| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| fibri |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 01:59:11
Last night I was remembering some of the more insane diagnoses I've had in the past.
Last year, I was having frequent lower abdominal pain and frequent urination. Tests showed it wasn't an infection, and I had several ultrasound tests.
One ob-gyn told me my uterus was "too big" ("double the normal size") and it had probably always been like that. It was pressing on my bladder, thus causing the symptoms.
Not only did a subsequent test show a normal-sized uterus, but I fail to understand how if I did have an enlarged uterus, especially if it was "always" like that, why it would suddenly cause the symptoms I had. (The symptoms continued for months until I read HBP.)
Needless to say I never saw her again. But it drives me nuts that doctors can make insane diagnoses like that and not only can we not challenge them, but we have to pay them before we leave. Grrrrrrr.
Another one: in college, I had an ulcer. Went to the college doctor (first time I had seen him). He examined me, asked a few questions (about five minutes in all). Then he took out his diary and said I had to have one quarter of my stomach removed.... how would next Tuesday suit me?
He was completely serious.
I went to another doctor who just put me on Librium. That shut me up (I was asleep most of the time.)
What are the dumb things YOU have heard from doctors? |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| hottm8oh |
Posted - 08/17/2009 : 10:59:49
I really feel for those of you who were told to have surgery. I'm sure you feel like you dodged a serious bullet there.
I went to physical therapy about 1.5 years ago. I had to ask what my diagnosis was because they just started working on me without giving me a diagnosis. The doctor said, "Your diagnosis is non-specific low back pain." I said, "That's not a diagnosis. That's a symptom." I was then sent for an MRI, and I was told I had little spots of abnormalities here and there, but I was never actually given any diagnosis at all. They just started treating me even though they had no idea what they were treating. Plus their idea of treatment was to tell me to squeeze a ball between my knees 20 times. I had been doing Pilates with a personal trainer and I had developed some decent muscles. Squeezing a ball between my legs wasn't going to be that effective on me.
When I started having digestive issues when I was 20, I was asked repeatedly, "Are you SURE you're not pregnant?" This was after I told my gastro that my gynecologist said to me, "You are definitely not pregnant." Once he was finally convinced that I wasn't knocked up, he told me to see a psychiatrist. She told me I was having panic attacks and put me on Prozac and Xanax. The pills did nothing for my digestive issues. I really wasted a lot of time and money on psychiatrists and medications. |
| hopeacres |
Posted - 08/13/2009 : 11:58:11
Dear SarnoFan,
That is really exciting that Carolyn Leaf has audio CD's and I am also excited to look into the other reference you gave me. Thank you so very much!
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| SarnoFan |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 16:12:26
Dear Hopeacres...RE: Your statement "God answered my prayers and I stumbled across a book called "Who Switched Off My Brain" by Caroline Leaf. In that book the author quoted Dr. John Sarno."
I also read Caroline Leaf's book and have her audio CD. It was a coincidence because I had already read Sarno many years before but ordered her book along with some others through a TV program. A lot of Christian and non-religious sources (Wayne Dwyer-sp?) also follow Sarno's idea that our unconscious (thoughts/beliefs/intentions) are the force behind how we ultimately feel and what we accomplish in life.
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| almost there |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 12:43:56
Fibri,
Thank you for answering my question to your post.....I am a long time follower (believer) of Dr. Sarno.....I too was relieved of excruciating pain by reading HBP and MBP....
When I went back over my life I was able to come up with a long list of conditions that I now know were all TMS.....one thing would resolve itself only to be replaced with something new....
I have had bladder problems for years....frequency being a constant....I too have been diagnosed with it all....and treated....I think this is my minds number one distraction....probably because it works so well....it truly takes over my mind and thoughts...
Your mentioning Librium really brought back a time when I was wrongly accused of not doing something at work which was not my responsibility...someone higher up was covering her own negligence....
I stood up for myself, but the next morning I woke with stomach pain which went on and on.....I had a G.I.Series, Barium Enema, Gall Bladder x-rays....nothing showed and no relief.....then as an after thought the doctor answered when I asked "Well, what about this pain?"
"OH! Didn't I prescibe something for you?" says he.....and prescribes Librium.....I took it for a week, the pain went away.....never to return....if something were really wrong it would not go away and something would have showed on one of those tests....
I don't think Librium is even used any more....I haven't seen it for years... |
| fibri |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 03:12:11
The pain and frequent urination went away like magic the day I started reading Healing Back Pain.
It comes back occasionally for a few minutes, then I tell myself "That's just TMS", ignore it, and that's it.
The librium was years ago, when I was a student and had an ulcer (or so I was told at the time. Now I'm not so sure!). A doctor kept giving me repeat prescriptions for 18 months even though I kept telling him how dopey and low it made me feel, and that I would rather not take it (I was only 20 and when he insisted I should continue, I thought that's what I should do). Eventually my roommate took the box and hid it and talked me out of going back for more. I found it tough to stop (had real cravings for it) but she kept me straight until I got it out of my system :-)
That was the start of my deep distrust of doctors, although it took a long time before I stopped automatically believing everything they said.
These posts here are sad, to think of all the pain people have been through, and the worry and confusion due to odd diagnoses. But funny as well :-) It is reassuring to know that other people have also had doctors telling them strange things. It seems that not many doctors have the courage to say "I don't know."
I told my husband that "people aren't built to walk upright" and we enjoyed a good laugh over that one :-)
Fortunately, I know how to walk upright and sit "properly" so I don't get back pain. I spent 600 euros on Elexander Technique lessons to learn how to do it. Seemed to help at the time though of course my pains just shifted rather than going away. D'oh!
Oh well, it seemed like a good idea at the time :-) |
| hopeacres |
Posted - 08/06/2009 : 17:33:42
Hi,
I am new to the forum. Thought I would share the diagnosis' I received.
I have suffered from painful bladder syndrome for 15 years - burning, inflammation, aching, and frequent urination. It started within weeks of my marriage. So the doctors insisted I was allergic to my husband's sperm! As far as what to do about that... live on a medication that literally numbs my entire urinary tract area for the rest of my life.
I also suffered from irritable bowel syndrome and was told I was born with it but it did not show up until 'later' and there is no cure; I must learn to manage it. Even though I was only 21 years old at the time they wanted to remove part of my intestines... just in case. Just in case of what?!
I was told I had fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, twisted pelvis, tilted uterus... no tests proved any of that.
I am so thankful for the journey I have been on for a year now. I prayed for help after I got to a desperate place in which I felt like I could not go on anymore. God answered my prayers and I stumbled across a book called "Who Switched Off My Brain" by Caroline Leaf. In that book the author quoted Dr. John Sarno. I Googled Sarno and ordered all of his books and read them as fast as I could!
I am now in the 2nd week of Dr. Howard Schubiner's online program. I am 75% better and am eager for complete healing!
I know the diagnosis' were not funny at the time but I have to admit I enjoyed reading all of your posts. Thank you for sharing. I am so glad all of you found the 'TMS road' and are truly gaining healing now.
Wendy |
| almost there |
Posted - 08/06/2009 : 08:12:05
Fibri,
The lower abdominal pain and frequent urination you experienced about a year ago.....did it just go away?.....do you think Librium helped in this area? |
| sarita |
Posted - 08/06/2009 : 05:17:40
"well, we will just double your xanax and lexapro, that will keep your anxiety at normal levels"
my ellbow hurt from playing the cello, i was 16 "well you are hypermobile, you may get arthritis in like, 2 years"
another one, upon seeing me ONCE, a anesthetist, gave me a shopping bag with lyrica, celebrex etc etc, without awaiting any test results, and my pain was moderate.... i threw it all away. while he gave it to me, someone knocked on his door and handed him BOXES of samples of just those meds. his eyes were glistening with the dollar sign. then his cell phone rang and he pretended to be so busy, so needed and said, another carpal tunnel is on the line. wtf???
"you have a disc bulge, you may need surgery"
etc ad infinitum.
of course they are good doctors, OF COURSE, but we need not have so much respect for all of them. some of them are failures. like in any profession, they exist...
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| inaned |
Posted - 08/06/2009 : 02:24:42
Now that I think of it, every diagnosis I've been given for my back and leg pain, was a complete crap. Only once I was told there was no identifiable cause for my pain, and that was in the Neurosurgery Alphaclinic in Munich, Germany. These people at least had the courage to admit they had no idea what was wrong.
If you have a plane, fly it, don't use it as a scooter. |
| SarnoFan |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 22:42:52
Reading these posts was the best medicine: laughter.
It all sounds funny - in hindsight, doesn't it?
I've battled two bouts of TMS: backpain in 2000 and pelvic/perineal/rectal pain in 2007.
I lived in Canada in 2000 when I developed backpain. I have to say, in hindsight, that the doctors there gave me no stupid diagnoses or drugs for it. But they did check me out thoroughly. Neurologists, physiatrists, rheumatologists, orthopedic surgeons and internists all found nothing wrong with me. I was in severe pain and could not sit or bend for a year. I was depressed and cried. The orthopedic said it was just muscle tension and I needed to get back to doing things..."You fell off and now you need to get back on the horse, that's all." The internist suggested psychotherapy. They were on the right track! However, I was still searching the internet and convinced myself I had fibromyalgia or MS. In hindsight I finally saw the doctors were right. The orthopedic Dr. even told me then to stay off the internet because it will lead me to a "Black Hole"!
I could go back and hug them all if I could. I cured myself finally, after going to a book store and discovering Sarno almost a year later. Before Sarno, I thought the doctors just couldn't find my structural problem and they just wanted to brush me off. TMS tied into the doctors' words "there's nothing wrong with you" and you "just fell off your horse" or "you need psychotherapy".
I moved to the US in '01. I have top notch health insurance and can see any specialist without referral and just a tiny fee. I had a hysterectomy in '07. Two months later, I suddenly developed rectal and perineal pain along with buttock and paraspinal muscle pain. I was miserable for 1.5 years and went to a greater variety of doctors. The difference this time was that each one had a DEFINITE diagnosis and DRUG to treat me! Here they are (none worked):
1st gynecologist: need estrogen-got a hormone cream; then said it might be an infection-got antibiotics
Urologist: Possible Interstitial Cystitis (he wanted to do a test on me that would inflate my bladder under anesthesia to see ? -I refused)
Gastroenterologist: did a colonoscopy and said I have ulcerative proctitis - got ASA suppositories that I was to use daily, for the rest of my life. Along with this I had hemmorhoids and fissures (first time ever)
Colorectal Surgeon: said it was NOT ulcerative proctitis! It was
Levator Ani Syndrome! He prescribed NO DRUGS except Advil, but had me do PT for months. Then he said I had internal hemmorhoids and he injected (to shrink) them without my permission. I walked out stunned...and in more pain for the next few months.
2nd Gynecologist/Pelvic Pain Specialist: said I must have Pundendal Neuralgia. Ie. the nerve that serves the rectum, perineum, etc. is damaged and may or may not heal. She ordered steroid injections (I refused), then she gave me Lyrica/Neurontin/Xanax, hormonal cream etc. I threw them out. She then prescibed PT which I tried again.
All these doctors/drugs/diagnoses increased my symptoms. I finally decided to read Sarno again and he specifically said in one book: TMS also affects affects the muscles and nerves in the perineum! That was it.
This TMS thing is very tricky. I found the doctors under good private insurance were more willing to give diagnoses that would justify treatment and drugs. It prolonged my suffering.
I'm 95% better now. I stopped all treatments.
My teenage son started with back pain a year ago and he got a host of diagnosis as well (short leg, jacked up pelvis, twisted pelvis, bad posture, tight hamstring, dropped shoulder, bowed legs, bad sport he's playing, pirformis syndrome, and lately a herniated disc.) The herniated disc really did him in. The treatments, the MRI, etc. prolonged and increased his pain. Almost forgot, a podiatrist said he has a fallen arch and he got orthotics too).
He stopped all treatments a month ago. They only served to deeply ingrain in him that he is broken and needs to get fixed.
I keep editing this post because I keep adding to the diagnoses we got. I often forget some of them. |
| Plantweed |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 12:05:28
quote:
Originally posted by crk... humans "just aren't built to walk upright."
That's classic. I have flat feet, short legs for my height, and tight hamstrings, so they got the blame often. |
| Piano5 |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 08:43:16
I guess I was lucky enough to have doctors that just said "I don't know" to my skin problems, and others who said I had tendonitis in my left arm.
At the time "I don't know" was worse than a false diagnosis. At least they were honest with me! |
| Nor |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 08:42:54
I got that line of crap in my training as an OT. Believed and repeated it for years. It makes absolutely no sense when you really think about it. Animals evolve b/c its functionally useful and better for them, not bad for them. Duh.
Nor |
| crk |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 08:31:01
Dumbest ever? Years ago, when I had such bad back pain, a doctor told me that humans "just aren't built to walk upright." |
| Baseball65 |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 07:17:26
quote:
Originally posted by guej
I'm just left with the original buttock/hip pain that is most certainly the last stubborn remnants of a raging case of TMS.
The one that's been conditioned and ingrained the longest will usually be 'stickier' cuz' we accepted it as truth for longer. It will go away. It sounds like you are doing a LOT better.
Right before I snapped and read HBP, I was enrolled in the chronic pain center at SCOI. They were going to do a new treatment on me where they inserted a wire and heated up my disc with microwave radiation to turn my disc material into 'disc Jerky'
Apparently (according to them) My disc was 'wobbly' and would contract and expand as the day went on... like the tides. Funny, that was because unlike most people, my pain subsided at the end of the day...making a whole new medical protocol based on symptomology. |
| guej |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 06:25:22
I have to say, the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia has to be my favorite. Lucky for me, I never bought it. That was the "we don't know what's going on with you, and you're a woman, therefore we're calling it Fibromyalgia" diagnosis. It started out with buttock and hip pain. Over time, and as I got more and more worried, the pain spread to my shoulders and neck, and eventually I was getting shooting pains down my arms and could barely hold a coffee cup. I also had diarrea every day and rashes were popping up all over my back. One rheumatologist told me Fibromyalgia plus Carpral Tunnel Syndrome plus Irritable Bowel! Another doctor put me on antibiotics for Lyme Disease even though my 4 Lyme tests were all negative.
Even more aggravating than doctors who didn't have a clue as to why I was in pain, was the shopping bag of pills I accumulated. Literally, I have a shopping bag full. I would go in and explain my symptoms, and about 1/2 of them would just write a prescription and say "this will make you feel better'. I was new to prescripton medication, so I had no clue what they were giving me. I'd fill the prescription and then go home and look them up online. Sure enough, I got Lexapro, Valium, Xanax, sleeping pills etc.....I guess they needed to calm down the upset woman with the wide range of symptoms. It was so insulting. I'm wondering whether they do that to men too. I used to say to my husband, "you go in, describe the same symptoms that I have, and let's see what they tell you".
I had one physical therapist and one myofascial therapise convince me that the shoulder/neck pain was "fascial courting"...meanging, that the tissue was tight in my buttock/hip area, and eventually pulls the tissue further up. Of course, that didn't help to explain the pains I was having in the shoulder and arm on my other side!
Over the past few months, all the other crazy symptoms subsided and I'm just left with the original buttock/hip pain that is most certainly the last stubborn remnants of a raging case of TMS.
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