't catch a break



## brown down (Jun 17, 2016)

rarely if ever you see me post personal info about myself here or elsewhere. I tend to lean on the funny or darwinisms which I find hilarious. When I was 24 I was in a very bad car accident and rolled my truck leaving a wedding, and yes I was drinking and driving. thankfully the only person I screwed up was myself!!! Ever since then I have been in a pain that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. In 09 I had my first shoulder operation and haven't stopped since. to date I have had 5 surgeries, 4 of which were shoulder operations and 1 was bone fusion in my neck c3-c4. After all of this I am still in the same pain outside of my pinched nerve in my neck. I pushed and pushed for this very new study that is an MRI based study only it takes pictures of the nerves instead of the bones and such. I went to manhattan and had the study done about 3 weeks ago and finally got the results. come to find out I have a very rare nerve disorder due to that accident. TOS or thoracic outlet syndrome. Which there are very few doctors even work on that. I am now going to see a neurosurgeon hopefully in Philadelphia who specializes in this type of injury but man I am not looking forward to this at all! after watching a video on youtube about it which was a terrible idea I have a feeling this will make my fusion seem like a paper cut! to boot My girlfriend and I broke up and I also broke my sawmill lol what a crappy week this has been. Knowing I won't be able to prob hunt this year and also knowing I won't be able to do any woodworking for god knows how long is driving me to my breaking point. I know there are people out there much worse then myself but I am getting to the end of my rope!

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## DKMD (Jun 17, 2016)

That's sucks! TOS(thoracic outlet syndrome) is pretty unusual and not something that I treat, but there are several different versions. I'm assuming yours is the neurological variety, but there's a vascular version as well. Even in the neuro group, there are a number of things that may cause it such as abnormal muscles, extra ribs, old traumatic deformities, etc. There is some support for non-surgical treatment in some cases, and the surgical treatments differ considerably depending on the cause. The only reason I mentioned all of that is to let you know that you might not have to have surgery, but even if you do, it may not be as bad as you think! Besides all that, getting rid of nerve pain would be a heck of a deal! Chin up!

Interesting that you chose to compare it to your neck surgery... I would have guessed that some of your shoulder surgeries would have been worse than the neck.

Reactions: Like 3 | Informative 1


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## ripjack13 (Jun 17, 2016)

Hang in there Jeff..
I'm in the same boat. I had surgery on both neck and shoulder. I'm in ridiculous pain also. I had fusion on c4-5-6...and it's always in pain. Always. I can't lift my right arm past my chest and if I do it shoots pain. Lifting a half gallon of milk is painful! I had 2 surgeries on the shoulder, and they are talking shoulder replacement next. Not sure I want to that yet...so with all this I need to quit construction. Find a new line of work, and That sucks royally. I'm not a desk type guy...
So, enough about me....
Keep your head up. If I can live with this, I'd like to think someone else can. But I'm sure you're in more pain than me....
Let me know if you wanna chat sometime. I'm always available....

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## ironman123 (Jun 17, 2016)

Jeff, you have to get better so you can fix your sawmill. That is most of my problems neck (c5-c6), some nerve up there and left shoulder. Best I can say is choose your options carefully, don't overdo, take your meds and hang in there buddy.

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## brown down (Jun 17, 2016)

DKMD said:


> That's sucks! TOS(thoracic outlet syndrome) is pretty unusual and not something that I treat, but there are several different versions. I'm assuming yours is the neurological variety, but there's a vascular version as well. Even in the neuro group, there are a number of things that may cause it such as abnormal muscles, extra ribs, old traumatic deformities, etc. There is some support for non-surgical treatment in some cases, and the surgical treatments differ considerably depending on the cause. The only reason I mentioned all of that is to let you know that you might not have to have surgery, but even if you do, it may not be as bad as you think! Besides all that, getting rid of nerve pain would be a heck of a deal! Chin up!
> 
> Interesting that you chose to compare it to your neck surgery... I would have guessed that some of your shoulder surgeries would have been worse than the neck.




My neck surgery was hands down the most painful op. I have had rotator cuff repair as well as my AC joint being repaired. The others weren't as bad but still sucked. Had scar tissue removed that was tacking my bicep tendon down and not allowing it to move properly. Have you ever heard of an MRN? magnetic resonance neurography? heres the link to the company that does this study.. I only found 1 doc out of multiple that knew what it was lol http://www.philadelphianeurography.com/appointments/ they are actually based out of California ...My pain as far as I know is nerve related and effecting my scalene muscles on my left side but is focal in my shoulder/Trap area and radiating down my arm past my elbow. I am doing my best to keep my chin up but at the end of the day I have tried everything from acupuncture, A.R.T active release technique, Therapy and only a few weeks ago Botox injections around my head and neck and nothing has worked. I discussed getting my medical marijuana card with my pain docs as I hate taking pills and they don't do anything for me! thats at minimum a year out! 




ripjack13 said:


> Hang in there Jeff..
> I'm in the same boat. I had surgery on both neck and shoulder. I'm in ridiculous pain also. I had fusion on c4-5-6...and it's always in pain. Always. I can't lift my right arm past my chest and if I do it shoots pain. Lifting a half gallon of milk is painful! I had 2 surgeries on the shoulder, and they are talking shoulder replacement next. Not sure I want to that yet...so with all this I need to quit construction. Find a new line of work, and That sucks royally. I'm not a desk type guy...
> So, enough about me....
> Keep your head up. If I can live with this, I'd like to think someone else can. But I'm sure you're in more pain than me....
> Let me know if you wanna chat sometime. I'm always available....




Man we are falling apart lol. my shoulder wasn't bad enough for replacement but bad enough and I know exactly what you are going through... I am in heavy commercial construction and pushing and pulling wire all day long let alone lifting heavy objects just isn't good for my injury. My neck surgeon who is prob one of the best in the country told me that lol. I make to much money to throw in the towel at that time but I don't think I have a choice now!! I am in the same boat you are in, I don't have the mindset to work in an office based job but I may not have a choice!!!


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## brown down (Jun 17, 2016)

ironman123 said:


> Jeff, you have to get better so you can fix your sawmill. That is most of my problems neck (c5-c6), some nerve up there and left shoulder. Best I can say is choose your options carefully, don't overdo, take your meds and hang in there buddy.



I keep blowing sprockets so I am going to switch it over to pulleys but I agree lol I have some old growth eastern red cedar I need to slab out let alone the amount of burls I just brought home

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## Mike1950 (Jun 17, 2016)

brown down said:


> I keep blowing sprockets so I am going to switch it over to pulleys but I agree lol I have some old growth eastern red cedar I need to slab out let alone the amount of burls I just brought home



BURLS- Did I hear Burls.........

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Funny 2


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## brown down (Jun 17, 2016)

Mike1950 said:


> BURLS- Did I hear Burls.........



Yea I have a pile of them out there but they aren't that big and deep with eye as Id hoped. but I only milled 2 of them so far, I saved the cutoffs for the casters as I know they drool over that stuff lol. I will surely save you a chunk mike def won't be as big as the last chunk you got off me but will have a lot of figure

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Mike1950 (Jun 17, 2016)

brown down said:


> Yea I have a pile of them out there but they aren't that big and deep with eye as Id hoped. but I only milled 2 of them so far, I saved the cutoffs for the casters as I know they drool over that stuff lol. I will surely save you a chunk mike def won't be as big as the last chunk you got off me but will have a lot of figure



No matter just bein lighthearted. Folks -Jeff has some NICE cherry burl.


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## brown down (Jun 17, 2016)

Mike1950 said:


> No matter just bein lighthearted. Folks -Jeff has some NICE cherry burl.




I know you are my friend! I have a fairly large one out there and one full burl crotch section I am dying to see whats on the inside!

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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## manbuckwal (Jun 17, 2016)

Sorry you're going thru it , hang in there !!!


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## ripjack13 (Jun 17, 2016)

I have had an ACL replacement, and 2 miniscus surgeries To my right knee. It feels like 2 rocks grinding together now. And...I'm having another hernia surgery (had 2!) in few weeks as well, to repair a previous one.
Yep...we're falling apart man....


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## Kevin (Jun 17, 2016)

I hope you can get it solved Jeff does not sound fun. You're like me you don't put your whole life on the forum so if you do mention something it must be serious. Best of luck and keep us updated.

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## DKMD (Jun 17, 2016)

I'm not too familiar with MRN, but then again, I don't do any spine stuff. Looks like a pretty slick technique for evaluating nerves, but I don't know how sensitive or specific the studies are.


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## brown down (Jun 17, 2016)

Thanks for all the kind words and support guys! I don't think I have EVER been this down in my life and I am over it. Usually life doesn't knock me down but theres only so much of a beating I can take before I just can't take anymore! At the end of the day tho at least I know what is causing my chronic pain! But it still doesn't take away from the fact that I am pretty young and running a marathon of pain on a daily basis!

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## woodtickgreg (Jun 17, 2016)

Jeff for what its worth I feel for ya. I have been through some crap that pales in comparison to what you and Marc are going through, but crap just the same. This site and all you folks here helped me immensely. The wb helped to pass the time while healing and I lived the wood working world vicariously through others, it kept my mind sharp and gave me something to work towards. I know a little about pain and physical limitations and changing careers because of it. I know a lot about heart ache, emptiness and depression, it's no joke. It can be worse than the physical pain. If you feel that you have no joy in your life and can't seem to pick yourself back up, please seek some help for that, there is no shame in seeking help from your doctor for depression. It doesn't mean you are weak or less than a man or a person, we all go through it at times but sometimes it is just unsurmountable it seems. Treatment for depression isn't forever, it is for right now when you need it. I hear it in your statements. Had I not taken this same advise from a good friend and co worker I might not be giving you the same advice today. A very low dose anti depressant helped me through a very rough time in my life when I had no joy in my life at all. And like you guys I kept it to myself and didn't talk about it on the forum, but I was in a very low dark place, like you. Seek help with that my friend, please. It can get really bad and you won't even realize it is happening. Especially when you don't have anyone in your corner like what I went through. And I am always here to talk with too! Do not hesitate to contact me.
Greg

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 4 | Great Post 2


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## HomeBody (Jun 18, 2016)

Hang in there Jeff. Maybe we should change the name of the forum to Pain Barter! I'm right with you. I have kyphosis. My vertebrae are eroding away in 3 places and I'm bent forward. Pain about all the time. You have to be tough to be old. Gary

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## SENC (Jun 18, 2016)

Have you in my thoughts and prayers, my friend.

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## brown down (Jun 18, 2016)

I am def down and slightly depressed but I don't think I will ever take meds for it as its only temporary. I think I am more ticked off then anything about this as I called what I had and my neurologist did an EMG and told me without a doubt in his mind I didn't have TOS!!!! I had to damn near beg him for this study and well guess who was right! It took me 4 doctors to finally get that study done and they all told me there is no way I have TOS as it is very rare lmfao! I have seen so many doctors over the last 10 years and have only ever found a few that don't have the doctor god complex! I truly have the best support group via family and friends! and when I get real ticked I just go to the range and blast off a few hundred rounds and I feel much better lol.. I have 9 nieces and nephews who absolutely cheer me up whenever I am around them. I just had a very very crappy week. I guess when it rains it pours. I know that the reason why I am so addicted to woodworking and especially hand tools is because of recovering from my injuries/surgeries and it was the one thing outside of hunting that completely took my mind off of everything going on! I could get completely lost in a project and I think thats what is lacking right now for me! I have a big project coming up but am still waiting for the logs to dry. 

I would never take my life as I know first hand what that does people! I had a good friend of mine a few years back take his life only 3 days after loosing my two best friends father. It was harder to swallow then the loss of a man I loved just like a father! I know there is an end in sight or at least I hope but I am already well over a million dollars in surgeries and if I need surgery to fix this, this will be number 6 for me and most likely I will need another neck op sometime down the road..

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## woodtickgreg (Jun 18, 2016)

That's very reassuring Jeff. We all have you in our prayers. And we got you on the WB!

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## ironman123 (Jun 18, 2016)



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