| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| mamaboulet |
Posted - 08/31/2007 : 06:35:43
Although I believe my pain has never reached the levels that I see in many TMS people, I've had to deal with the Trilogy of Terror for a long time: upper GI equivalent (since age 12), anxiety/depression (age 14), and finally pain (not until my late 30's). The anxiety/depression and about a third of the pain just vanished when I read Dr Sarno's book. It's the stomach I'm a little perplexed as to how to deal with. I take prylosec OTC every day to control the heartburn, localized stomach pain, and nausea. Obviously I'm going to have to let go of that little pill. It's the nausea that's giving me the mental resistance against this. Even with the pill I suffer mild nausea several times a day. I hate it! Which is probably why my body just LOVES dishing it out.
I should have gotten a clue two years ago when my doctor said that I would likely have to be on stomach meds for the rest of my life because "I'm a heavy acid producer." Well HELLO! Autonomic nervous system busy busy busy.
And it's not like I didn't notice through the years that my stomach went ballistic during periods of high stress.
And yes, I have been thoroughly checked out, with modified barium swallow, upper GI series, full course of h.pylori treatment (talk about a treatment that is worse than the illness. jeez!). Didn't have an endoscopy because the other tests didn't show anything worth bothering with. As the upper GI guy said, "you have reflux."
So anyway, anybody else here who has tackled this particular equivalent? I have Fear of Nausea that I need to stand up and face. And then I need to stop taking that pill (I could use the money to buy CD's). |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| annever1 |
Posted - 11/18/2007 : 11:31:28
my mother is 82, lives with me and has been taking Prylosec for acid reflux - she's a chronic smoker and only weighs 84 pounds. Only one medication in addition, strong pain medicine for arthritis. I've got her diet under control and she's eating often, small amounts, well balanced and has gained weight. I learned she was taking TWO Prylosec a day!! and have read some scary things about the drug. She often feels "foggy" and recently has had some nausea - we've reduced the Prylosec to once a day and I've read this won't be an easy change. She a chipper little thing and this acid, nausea, worrying about CAN I EAT? is getting both of us down. Cutting out the smoking "ain't" gonna happen, but she's open to any other change I might help her choose. Any advice -
I hate this Prylosec dependency. |
| mamaboulet |
Posted - 09/04/2007 : 20:59:15
Ha! I love your comment: be nice to yourself, not your stomach. |
| whitris |
Posted - 09/04/2007 : 19:04:55
I used Sarno to cure my GI stuff. It may take 2 - 3 weeks, but I believe if you really try his method and journal, etc. and at the same time slowly drop all the GI remedies, including drugs and teas and licorice and aloe and elevated bed and diet restrictions, etc etc (there are so many these days), you will fully recover. I did. I now drink and eat whatever I want and take no pills or potions. I eat sensibly, most of the time, try to get enough rest and exercise. But I don't do anything that is just GI related. I have thrown out all my previous views of food allergies, gluten intolerance and lactoise intolerance. I think that too is TMS. Looking at my actions now you would not know that I ever had any stomach issues. I also eat at all times of day and night. My GI system is as strong as the next person and there is no reason to baby it. But, as I said, it could take several weeks to transition back to normal and you HAVE to do the emotional work diligently. I would meditate, get extra sleep, swim or do yoga perhaps. Get a massage. Be nice to yourself, not your stomach. Whatever is wrong ought to heal itself in a few weeks with no other special treatments. Good luck. : ) |
| miche |
Posted - 09/03/2007 : 14:43:17
Ginger tea , both soothing and tasty, I get mine at the health food store, I make sure it is straight ginger as I don't like taking all kinds of herbs and some of the teas are a mixture of ginger and other herbs, Dr Walt Stroll has a great site where he recommends ginger and relaxation techniques for all stomach problems, I found it quite helpful, as someone pointed out it is difficult to do the tms work when one is suffering from reflux. I am convinced all stomach problems are tms related,I once read that for some unknown reason the majority of fibro sufferers have pain from a hiatal hernia, I remember years ago suffering from an ulcer and even though I had adhered to the treatment for months I was still in pain, only after having another scope done and being told it had healed did the pain mysteriously vanished. Before I was diagnosed with fibro, I was diagnosed with an inflammed esophegus, two ulcers, a hernia, nervous stomach, food allergies, I think these were all tms equivalent, I still suffer from most of the above, losec makes it worst, pantoloc does not work, I used to get spasms in the esophogus that would send me to emerg where they would give me a lidocaine cocktail to freeze the whole upper digestive track and even though it would bring me relief I soon learned that stress and anger and feeling I had no control over what was happening in my life back then was bringing on these episodes and I could talk and breathe myself out of them, the stomach and the brain are very much connected. |
| mamaboulet |
Posted - 09/01/2007 : 20:03:43
I'm just going to start eating the dgl whenever i remember it instead of trying to always remember before meals.
And thanks everybody for the insights. |
| Littlebird |
Posted - 09/01/2007 : 13:08:19
Have you ever tried the DGL after eating? I often took it after eating and it still was helpful. Same with the other supplement--it was supposed to be taken 15 minutes before eating and I'd forget half the time, but it was still helpful. You have the right attitude that this is a temporary measure, like the pain pills, to help you cope with the symptom while you make more progress on the TMS. Ultimately the cure for any of the symptoms is to acknowledge the feelings we've been stuffing away.
It sounds like you're going to be successful at beating TMS fairly quickly, because you don't seem worried about the musical chairs pain thing. That experience frightens some people. If you haven't already searched for "nausea" in past threads, you might find something useful there to help combat the fear of it. Can't blame you for hating it, but I believe you're going to be able to face it and beat it before long because you just have such a good attitude about not letting TMS run your life. |
| mamaboulet |
Posted - 09/01/2007 : 06:15:19
I have DGL and use it regularly. It helps some. I've gulped gallons of aloe juice, yogurt, you name it. I've got to stop the acid at the source: my brain. The other stuff helps keep my stomach from eating itself, but none are "cures."
Aloe and DGL are both expensive. I keep trying to get to the point where I'm spending my prylosec money (prylosec expensive too) on the other stuff, but then my brain ups the acid and I end up spending money on both.
I'm going to keep in mind Dr Sarno's advice about pain folks not immediately bailing on all their pain meds until they begin to reduce the symptoms through knowledge. Same applies for the little pill. If I'm lying awake all night with a burning esophogus I'm not going to have the energy to do the Sarno work.
I am going to get more diligent about taking the DGL regularly. I have it sitting right on the counter next to the coffee and tea, but a lot of the time when I notice it, I have already eaten something, and it is supposed to be taken on an empty stomach. As a chronic nausea sufferer, I'm all about the no empty stomach.
Oh, and a side note. Since I started working on my TMS and equivalents, my brain has stepped up its little game. I'm suddenly getting pains I haven't felt for many months (due to my diligent avoidance of anything that might "hurt."). It is both funny and annoying. Since I'm working on the ignoring pain thing, the good ol' brain just cranked up the dial. I'm like, "oh yeah, I remember that pain." Anxiety/depression has been my major symptom for the last year, with pain taking a secondary position. Now that the anxiety/depression is on the run, it's the perfect opportunity for pain brain.
Well screw that. I've got stuff to do, so that pain can just go jump off a cliff as far as I care. |
| Littlebird |
Posted - 08/31/2007 : 22:10:46
The DGL worked for me too--much better than the prescription ever did. This was long before I heard of TMS, so I never got to try getting rid of it without some sort of outside treatment. The DGL is supposed to heal the lining of the stomach. But I also took a supplement that has Hydrochloric Acid and some enzymes in it, because I read in a book about alternative treatments that the reason the stomach starts pumping out too much acid is that it's actually trying to correct for there being too little, so if you take the acid supplement and the DGL before eating, then your stomach won't go overboard on acid production and will get back into a normal routine. The book said that the prescription acid blockers can just make matters worse, triggering the stomach to increase acid production more because it keeps sensing that there's not enough. Whether the book was correct or not, the supplements did work and I was much better in only about two weeks. I continued the regimen for a few more weeks and then was able to stop. I later had occasional episodes that went away with just using the DGL for a few days. |
| Laura |
Posted - 08/31/2007 : 20:52:12
I briefly read over your post and wanted to add my two cents. I have had TMS my whole life, I am convinced. I've always suffered G.I. distress and have had every test known to mankind (scopes, barium everything, you name it). The one thing that really helped me was Licorice Root Extract (DGL - you get it at Whole Foods and other health food stores). You chew them and they don't taste too bad. I met a woman whose dad had horrible acid reflux. He tried every pill imaginable, including what you've named. He finally did the DGL and it worked. Takes about two months, religously. Just my two cents. I know it's TMS, but it does help to soothe the tummy. Give it a go and don't expect results till two months. Let me know what happens. It's worked for me on two different occasions when the acid reflux has been flaring up. |
| justme |
Posted - 08/31/2007 : 20:21:40
Wow, gotta reply to this one - regarding the upper GI one. I have had this for a year and a half now. Thanks for reminding me that an overactive autonomic nervous system produces alot of acid. I know my autonomic nervous system is overactive. Its as if it is in an overreaction to a past couple of stressful years.
Little prilosec pill didnt help me at all, so it was easy for me to give it up. Alternatively, little green klonopin pill helps me immensely. Tried SSRI's but they only made me more anxious and gave me palpitations. Are there any other good anxiety meds out there that are used more for maintenance that may help you - like buspar, paxil? I tried protonix and prozac - only made me more anxious and did not relieve reflux.
The hardest thing for me about this symptom is that I actually love to cook and eat. Now I know longer like to (because doctors have trained me to associate symptoms with eating foods). I cant afford not to eat since I am on thin side. Eating is like a chore for me.
Have you tried gum chewing for the nausea? I find that any kind of chewing seems to distract the brain from TMS upper GI symptoms.
It's not a cure but may help get you off Prilosec. I find wintergreen gum works best for me. I have read that peppermint acts a tonal on the esophageal muscle.
All I have right now is klonopin and gum. I am also looking for better solutions. Started the therapist work, started a journal, but need to be more consistent with the latter.
Please keep in touch so we can support each other.
Just ME |
| sensei adam rostocki |
Posted - 08/31/2007 : 08:37:03
I suffered with all sorts of stomach and intestinal problems since being a young boy. I cured it using the same exact methods for curing any other TMS. Stop blaming a physical cause, stop with all meds and start applying knowledge therapy to the problem. This is the one condition which is often hardest to beat. When I am stressed out now or have something bothering me more that I realize, this is the only symptom which creeps back to remind me the power of the condition. Best, Sensei Adam
CURE-BACK-PAIN(dot)ORG |
|
|
