| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Simon |
Posted - 09/06/2011 : 11:25:20
Hi All,
This is my first post, although I've been reading a lot of forum discussions for a while. I'd really value any advice any of you have as I guess I'm still wrestling with some aspects of this!
Firstly a quick background on me. I'm now 33 and have had chronic lower back/hip pain since I was 19 (I can remember pain earlier than this as well). After years of all kinds of treatment but no specific diagnosis I ended up seeing yet another rheumatologist in absolute dispair about 2 years ago! An MRI showed very little but he also ordered a bone scan which suggested possible inflammation of my SI joint. Consequently he diagnosed me with ankylosing spondylitis even though I didn't strictly fit the full criteria for diagnosis. I was started on an anti-TNF (injectible anti-inflammatory) but if didn't help at all so I stopped taking it and that was when I hunted around to look for other answers.
Having read Sarno's HBP I recognised my personality traits 100%. Over the last few years my pain has moved to my mid-back and I get relatively little pain from my lower back. As a result of all of this I'm believing more and more that my AS diagnosis is wrong and I have TMS.
Straight after reading HBP I threw myself into things I would previously have steered well clear of - digging up huge bushes in the garden, tennis, etc. I felt pretty good as a result and thought I was onto something. The problem is that I have a sedentry job and spend most of the week sat at a desk in agony with my back. When I get out playing sport I feel better but the pain returns on a Monday morning and I'm in agony for the rest of the week.
I've been trying to trawl my emotions for what might be causing this and it's made me feel a bit of an emotional wreck!! I'd previously always thought I was a bit depressed about my back but if my back was better I'd be happy. As a consequence of a lot of self-analysis I'm now wondering whether the depression came first. In other words, despite me thinking objectively that my life is great and that I'm not doing too badly in work, family-life, etc, I'm now starting to become aware of a whole load of emotional issues which I feel quite over-whelmed by (lack of confidence and self-esteem, fear of failure) which I always knew I had but never thought held me back. I now have really bad pain PLUS anxiety/depression over things that don't make sense and can't seem to figure out how to resolve either!
I don't know if I'm making any sense through my ramblings but if anyone can idetify with any of this then I'd appreciate some advice! I guess I feel quite lonely with all of these emotions because I majorly struggle to open up even to those close to me like my parents and wife - mainly because of embarrassment. My wife knows I'm not in a good place but she doesn't really buy into all of this psychological thing.
Sorry for the long ramble!
Simon |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| quinn |
Posted - 09/09/2011 : 12:13:35
Hi Simon, I am very new to this. I believe your pain is an attempt by TMS to divert you from all the emotions coming to the surface. If you have the book 'Healing Back Pain' you will that the minute you are aware of pain forceably shift your thinking to something that is really bothering you!!!!!!! Also, you do not have to apologize for your rant or anything else!
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| tennis tom |
Posted - 09/09/2011 : 01:36:03
Hi Mayita, I do not sit on the change-overs and instead stand. If I sit down my hip stiffens up and it takes a few minutes to get going. I an not afraid to sit it's just the way it is. My hip is not TMS, but "significant arthritis" as diagnosed by two TMS physicians, Dr.Schechter and Dr. Eisendorf, who both studied under Dr. Sarno. It's not a big deal and in the old days of tennis they had no chairs or benches on the courts and did not sit down either.
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| Mayita |
Posted - 09/08/2011 : 11:37:28
Hello Tom,
So did you really mean that you do not sit for 90 secs when you are actually able to play tennis?
Does this fear still remain?
Best regards,
I am dying to go and devore Dave's posts about the Gremli!
I do like this metaphore! |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 09/07/2011 : 08:49:57
You CANNOT HURT YOURSELF structurally by the act of sitting! In tennis you have 90 seconds on the changeovers to sit down. I would love to sit down but I know if I do it will take me five minutes to "loosen" my right hip up again so I don't sit down.
You just have to know that you will not do any damage at work by sitting, shake it off and maybe hobble around for a few minutes, until the bursas start producing synovial fluid, the WD-40 for your joints.
Try to get in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise like walking, jogging, bicycling or swimming a day to maintain general mindbody health.
Keep reading the books, the answers are all in them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR. SARNO'S 12 DAILY REMINDERS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dKBFwGR0g
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti
"Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." Author Unknown
"Happy People Are Happy Putters." Frank Nobilo, Golf Analyst
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| balto |
Posted - 09/07/2011 : 07:00:44
You're probably condition yourself to hate your job. Is it because of Under pay, too boring, don't get along with co-workers...? You may want to observe and figure out what kind of mind set you had on the weekend that eliminated your pain and apply that same kind of mind set to the weekday. Try to change the way we approach your work, try to make it more fun, more interesting, more productive... make yourself feel important... or get a new job.
Your tms is just minor, it shouldn't be too difficult to get well if you've just apply what Art said above. Most of us tms sufferers are in pain 24 hour/ 7 days straight, non stop. We don't get a break from pain on the weekend like you do. |
| art |
Posted - 09/07/2011 : 05:53:02
This ain't rocket science. Truly accept the genesis of your pain, the pain will go away. Often immediately.
And when I say accept the genesis of your pain, I'm not saying you have to pin it down precisely. A better way to say it would be accept the nature of your pain...which is to say psychosomatic. You'll know you've done this when your fear goes away. |
| Simon |
Posted - 09/07/2011 : 04:28:25
I think my comment about my wife was a bit misleading. She is supportive and wants my pain to go away more than anything. I think the problem is more with me and my personality traits which mean that I want everyone (including close family) to think that I'm strong, coping, etc.
Any other tips from anyone on how to overcome what I assume is conditioned pain when sitting when it's been that way for years and you need to sit for so much of your working day?
Thanks,
Simon |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 09/06/2011 : 22:05:45
quote:
Originally posted by Simon
My wife knows I'm not in a good place but she doesn't really buy into all of this psychological thing.
There's probably your biggest problem, an un-supportive mate. I know bad relationships have been my biggest source of TMS.
Stop the self-analysis and keep reading the books, the answers to all your TMS questions are in there. Or, if analysis is necessary don't DIY, but seek out a professional, preferably one familiar with TMS technique.
Best of luck, you have my sympathy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR. SARNO'S 12 DAILY REMINDERS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dKBFwGR0g
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti
"Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." Author Unknown
"Happy People Are Happy Putters." Frank Nobilo, Golf Analyst
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| Simon |
Posted - 09/06/2011 : 15:03:38
I agree. The problem is all of my reading and self-analysis just seems to have made me more conscious of a lot of depressed/anxious feelings which are irrational but very real. I accept that these emotional feelings are likely to be the cause of my pain but I now have awareness of this emotional pain as well as the physical, but don't know how to deal with either! Help!
Simon |
| art |
Posted - 09/06/2011 : 13:37:17
Pain when sitting at work. No pain when enjoying life. No pain on weekends. Pain returns on Monday morning.
Doesn't seem like a great mystery to me. |
