| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| jimmyjimmy |
Posted - 01/02/2007 : 05:24:01
So here is my story as brief as possible:
I was cured of my TMS symptoms, crippling lower back pain, 14 years ago by reading Dr. Sarno's book.
Then I started having back pain four years ago. Just to make sure it was TMS I went to a MD, DR. Schechter, who also understood TMS. He Diagnosed me with TMS. I was relieved.
But the pain never ceased and kept getting worse every year. I journaled, read sarno's book over and over. I even started seeing a tms thera[pist once a week, but the pain got worse and worse, until I could not move my hip at all, could not bend at all, and was told I looked like a 90 year old all the time. I could never sleep, the pain woke me up every hour.
Went to a different doctor, got a bone scan, found out I have severe osteoporosis, and osteomalacia, and osteo arthritis in my hip. Went to orthopedic at UCLA and he found compression fractures in my spine, and I have actually lost three inches in height. I also have a kyphosis of the spine and chest. My bones have literally been reshaped.
This all happened over the course of 4 years, and I was seeing a TMS MD regularly.
Turns out this is all caused by a severe vitamin D deficiency, which has led to major bone loss, severe weakening of my bones, microfractures all over my body, and fractured vertabrae.
Make sure your MD takes blood, and does the tests a non tms doc would do anyway. The more your tests shoe nothing, the more you can be sure it is TMS. And I woudl stay away from Dr. Schechter, he is horrible!!! He does nothing, did not do one test on me ever. I trusted that he would rule out anything structural before making the TMS diagnosis, but he did nothing!!!
Turns out my Vitamin D deficiency is due to malabsorption in my intestine, caused by shortened and flattened silia that is supposed to absorb the nutrients in my food. The cause for the shortened and falttened silia is still being tested.
No one is more shocked to find a real cause of my pain than me. I have been in excruciating pain for three years. I thought my TMS had progressed to Firbromyalgia, just excruciating pain all over for three years.
And here I have been dropping a bundle seeing a TMS therapist, and seeing a TMS MD at the same time. I feel like an idiot. And now my body is permanently disfigured, and so am I. I have been living through a deep, horrible, crippling aching in my bones for three years, and I thought I ought to warn people.
Make sure your doctor runs tests. Make sure.
Maybe it is a good idea to see a TMS doc and one non TMS doc too. It would have saved me a world of pain and saved my back from literally breaking.
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| fibri |
Posted - 05/28/2009 : 07:48:40
Managing your health is a lottery no matter what you do or who you see. I learnt this nearly 30 years ago when I went to the college doctor because of chronic gastric pain. He said I had to have 1/4 of my stomach removed, then whipped out his planner and said "would Tuesday next suit you for the operation?" He was not kidding.
Although I was only 19 and with a naive faith in doctors I ran from his office. The next doctor got me addicted to librium, a habit that took me a couple of years to break - every visit when I told him I wanted to stop taking the meds he insisted I must take them. A few years later when I was pregnant with my daughter, the gyno told me I had a rare syndrome and would lose the baby if I didn't stay in bed for the whole pregnancy, which was nonsense but scared me for the whole of my pregnancy.... I could go on with other examples. There are a lot of crap doctors around and they are dangerous.
But then, look around you. How many people in your workplace, or among your friends, do you think are really great at their jobs? Not merely competent and getting by, but really great? Who really know their stuff, don't get things wrong and don't screw up? Hmmm, not many I'm sure.
We are all fallible beings. The annoying thing is doctors are so often both fallible and profoundly arrogant and convinced of their infallibility!
Trust none of them entirely, and question everything. Rely on your own self, take responsibility, but don't fully trust yourself either :-) Then at least you've a fighting chance of getting it right some of the time :-)
But over the years, I have found that if I really listen to my mindbody, it can tell me a lot. You need to listen, and to trust it more than the rest.
I have a LOT of anger in me regarding my past experience with doctors, as you can see  |
| scd1833 |
Posted - 05/12/2009 : 11:58:58
A sad story, I'm guilty of "everything is tms" thinking a lot of the time, with me it usually is true, but this proves it's necessary to be sure, and to get a second opinion, have testing done, and make an informed decision, but many of us don't have the insurance or finances to do this. |
| Brenda |
Posted - 05/12/2009 : 10:54:51
Jimmyjimmy,
I am sorry about what your going through, and to hear of your nightmare with Dr. Schechter..
I don't know if this means anything but....after I read Dr. Sarno's book I called his office in NYC to see about an appointment, the lady said he doesn't see people from out of town anymore, I told her I lived in Arizona and if there was anyone in my area Phoenix, Las Vegas or Los Angeles, and she said there was NO one...
I knew of Dr Schechter from his website...
I wandered at the time why she wouldn't tell me about him...
Interesting....huh?
Anyway, jimmyjimmy Thank You for bringing this to our attention!
Good Luck to you!
Brenda
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| alexis |
Posted - 05/12/2009 : 06:09:08
Bumping as a follow-up to hottm8oh's recent reminder to see a physician. This is one diagnosis, and susceptible to same fallibility as other diagnoses. If it's right for you it's a life-saver, but make an educated assessment. |
| alexis |
Posted - 11/27/2008 : 20:11:34
Bumping for newcomers. |
| art |
Posted - 09/17/2007 : 09:34:31
I read the post in which he expressed concern that he wasn't getting better and that he'd lost some height...I assumed that the current post followed shortly after that as a bunch of us urged him to get a second opinion...That's my memory anyway...
I don't think I've seen any others... |
| JohnD |
Posted - 09/16/2007 : 17:58:31
Art,
Have you read his past posts?
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| art |
Posted - 09/16/2007 : 16:14:46
quote:
Originally posted by JohnD
There are 2 sides to every truth. I don't know if Shecter was wrong or not, but Jimmy doesn't take much responsibility for himself in his posts. We have no way of knowing of whether or not what he is writing on this forum is accurate.
Of course that's always the case. But I see no reason not to assume he's telling the truth.
When you say he doesn't seem to take much responsibility for himself, I'm not sure what that means. Should he have seen another doctor? Clearly. BUt how does this mitigate Schechter's professional responsibility? Patients tend to trust their doctors, which as far as I can tell only increases their obligation to take the utmost care.
TMS docs in particular it seems to me need to be extra careful, since they're spending a great deal of their time telling their patients there's nothing structurally wrong with them...When they're wrong, it can be with devastating consequences... |
| la_kevin |
Posted - 09/15/2007 : 23:59:13
Does Jimmy post on this board anymore?
Anyone else here a Schecter patient?
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| JohnD |
Posted - 09/15/2007 : 23:00:32
There are 2 sides to every truth. I don't know if Shecter was wrong or not, but Jimmy doesn't take much responsibility for himself in his posts. We have no way of knowing of whether or not what he is writing on this forum is accurate. |
| art |
Posted - 09/15/2007 : 22:21:51
quote:
Originally posted by Scottydog
Jimmyjimmy wrote
quote:
He took x-rays and missed the compression fractures in my spine
In the UK any initial Xrays are always reported by a radiologist - even if you are seeing an eminent othopaedic surgeon, you may not get an immediate report but the films are always reported and the report sent to the surgeon.
Maybe it's different in the US.
I'm not sure how it works here...The key point as far as I'm concerned is that this poor fellow lost inches of height...How in the world could that be interpreted as TMS? |
| Scottydog |
Posted - 09/15/2007 : 22:18:24
Jimmyjimmy wrote
quote:
He took x-rays and missed the compression fractures in my spine
In the UK any initial Xrays are always reported by a radiologist - even if you are seeing an eminent othopaedic surgeon, you may not get an immediate report but the films are always reported and the report sent to the surgeon.
Maybe it's different in the US. |
| art |
Posted - 09/15/2007 : 22:08:46
I really couldn't disagree more, and I'm constantly talking about how bad our system of justice is in this country...It should be loser pays court costs for one thing, in any law suit...
That said, this guy is dangerous. It's just inconceivably negligent that he let this happen. You hold physicians to a remarkably low standard.
You say he should be "allowed to have his TMS beliefs?"
"Allowed?" "Beliefs?" What is this, witchcraft? These guys purport to be scientists. Or at the very least, trained in science and acquainted with its methods...He's not supposed to look at the evidence before him? He's not supposed to be competent to read an x-ray?
He's done a "poor job," you say? Really? You think? Holy smokes, he's ruined a young man's life.
Letting this man, this supposed physician, go on his merry way is a monumental disservice to his future patients.. |
| Sky |
Posted - 09/15/2007 : 19:51:28
Notify Schechter if you want him to learn how better to do his job. The letter WavySoul laid out was pretty good at doing that.
Sue him? This country has far too many lawsuits as it is.
He is allowed to have his beliefs in TMS. He has probably seen a huge number of patients get better with TMS knowledge and similar symptoms as many of you had. Don't neglect that you, yourselves, neglected to double check with other doctors' opinions.
Can YOU imagine seeing patient after patient after patient and being absolutely tender and caring with every one of them? What do you do for a living? Do you have the energy to treat every single person you interact with, every day, all day, in that way? I think that is a excessively high and unfair standard to ask of another person, even if he is a doctor. Why become a doctor if every single patient will potentially sue you and ruin your life if you happen to be having a bad day/minute/hour/month/year and your mood reflects it?
Shechter appears to have done a poor job. Tell him, and tell him how, so he can improve and be aware of his shortcomings.
It's unfair to him, and future patients of his, not to tell him. |
| art |
Posted - 09/15/2007 : 08:14:59
What a sad story....Since the link to this thread was recently posted I thought I'd keep it alive as it's such a heartrending story.
I remember Jimmy posting to the effect that he'd lost height, and a few of us were alarmed enough to urge him to get a second opinion...If a bunch of lay people had enough common sense to recognize that this couldn't be garden variety TMS, how could a trained physician not?
I would absolutely sue the guy, if for no other reason than to make sure it becomes a permanent part of his record...These days people check docs out before seeing them...I know I do.
Maybe you can save someone else from some similarly terrible fate... |
| wrldtrv |
Posted - 03/22/2007 : 19:52:00
Thanks for that, Jimmy. We haven't forgotten. |
| jimmyjimmy |
Posted - 03/22/2007 : 13:24:53
wanted to bump this up |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 02/10/2007 : 08:04:51
Dear JimmyJimmy,
It's very disheartening to hear what has happend to you. I hope that there is something that you can do to "fix" your bones. My experience with Dr. Schechter is somewhat similar to yours but in regards to my dx the other side of the TMS coin. He took a look at my images and concluded that I needed hip-replacement, sooner than later. I am in agreement with you in regards to his bed-side manner. I travelled 500 miles to see him and my best descripiton of the experience was that it was "perfunctory". I was hoping for a little more empathy from a TMS doctor.
TMS doctors are few and far between and the TMS portion of their practices, I imagine is more of a side-line to conventional medicine
because that is what most of their patients expect or demand.
My experiences on my one visit to him can be viewed by doing a "search".
Don't give up hope yet, modern medicine can perform some miracles if one can persevere and find the miracle workers. The body is still the best healing machine we possess and perhaps yours can still be fixed.
My Prayers,
tt |
| jimmyjimmy |
Posted - 02/09/2007 : 22:00:55
I have been reflecting about my care under DR. Schechter and really feel I need to actually warn people about him. He not once did any tests on me. Even though I had Classic symptoms of osteomalacia--severe pain in my feet, hips and spine--he never bothered to take a blood test, or a urine test, or ANYTHING. This was over a four year period of seeing him every few months or so and my condition kept getting way way worse.
Many Many people told me I was crazy and that I was in denial, but I kept telling them that I was seeing a Doctor trained at NYU!
Turns out I could not have been wronger. And he could not have been more negligent and less caring. I am not kidding. He has yet to express any kind of remorse, or even decency to me and I am completley disfigured, completley.
I even made him take x-rays in '05 and he said they showed nothing, when in fact they showed TWO completley collapsed vertebrae! He said I had good bone density, when in fact I have off the chart osteoporosis. Had he noticed any thing, or done any simple tests I would have caught this before the deformity of my spine and chest and hip occurred.
I am left three inches shorter than I was, I am now a 40 year old man that is 5'6" with a hump back instead of a 5'9" regular height man. I wake up crying everyday, and sometimes it never stops. And it didn't have to happen, it didn't have to happen.
Dr. Schechter is not only a slip shod, incompetent doctor, but a jerk and a coward. STAy away from him at all costs.
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| alexis |
Posted - 02/09/2007 : 11:12:08
Just bumping this back up for new people. |
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