| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| goldie |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 19:44:31
All,
Having bought Dr Sarno's MBP book yesterday and feeling semi-confident that this may be a real answer for me i have come up with some questions & commentary of my situation that i wanted to throw out there to see what people think and if something like it has been experienced by others and of course if you all feel that they fit with the concept / historical experiences of TMS.
1). LIFE WORRIES AND CHANGES CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS AT WORST TIME POSSIBLE?
I am guessing that a lot of people's pain started at what they feel was the absolute worst timing in their life that could have been possible. In my case the onset of my pain caused me to have to quit my new job and eventually relocate back to my home country with my tail between my legs and sore arms, and in doing so give up my life long dream of successfully living overseas and enjoying my new life that i made FOR MYSELF in the USA! (Note i think if any latent pain / anger is in me it might be the shame of having not succeeded at this and while there the fear of failure at that endeavour - had also tried the same in the UK about 3 years prior also having it end in failure for other reasons - primarily homesickness). After working in Australia for around 6 years in IT and mousing like a madman all through that period, my initial pain began after only about 1 month of arriving and starting my new job and life in the US. On top of this there were the pressures of leaving family, friends and new girlfriend - all at the age of 26. I have always been a worrier and i guess now in hindsight i can see how much stress / anxiety / lonliness i was under at the time due to the massive life changes i was going through - not to mention quite a lot of dissatisfaction with the new job i had completely changed my life for. As you would expect I had previously thought my mental states were only a contributing factor to my rsi condition (as opposed to the root problem of my tms) - i.e. i was feeling crap AND got RSI! Does my story and this concept of 'worst timing possible' for the onset of symptoms sound familiar to some others??
2). PAIN IN ORIGINAL MOUSE ARM FLIPPED TO OTHER ARM ALMOST IMMEDIATELY!?
My problems all began through computer / mouse usage. At the beginning I began to get pain in the outer elbow / top of forearm on my mouse hand (i am right handed) after long bouts of mousing. After around a month of this growing pain and having no improvement from ergo setup / device modifications i decided to switch mousing to my left arm to try and give my right a break but was shocked to find out that the same pain & discomfort started after only 1 week of this switch!! After discovering the concept of TMS i am starting to think this almost immediate switch of pain to my other arm (which i have never really used for mousing before) points to TMS issues - i.e. otherwise why the hell would the pain which - if you believe standard rsi thought - should take years to create overuse problems have swapped arms so quickly with the mouse change??
3). A HOLIDAY REPREIEVE
When i went on holidays To Cuba and Mexico for 6 weeks the pain was almost gone. If i sat down at a computer for any period of time it would return but the general ache / stiffness that i had when away from the computer disappeared. As soon as i returned to my normal life it came back! This sound familiar?
4). LINGERING DOUBTS
After 12 months of almost constant pain & soreness in my forearms and tightness & stiffness in my neck and upper back (having not worked full time with a computer for the last 6 months) am i crazy to think that i may still actually have a real lingering tissue problem and should realise that TMS is the only real answer? I keep reading commentary by Sarno and others that tissue problems just don't take that long to heal. Also, what about the idea of nerve entrapment when leaving the spinal column causing referred pain in arms - shouldnt my 2 different chiros of which saw for around 2 months each have cured / improved this? Could this not linger for 12 months??
5). MORE DOUBTS
And just a comment. I am finding it really hard to keep typing when my conscious mind is screaming out 'stop idiot - have you not learned from all the medicos that when it hurts you stop!!' - i am wondering how long it will take to retrain my brain to get over this and just soldier on. Of course, not looking for a time / period but just a comment of what i am feeling now.
6). NEXT STEPS?
For the TMS - am i on the right track that, if when my arms start to hurt, i just think over in my mind that this is a mental effect and not physical. It seems to help and make the pain decrease a bit but where do i go from there? I have begun in the last few days (as evidenced by my essay above) to think of what issues might have been effecting me at the time of onset of pain - where do i go from here to continue the recovery process? or do i just need to keep doing this? I have been trying to actually mentally force more blood down into my arms - am i crazy - am i taking this mind over matter theory too far?
Final comment - i really hope this works for me because i have so many friends / ex colleagues who have had serious rsi issues / pains over the years. I would love to be the new bearer of this message of success and really give them help. Getting past this problem would truly be a new lease on life - i feel like my life has been put on hold for the past 12 months.
thanks all.
Brad |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| lastlostmonkey |
Posted - 12/21/2005 : 05:43:31
Hi goldie,
I was also diagnosed with RSI and a lot of what you say sounds familiar. I am also right handed and when the pain came on in earnest in that side I also switched mousing hands and developed pain in the left side in about a week. I was given a 'recovery' time of at least 12-18 months for 'nerves to heal' which seems crazily long to me when you heal from a broken bone in less time than that. My job wasn't new, but I wasn't happy there and had a lot of other big changes and stressful situations happening just before the severe onset. The severe onset also actually enabled me to avoid an essay that I was dreading. I had worked in worse ergonomic set ups and used the computer more intensively at all my previous jobs. I had other symptoms that disappeared when I got 'RSI'. This job was the first time I had ever come across RSI as a concept and I even remember making a joke to someone about it maybe a month before I developed pain myself.
All these things (and more, but I won't bore you further) cannot be coincidental, even allowing for the tendency to make patterns where none exist. I am still working on the Sarno theories but have started to think in psychological terms when I hear of someone else's RSI, which I think shows a shift. Basically it makes no physical sense to me but it does make psychological sense. My questions about Sarno are more about the detail of his theory. Like you I am semi-confident and questioning everything. But as I mull it over it just seems more and more logical. Since reading the books I feel some relief, I can't tell if it's psychological or in terms of pain. I need to work more on the journaling.
lostmonkey |
| h2oskier25 |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 08:26:11
Goldie,
Any new job seems to cause us "RSI" sufferers to have relapses. At least that was the case for me. I no longer believe in RSI. That's a strong statement, because I lived the Emil Pascarelli theories for 8 long painful years.
I would call Sarno's office and order the video tapes. They're $99 and worth every penny. You can watch them and let it sink in.
The little boy in you loves it when you fail and have to move home. He likes it there. Acknowledge that little boy, and tell him why life will be good overseas. Take him out and show him the sights, and things he will like.
When I first got my relapse in Sept of this year, and discovered this board, somebody said "RSI is ALWAYS a sign that you're not dealing with something emotional." I live by that now.
If I were you I would write in a JOURNAL every night. There REALLY is not substitute for this. It's really helped me, and I still find it helps today.
Stop talking tissue damage and nerve entrapment. Balderdash.
Stop seeing the chiro's, unless you get emotional help from them. I had a chiro like that. He would ask how things were going, and we'd talk a little. The readjustments were secondary. Since I moved, I no longer see one.
Regards,
Beth
Beth |
| n/a |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 05:36:53
Welcome to the board. Remember as long as there are any doubts at all in your mind, the program will not work for you. You must wholeheartedly believe in the diagnosis and treatment program. Read Dr. Sarno's book at least 3 times, especially the psychology and treatment sections. Remember, the pain is not due to any physical cause and physical treatment will not help with what is essentially psychological issue. The purpose of the pain is merely to distract you for unconcious emotions that threaten to surface into your consciousness.
Tell us a bit about how you would characterize yourself as a person, as these characteritics- which are typpical for people with TMS - can generate intrnal anger and anxiety which in turn leads to TMS symptoms. |
| gevorgyan |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 03:51:26
Goldie,
You have led really wonderful life. At the beginning of our adult life we are full of energy, we believe that we can move the mountains, but it comes this time that the enthusiasm went out from our face. This are the moments that disappointment is bigger than our hope of overcoming crisis. Now when I look back I can see that it probably was only one additional little trouble which defeated me. Only one stupid perspective of my husband redundancy. Now in spite that he has good job position in another company is not enough along to immediate stop my TMS. But I went to the point that I know with “whom” to fight /or better whom to help - one part of me has enough of trouble, is sick of little worries – and I must do something…
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| goldie |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 21:18:51
Actually, i just read Sarno's bit on what he calls the "Rage / Soothe Ratio" {p. 29 of MBP book} - the timing of the initial occurrence of my symptoms i.e. just left family / girlfriend / friends to start new job in another country, seems to fit this theory. |
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