| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| PatW |
Posted - 06/23/2005 : 10:04:51
I've had plantar fasciitis for a year now. It got quite a bit better last fall, but it came back with a vengeance in the winter. In March, I pulled out a Sarno's HBP, which I've had for years and reread it. I have a lot of fear and anxiety about being permanently disabled from plantar faciitis, and the book started helping me relax my feet and legs. I also read MBP and was seeing some slight but definite improvement. I was reading everyday and reminding myself frequently that pain and tension when walking or standing was TMS and would not hurt me, so I could relax. Then in May I started having a lot of GI discomfort and got quite sick. My doc said it was gall bladder and it might have to come out. The week after that my gyn told me that tests had shown that I was borderline osteoporosis and would have to take Fosomax, a drug that I find scary with a lot of GI side affects. These two new and potentially serious health problems just freaked me out. Since then I haven't been able to focus calmly on my feet. It's like my tiny brain can only handle one TMS thing at a time. I had an ultrasound on my upper GI, and there were no gallstones and my gall bladder looked fine. My digestive system feels better now, as long as I don't eat fatty foods or dairy, which I didn't eat much of before, so my diet is actually about the same. I'm taking Caltrate [calcium] and considering trying Fosomax. But I'm still distressed and angry about all this happening. My feet are so fragile that if I walk even a little too much, they become very painful, so the weight bearing exercise that would help prevent osteoporosis is out of the question right now.
I'm definitely a TMS kind of person - there's no question in my mind. I had a miserable childhood, but I've also had a lot of helpful therapy and have a very good therapist now. Although she hasn't read Sarno, I have talked to her about his ideas, and she is sympathetic.
If someone could send some tips on dealing with the overwhelm, I would appreciate it. I would like to be able to calmly focus on my feet. Thanks. |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| PatW |
Posted - 06/24/2005 : 17:04:14
Thanks for responding. I do see that I'm very focused on the physical. I also see that "calmly focusing on my feet" is the wrong approach. That makes sense to me when it's pointed out.
Hilary, the odd thing is that after a lifetime of being angry, I'm having trouble coming up with what I might be angry about now. Of course, I'm always angry at my mother for being so critical and unloving my whole life. I'm angry that my life has been difficult. I want to move back to California, but we can't while my husband's father is still alive. However, I'm sure that moving back wouldn't solve anything, and my husband doesn't want to move back anyway. But overall these days, I don't feel very angry.
I have had trouble with tendinitis before. About 12 years ago, I was under a lot of stress at work, not getting along with some co-workers, and working way too hard myself, and I came down with a terrible case of RSI, and also came down with fibromyalgia-like joint pain and knee problems. Most of that is gone but it took years to go away. Last year when my current set of problems [De Quervains tendinitis and planter fasciitis] began, my husband and I were cleaning out my father-in-law's house - 40 years of stuff, and my sister-in-law was insufferable, and I got so angry at her. I'm still trying to figure out why I have been so angry, although just a few days ago I started thinking about what Sarno says about narcissism, and that seems to feel right. I'm going to journal about that tonight.
It seems so clear to me that I have TMS, but it's not so clear to me how to fight back. I'll keep reading and trying to get the concepts. |
| Hilary |
Posted - 06/24/2005 : 15:25:29
I absolutely agree with Susie and pault. "Calmly focusing on your feet" is the last thing you want to do to get over this. The nature of TMS is that it will keep manifesting in different ways, so whatever symptom you're dealing with is irrelevant - it is the emotional stuff that you need to dig into. If you've recognized yourself in the personality type you've got the key to the door of this prison.
As far as therapy goes, I believe that no matter how good the therapy, that in itself isn't the answer. I can tell you that I had very good therapy too for several years that helped me understand myself much better, but even that didn't help the TMS symptoms. You can understand that you had the most miserable childhood in the world but if that knowledge isn't applied in the right way, the symptoms will persist. That's my experience anyway.
It's good that your therapist is sympathetic to Sarno's ideas, but that is not the same as reading the books and really absorbing these concepts and applying his techniques. (By the way, if mytherapist didn't read a book like Sarno which was so critical to my healing, that in itself would make the 3-year-old in me absolutely furious!)
Your post is largely still focused on the physical. Can you say more about the things that you are aware of that are making you angry?
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| pault |
Posted - 06/24/2005 : 04:47:54
I have a friend who is a crosscountry runner who has the same problem and was able to overcome it and is back to running again.Look how well tms is working on your brain as you cannot think of anything else.The more clever you unconscious brain is the worse it is.Your body is not fragile and you can do what ever you want without worry.Those drugs are trouble. Your fear of what might happen,(fear)is ruling right now,keep reading and get well soon , Paul |
| Susie |
Posted - 06/23/2005 : 10:18:06
Pat- To practice Sarno, you just can't focus on your feet. Your ibs and other aches and pains are probably tms as well. You are blaming your intestinal problems on fatty foods which I also did. I can now eat a plate of ribs any day of the week if I want to. Just try to figure out what is bothering you and don't try to focus on any singular malady. Tms is tricky and will most likely move around as it is doing to you. Your feet aren't fagile anymore than mine were. You just need to remember it is the psychological you need to work on, not your body parts. |
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