| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Nor |
Posted - 07/28/2006 : 21:13:00
I know there are TMS purists on this board so I welcome debate here. I was wondering what thoughts are on treating pain so one can live his or her life a bit easier while still working on TMS stuff. For example, my most recent TMS symptom is tension headaches which can last for days. Although I know its TMS and I still keep focus on emotional issues, I do take meds for it and/or get a massage when its really bad. This is for a few reasons. First, I find it impossible to actually do the work when the symptoms are "active". Also, I look at it from a "life is short" point of view. I hate to lose a day w/my kids or ruin a special event over yet another headache (insert your own symptom du jour here).
Having said that, I also wonder if that is why I still get them. Do I need to just slog through and get over it. Sarno says NO physical treatments. What do others do? I'd love some opinions.
Nor |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Fox |
Posted - 08/02/2006 : 08:53:34
Pain meds okay but massages risky. |
| Plantweed |
Posted - 07/31/2006 : 06:17:37
The past few weeks the pain has eased up a bit in my lower back (nice!) but the bulk of it moved to my right hamstring. Every morning it feels like someone knocked me out and bent my knee up to my face for a couple of hours. So I take a single Hydrocodone, which takes the edge off, otherwise I wouldn't be able to drive to work it hurts so bad. Once I get walking around for a few hours it mostly goes away.
So I'm treating the symptom to enable me to go about my regular physical business, and I know why it hurts so much: been stressed out trying to fit in all these summer projects in the hot, muggy weather. |
| Stryder |
Posted - 07/30/2006 : 23:20:57
Battling TMS is trench warfare, beat it any way you can. You may get some short term gain by treating the symptoms, but in the end the symptoms will be back. Maybe you got some placebo effect by treating the pain, and thats ok if you need a break, like a pain killer. The thing to remember is that your repressed anger is the root cause, so don't loose sight of that, keep you eye on the ball.
Take care, -Stryder |
| Nor |
Posted - 07/30/2006 : 06:45:14
Special One,
I know what you mean. Head pain is impossible to ignore. I take a non-drowsy muscle relaxant the minute I feel one coming on - all the OTC stuff is useless. Usually 2-3 doses and its gone completely. Lately, I'm finding that its no longer working which is frightening b/c it can last for days untreated. I also find that suspicious. TMS is a brilliant devil isn't it?
Nor |
| Special One |
Posted - 07/29/2006 : 23:55:31
I sometimes have to treat the symptoms. I always keep in mind that it is tms, so I don't think it defeats the purpose. I think that if we use the treatment to help continue our tms work, it is fine. I have been experiencing a strong head pain for four days now. I was very scared and was kept awake at night. Usually I can sleep off a headache. It has been hard to do the tms work as I feel these crazy sensations. I even went to the doctor to rule out something serious, but all they did was prescribe tylenol with codeine. I was ready for a cat scan or something.
Since the meds aren't working I am trying a muscle relaxant at night, it's that severe. So if I didn't treat it, I would be close to torture, and I'm looking for relief in any way I can. Meanwhile, I still think it is tms, although it amazes me that tms would hurt so badly. The main reason I think it is tms is that virtually all of my previous tms symptoms are gone right now and have been for the duration of this head pain. Even my sinuses are more clear than usual. My brain must know what it can do to scare me There are a lot of changes in my life right now and I believe they are the culprit, but I don't ever want to be in this state again. This is definitely a time of challenge for me to be mentally above the pain and continue to believe, not to be be scared and defeated. |
| allen_non |
Posted - 07/29/2006 : 08:09:51
Hey, thanks for the kind word Tom,
I try to help any way I can. I don't have the experience that a lot of you have on this board, but I know what works for me.
-A- |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 07/28/2006 : 23:55:09
Good post allen_non, nicely written. |
| allen_non |
Posted - 07/28/2006 : 22:57:05
Yikes! Sorry to all about the "*****footing" reference above. I didn't think I was using foul language that would need to be filtered. Was certainly not my intent. Again, my apologies everyone.
-A- |
| allen_non |
Posted - 07/28/2006 : 22:50:42
Nor,
I may be way off here, but you asked what I (we) do, so I'll tell you what I do. May not be orthodox or pure, but I also have a logic behind my method, and it has really worked for me. Here goes:
I do avoid trying to treat Physical Conditions. That means no chiro, PT, surgery, stretching or exercises to target specific pain "causes". I think this is consistent, more or less, with what Sarno says.
Where I may differ in approach from others is that, in some instances, I Will Treat Pain. Not the cause (since there really is not a valid cause), but the symptoms. I have a very high pain tolerance, so I usually just ignore it. Even Sarno wrote that when a patient is in an acute stage, he may have them take a pain pill to get thru it. I will use a tennis ball on a trigger point, take a motrin, a hot bath/ shower, or whatever seems like will work. My reasoning is this: Conditioning. Conditioning myself to associate pain, especially a new pain that has developed. My thinking is that, "OK, I know this is TMS. I want to break the pain cycle before I get conditioned to expect pain with certain positions or movements". Then I will do what I need to in order to disrupt the pain.
I'll give you an example of this. Earlier this week, I started a topic "need a confidence boost" , or something like that. My chronic low back pain is nearly gone, and I was having a new elbow pain which would be medically classified as golfers elbow, a form of tendonitis. It was worse doing pull-ups. So, I know this is TMS, but want to make sure. I pull out my trusty "Mind-Body Connection" book, and sure enough, there it is. So there is no doubt in my mind that this is TMS and not a real injury. So, I buy some Blue Emu oil recommended by a friend I trust. Emu oil also helps improve circulation. I put it on my elbow, give it a good rubbing in. I had some tight muscles on the inside of my forearm, so I stretched them the other way, pretty roughly, so the TMS would "know" I'm not *****footing around with it. I gave it a couple of days rest (again, I don't think I was violating any commandments there). My elbow started improving, not pain free, but moving in the right direction. Then I go and do some very heavy one arm military presses, pullups, and swinging a very heavy weight gripping it by a handle. This should have aggravated the heck our of my elbow, but it actually felt better afterwards. This was my regularly scheduled workout, not one I cooked up to "test" my elbow. The less I think about it, the better.
That was Monday, I had another similar workout on Wednesday, and another one this afternoon. I still have a small bit of tightness, but the major pain is gone, the fear of damage is gone, and I didn't change my life because of it. I also "disconnected" the pain conditioning, because I removed most of the pain by my listed steps.
You also have a very valid point. You want to live your life with your family, and not be in pain all the time. I think TMS is very individualized, and you have to know yourself to know what you can "get away" with as far as "cheating". This is not a noble game we are playing however. TMS cheats all the time, so when TMS pulls a knife, I pull out a flame-thrower. If I ever was in such pain (and I have been) that I took 2 or 3 pain pills to just knock myself out for a couple of days (think "nervous system reboot), I'd do it. Disrupt the pattern. Ultimately, TMS is "us", so all anyone can tell you is A-what Sarno says in his books, and B-what works for us individually.
I'm not a Dr. Sarno, and I do not play one on TV. Nor, I hope I answered your question in a way that is useful to you. Sorry for the novel here!
God Bless,
Allen
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