| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| vega6981 |
Posted - 12/13/2004 : 13:49:27
Hi, I am 26 years old and I've had more illnesses than most people who are 60. I just read the Mindbody book. I have had IBS, heartburn, migraine, numbness and tingling in my back...but most the migraine takes over my whole life. I almost always have a migraine. MY MRI's are fine, my back is fine...but still the pain. Always, almost every minute of every day. It has gotten increasingly worse since I was 13. I go through periods where all the pills in the world don't help anymore and I'm afraid to take more for fear of hurting myself, plus,...how does being in a fog help my quality of life? My problem is, I read the book yesterday...I'm having a particularly bad migraine right now. Almost 55 hours long. I can get the pain to be almost non-existant while I am meditating, but it comes right back. These methods only seem to work while you are doing them. I have taken no painkillers today but I am unable to do anything. If I take something will it set me back? How do you keep the pain from coming back after saying the reminders? How often do you have to say them and when can you turn the corner so you aren't saying them constantly, not able to do anything else? Or do you just work on this when you can during the day and take painkillers and then gradually it subsides? Thanks!
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| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/14/2004 : 20:29:44
Dear Vega,
Welcome to the board and glad to hear that your migraine is better. In fact, Dr. Sarno suffered from migraines and it was his ability to stop them in their tracks that led to his developing TMS theory.
Did you happen to come across that fact in his book yet? It may be of some encouragement to you to know about that.
Good Luck!
tt |
| polly |
Posted - 12/14/2004 : 20:28:45
Vega,
It sounds like you can remember all of those events well. That's good. But, for me, it was and is the rage associated with those things that are my nemesis.
I too can talk about all the horror I experienced as a kid. When I first read MBP I realized all the rage I still had. I had a punching bag and boxing gloves for lessons I had taken and I swear, I wore those gloves 20 hrs. a day for the first week. I just kept punching that bag and crying. It really helped.
I've recently had a bad relapse and some problems that aren't TMS. I sure wish I had the glove and bag (I don't anymore). It's getting in touch and allowing that rage to surface that is part of the process. That's what I've learned.
I think it might be time for me to go do in a few pillows.
Hope you stay better. Keep trying. Glad you found this. I started having migraines when I was 13. They're beyond awful. The good news is that you can get rid of them.
Stay well,
Polly |
| vega6981 |
Posted - 12/14/2004 : 12:16:20
Thanks guys! You've made me feel so less crazy. My migraine finally broke today and I am back to a lower level of pain which I can deal with and work taking over the counter painkillers.
I have been to many therapists and doctors. The psychologists only seem to listen to you, I have been to 4 or 5, they want you to go 2-3 times a week, at $25 co=pay for me...and I beg for strategies, method, things to work on ...and all they want to do is hear me talk! I have been to so many and have my story almost organized in my head as if it were a book. I went to a person once for 3 months once a week and I always expected for her to actually say something useful...even suggest a book to read and she never did. I paid all this money for the worth of a good friend listening. THat is all she did.
Doctors have been another interesting subject. I have been on as many as 5 medications at once, which have never done anything besdies produce more problems with side effects than they were fixing. I have been on 3 different max dose anti-depressants for a year each. They did nothing. I'm not a depressive person, I think I am just upset and unable to let go of the past...and I'm in pain all the time.
I am very successful, just one of those exact personalities described in Sarn's book.
To answer someone's question, yes I've had bad things happen in my past...but I have always been prided as being one of those people who can talk about it with almost anyone. Yes, I had physical, emotional abuse in my family. I have a mentally disabled brother whom I had to protect often. And a little brother whom I had to take care of when one of my parent's went crazy. Yes, I am upset about it, pissed off about it, sorry about it...I know this...so what am I repressing? Is it that I still am in contact with my parent's since my brother's are young and I don't want to lose contact with them? Or do you think that there is another memory which I am repressing?
I don't live in NY or CA, so how do I find a therapist or dr. trained in TMS? |
| Dave |
Posted - 12/13/2004 : 18:43:11
quote:
If I take something will it set me back?
No. Dr. Sarno prescribes narcotic pain killers.
quote:
How do you keep the pain from coming back after saying the reminders?
Unfortunately it is not cut and dry. There are no miracle cures. It is a long-term process during which relief will come slowly and sporadically. Symptoms may get worse before they get better. The important thing is to stay the course and have faith that you will eventually prevail.
It is important to do the work diligently, such as daily journaling and introspection. If you've had migraines since a very young age, it is possible that something happened to you as a child that you have not come to terms with, or maybe something that you can't even remember because it is being repressed. Psychotherapy may be necessary.
The most important thing is to understand that the purpose of the migraines is to distract you from negative emotions that your brain has repressed (without your permission) because it deems them too painful. Try hard to feel those painful emotions. Tell your brain you know what it is doing and you refuse to allow the migraines to distract you from those emotions.
My friend got really bad headaches and got some relief from Dr. Sarno's methods. In fact, the only time he gets headaches now is when it rains or is damp outside -- he cannot escape the conditioning that the weather influences the headaches (which is not true). Try your best to ignore the pain and treat the migraines as a benign signal to turn your thoughts towards negative aspects of your life -- things that you are avoiding because they are too painful or uncomfortable to deal with.
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| Laura |
Posted - 12/13/2004 : 18:05:10
Vega,
Welcome to the TMS help forum. I suffered for two years with bad dizziness that only improved once I found this website and once I started seriously reading Dr. Sarno's books and applying his philosophy to my life. I agree with what the others have said and it sounds like you really could be repressing something from childhood. I have had headaches since I was a child and for me personally, I believe much of this had to do with sexual abuse. I'm not saying that is the case with you, but I think your brain is clearly trying to distract you from something you don't want to deal with. Read and re-read Dr. Sarno's books (I found Mindbody Prescription most helpful but Healing Back Pain does talk about migraines quite a bit too. Also, you should try to get an appointment with Dr. Sarno or Dr. Schechter (West coast) if possible. I saw Dr. Schechter and I thought he was great and I found his CD's very helpful as well. It is so sad to hear about people suffering like this and I wish you an end to your suffering in the new year. Good luck!
Laura
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| Baseball65 |
Posted - 12/13/2004 : 17:33:10
Hi Vega.
It sounds like you are relatively new to our way of dealing with pain?
"I just read the Mindbody book"-vega
It sound like one of your concerns is whether or not you should take your meds.Although it is the ultimate goal of doing this work to not need to,even Sarno himself says in Healing Back Pain that during an acute attack the best thing to do is take a strong painkiller,relax,and don't expect the attack to last long.
When I recovered,I agreed with TMS theory and believed it wholeheartedly LONG before the symptoms went away.
I used to get relief by laying on ice and putting my feet up and I didn't stop for days into the deal...it's a whole new way to look at the issue,and no one expects anyone else to be a Martyr.
If you are in pain,I would definitely use your meds......Just remember to use the painfree time to investigate all the other things that my comrades have discussed here in the string....
I had Migraines until I would vomit when I was a child...I know how painful and gross they can be....I had also lost my Father at age 5 and had been raised by a series of babysitters,and the Los angeles police department.
welcome
Baseball65 |
| molomaf |
Posted - 12/13/2004 : 15:30:27
Vega,
Your brain is giving you migraines(TMS) because it thinks it is protecting you from something so awful that would upset you if you were conciously aware of it. So the answer to your question is that it will take as long as it takes to convince your brain that your migraines are a distraction. Read the book over and over until you are convinced that your migraines are TMS. The migraines will stop when YOU convince YOUR brain that you know exactly what it is doing and you are not going to give it so much attention. Try talking to your brain. You must be confident of the TMS diagnosis for this to work.
Michele |
| holly |
Posted - 12/13/2004 : 15:29:02
I get really concerned when I see such a young person on this site! When I first started with Sarno the people that were afflicted with TMS were supposably the 30-45 yr. olds group. It goes to show you like everything else, things start younger and younger these days. I don't think people had this in the 1950's! Vega you must have had something VERY bad happen to you when you were very young to have this start before you were even 13 years old. Have you ever been to Therapy? It is time to start examining those hidden issues.Please keep us posted on your condition and welcome to the board. |
| EileenTM |
Posted - 12/13/2004 : 15:23:43
I am so sorry that you are in pain. I can tell you about my dad and how he stopped his migraines. He is 77 and had them for over 50 years. I gave him the book Mindbody Prescription. In there Dr. Sarno talks about his own migraines. My Dad read that and applied the same technique which is when the headache would start he would say to himself, "I wonder what is in my psyche that is causing me to get a headache?" Then he would say to himself, "you know, I don't really need to get this headache." And the headache would stop. That works for him. All of us are different. I offer this mostly to show that even after 50 years of a problem, that knowledge can still be the cure. I do not know about the medication since my Dad did not tell me what he did about that. As to the meditation, I too, found that my symptoms would temporarily go away when I meditated. Then they would return later. While meditation is a good practice, I have not found it to be a substitute for "doing the work" that Dr. Sarno recommends.Good luck. This is a good place to find answers and support. |
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