| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| SwissMike |
Posted - 05/14/2007 : 08:53:39
Hello everyone!
I'm a RSI sufferer (pain in both hands and arms) for more than 2 years. I recently found out about TMS (pretty much by accident actually...).
During the last 2 years I spent lots of money and time on MRI's, physical therapy and alternative medicine. It hasn't really helped at all. It only got worse.
I bought all the books on TMS I could find. I just finished reading The Mindbody Prescription. When I think back on how it all started I remember that the pain started in my left leg. I thought 'Well, it's bad but as long as I can use my hands I'm OK'. Guess what? A few days later the pain in my hands started...
I just wanted to say hello, I will surely post some more in the future. :) I'm a 25 year old programmer from Switzerland. Just so you know where the bad English comes from. ;) |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| SwissMike |
Posted - 05/15/2007 : 01:07:20
Hi Alexis
I found it, thanks! That sound pretty amazing. While the pain is still dominating my life (it's only been a few days since I found out about TMS so that's to be expected...), I now see the future much more positive than before.
quote:
Originally posted by alexis
Hi Mike, If you haven't done so already, search on:
RSI Success story
But make "Success story" all one word.
To see a lot of people who have come through successfully after similar situations.
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| alexis |
Posted - 05/14/2007 : 16:10:55
Hi Mike, If you haven't done so already, search on:
RSI Success story
But make "Success story" all one word.
To see a lot of people who have come through successfully after similar situations.
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| SwissMike |
Posted - 05/14/2007 : 13:31:13
Thank you all for your kind words. I feel better already.  I was not yet able to find a doctor who knows anything about TMS (or RSI...) in Switzerland. I will keep trying. It's time for my The Divided Mind audiobook session. |
| Sky |
Posted - 05/14/2007 : 12:59:58
Swiss Mike,
I was in your very shoes 1.5 years ago!
Goddamn I had the worst RSI. Pain in both hands, all up in my finkers and knuckles, induced by typing (somehow didn't hurt much when I played basketball or other sports though). I thought it was because I had started typing my notes in class and almost transcribing every word the professor said. I can type really quickly, so that's what I'd do. The pain gradually got worse and worse, until finally I couldn't type for 2 minutes without pain. If I gritted through the pain and stuck it out for maybe a half hour, it'd hurt to put on a t-shirt the next morning!
I saw several doctors. The last and most expensive one told me that everyone has bands that travel the length of their arms, downto the tips of their fingers. He suspected mine were slightly too short, and the speed at which I type caused repetitive stress injury.
I bought 3 ergonomic keyboards, the last one costing almost $500, complete with an instructional video demonstrating how fingers leaving the "home row (asdf jkl;)" when typing could cause structural damage to your hands. This keyboard required only the itty-bitty-est movement of yoru fingers to hit every key on the keyboard! It was kind of amazing. But unnecessary, as I learned...
A couple weeks later, when even typing on the amazing keyboard started to hurt, I read The Mindbody PRescription.
I started to come to terms with all the reasons that led to me becoming my insecure, perfectionist, goodist, deeply unhappy self. I listened to my heart and mind and feelings and made some big changes in my life. Life couldn't be better today. I type with abandon, ignoring all the times I'd been told by phsyical therapists to correct my posture while at the computer, to buy an ergonomic chair or desk, to do specific stretches or exercises for my fingers and hands...
I also found that a minor budding hernia in my stomach, as well as pain in my shoulders from doing pushups and pain in my knees (I started to feel sure the next time I played basketball that I'd tear an ACL) went away. I started playing sports more fearlessly than before. My acne largely went away as well, and the deep wrinkle lines in my face that I'd always suspected were stress-induced started to fade noticeably. The knots in my back loosened as well.
Today, I'm a vastly happier and more confident person than I was before picking up that book. It somehow helped me to come to peace with so many things that had been bother me, simply by becoming attuned to my body's TMS manifestations and asking myself about the nature of the underlying emotions that produced the TMS.
This past Spring, about a year and a few months after first reading Sarno's book, the pain in my hands returned. It felt JUST like it did two years ago. My fingers and knuckles started to feel brittle, rattled with pain. I knew it was TMS, but then I also couldn't help to wonder sometimes if the pain was really structural, if I'd just been typing more than I used to. I emailed a local TMS doctor, and he assured me he was pretty certian the typing pain was TMS. He assured me: "typing doesn't cause pain!" Well, it does, but only when the real cause is emotional pain. Somehow, after reading his email, he renewed my trust in Sarno's ideas, and the pain went away.
I hope this helps. You'll get there!
Sky
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| Gemma_Louise |
Posted - 05/14/2007 : 11:44:31
Hi. It does sound like it could be TMS, especially considering how it started. I started out with pain in my back. Similar to yourself, I remember having thoughts of 'imagine if I got RSI, that would be really bad'. Sure enough, I developed pain in my right hand/wrist/thumb area soon after. I've read comments where other people have had a similar thing happen to them. It can't be coincidence that people have these thoughts and go on to develop pain in this area!
I am still quite new to knowing about TMS and still trying to get myself sorted. I have ups and downs. Last week was pretty bad, however, today has been quite good with minimal pain and I've been typing at work all day. I've just been trying to focus on what is bothering me emotionally and what I'm worrying about. I try to ignore the pain - not easy, but I try!
Yesterday I did some high impact aerobic exercise for the first time in ages (I've been to scared to do any vigorous exercise, so have been sticking to gentle yoga and walking) and I feel more positive today. I also wonder if I had less RSI pain today because of the exercise, i.e. I'm telling my body I'm going to carry on as normal and ignore the pain. If the brain knows it's no longer distracting you, it will give up causing you pain. It's early days, but I'm trying to think positive.
Keep reading the literature, talk to people on here and try to carry on and ignore the pain. You might not see instant results (I didn't), but don't give up. |
| sonora sky |
Posted - 05/14/2007 : 10:38:11
Welcome, SwissMike. I believe your finding TMS when you did wasn't an 'accident.' People usually find it when the time is right. Good luck getting started on your emotional/psychological TMS work.
ss
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