| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| stevep |
Posted - 12/08/2011 : 10:19:07
Hello,
29 year old male here. Working for a moving company years ago, I started getting lower back pain with sciatic pain down my right leg. After leaving that kind of work it seemed to eventually subside a great deal. This lasted for a good few years. About 9 months ago I woke up one morning with the same lower back and sciatic pain once again. And although I do indeed workout pretty hard at times, I am not in that strenuous line of work at the moment. So I was confused as to why it all of the sudden came on.
I started really focusing on stretching that targets the lower back and hamstrings. It helps to a degree I suppose. I tried physical therapy, and it didn't do much. I try acupuncture and it does honestly feel great for that day. Like really good. But the pain inevitably comes back. I tried bikram yoga a number of times and while a very difficult practice, feels pretty good afterward. I've tried chiropractics with heat therapy over the last month and I guess it feels pretty good too. He took x-rays and it doesn't show a whole lot wrong with me. My hips are off kilter a few centimeters, some spacing in my lower vertebrae is a little close, and my neck is a bit too straight. I also have tried various supplements. But nothing ever gave lasting effects.
Anyway after coming across Dr. Sarno's name, I purchase "Healing Back Pain" and like everyone else here I saw myself written on the pages. I realize now that I have a LOT of repressed emotions that I have deeply bottled up over the years starting with my childhood from a pretty young age. The weird thing is that I always kind of new I was bottling them up. I just never thought anything would come of it. And well, as you can see, I was dead wrong.
Anyway I have finished the book and like I said, I am certain that this is what is going on with me. I have always had this feeling over the past 9 months that it's something along these lines strangely enough. I would even say to my girlfriend or my acupuncturist that "I think it's just serious tension in my back" and things like that. I guess I was right.
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| stevep |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 16:39:43
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| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 16:36:30
Very good, now patience. |
| stevep |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 11:29:36
Oh there is no doubt that it's from TMS pain. The only "structural abnormalities" I have are some slight degeneration at the base of my spine (normal according to Sarno) and my hips are a bit off kilter.
I have definitely been reading the 12 daily reminders and have kind of created my own mantra even. I'll check out the stuff in your sig now, thanks. I have indeed been writing in a journal too. |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 10:07:59
quote:
Originally posted by stevep
I'm having a real tough time lately not having pain on my mind as the last thing before bed and the first thing in the morning...
If it's from TMS pain, then it's just doing it's job as a psychological defense mechanism, a protective device from having to experience emotional pain, that your primitive unconscious mind fears will be worse than the physical.
Look at the Rahe-Holmes list in my sig below and find the "dis-ease" life events that built up your TMS reservoir of rage to overflowing.
Read your Sarno or read some of the excerpts in my sig.
Memorize Dr. Sarno's 12 Daily Reminders and make it your mantra.
Hope that helps, all who have come here have been in your shoes.
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 |
| stevep |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 09:39:41
I'm having a real tough time lately not having pain on my mind as the last thing before bed and the first thing in the morning... |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/11/2011 : 08:53:41
I just got a google alert for the article below about the "business of out patient surgery". In regards to my hip, which may or may not be TMS, these are the surgical advances I would wait for. In the near future many surgeries for REAL stuff will be as routine as dentistry.
I realize this is contrary to TMS--but some things like fractures are structural. I post this because it shows hope that procedures will be less invasively traumatic with less chance of dying in a hospital from complications such as pneumonia and infection.
Hip replacement is not something I am entertaining in the near future. A little "nip/tuck", arthroscopically, maybe. They call it a medical "PRACTICE", I'm waiting for the docs to stop "practicing" and start "doing".
http://www.beckersasc.com/asc-turnarounds-ideas-to-improve-performance/specialty-to-watch-orthopedic-and-spine-in-2012.html |
| fadoozle |
Posted - 12/10/2011 : 17:51:08
There is an article in this week's New Yorker about the placebo effect--now Harvard is interested in studying it and apparently finding ways for doctors to actually give out sugar pills as legitimate treatment. Wow!
I think acupuncture is about as placebo as it gets. |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/10/2011 : 17:39:37
Not everything is TMS, unfortunately (maybe) for me--but about 80% is. I use TMS thinking on an everyday basis to banish numerous pains, twinges and sensations, making them fleeting annoyances rather than potentially chronic injuries. Recently I rid myself of a "frozen" shoulder through TMS thinking. It wasn't overnight, it lasted about three months, but I did not have to undergo surgery many opt for at the drop of a hat these days nor have PT, etc., etc., etc. It may not even been due to TMS, maybe it was overuse swimming, but TMS "knowledge peniciilin" can contribute a powerful placebo effect, one of the mindbody's greatest healing tools.
To clarify your confusion over my hip, there's a recent discussion of it in the thread linked below :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7000&SearchTerms=hip
Hope you're doing better today, it may take time for the TMS "penicillin knowledge" to be absorbed on a cellular level. Keep studying the TMS materials--the answers to all your questions are there. |
| stevep |
Posted - 12/10/2011 : 12:34:43
quote:
Originally posted by tennis tom
You are fortunate that you can still run. I did 13 marathons without a twinge of hip pain, it wasn't until I had a very bad relationship break-up that I became a "hippy". I run about 30 minutes in a swim pool with a flotation belt and hobble around the tennis court playing doubles or practicing. Don't give up the faith.
I am confused, man. Have you not found much relief in your years of trying to tackle TMS?? |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/10/2011 : 08:10:00
Thanks Steve, It was late when I typed, I was tired and it should have said search for "stretch", but you found it anyway, good. Hope it helps answer your question, I'm going to review TMS & stretching myself--I've forgotten more than I know.
Sorry to hear of your financial situation, modern factory medicine is the biggest threat to our wallets. A trip to the ER will run you thousands and three days in a hospital bed will wipe you out. I would still give Sarno's office a shot, and explain your situation. He's the last resort of many and probably used to seeing those who have been fleeced by the medical/industrial complex.
You are fortunate that you can still run. I did 13 marathons without a twinge of hip pain, it wasn't until I had a very bad relationship break-up that I became a "hippy". I run about 30 minutes in a swim pool with a flotation belt and hobble around the tennis court playing doubles or practicing. Don't give up the faith.
tt
John Sarno, MD
400 E 34th St, New York, NY 10016
(212) 263-6035 |
| stevep |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 23:58:56
Thanks man good call. Just did a search and I see what you're talking about. |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 22:54:37
Regarding stretching, I did a quick search here and 17 pages of threads with the word search came up. It may be a good idea as part of your TMS education to look at them. You will find the "Search" button on the top right corner of the page. |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 17:42:18
Regarding stretching, stretch all you want with the intention that it makes you feel good after a run. Stretching muscles will not "fix" muscles that are tight due to the TMS process of oxygen deprivation. You need to stretch your mind around TMS theory. Read TMS books, listen to TMS audios and view TMS videos until you brainwash yourself and overcome all the nocebos instilled in you by all the other modalities that have not worked.
Good Luck! |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 17:27:44
quote:
Originally posted by stevep
I am not paying for acupuncture. My insurance covered it completely.
It's sheer madness that insurance will pay for acupuncture and not
Sarno. |
| stevep |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 10:01:32
I am not paying for acupuncture. My insurance covered it completely. Either way, I haven't been in almost a couple weeks now.
When it comes to the cost, I mean it when I tell you I can't cover it. My credit cards are maxed out and I'm living paycheck to paycheck. I also don't have anyone that I can borrow from unfortunately. Does this make me seem like I want to hold on to my TMS? Maybe, I can see that. But I can assure you I don't. I've been consciously working on this every day. And I think that I may be able to overcome this on my own. If I can't, then maybe I'll rob that bank.
Thanks for the reply about stretching. It's still a little confusing though. How do you separate what goes through your mind from the actual stretching? Like, after a long run the muscles in my legs feel tight. How does one stretch them out without the thought that you are essentially relieving that tightness? |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 08:48:45
If your condition is TMS then stretch all you want, but NOT with the thought that it is going to repair anything structural--because TMS is not physically caused but psychological.
Seeing a doctor gives a very powerful placebo OR nocebo effect. Putting Dr. in front of ones name bestows great powers to their suggestions, they are our shamans. Frankly, I don't get it--the cost thing. You're paying for your acupuncture aren't you? How much is your disability costing you in real life terms, now in the past, and in your future? Doctors are very generous about helping those that can't afford it, working out payment plans or pro bono. Not being more creative in attempting to see someone who could perhaps help you heal yourself the fastest way tells me perhaps you want to hold on to your TMS symptom for the protection it offers. TMS is a psychological defense mechanism that Dr. Sarno calls a PROTECTOR. It protect us from dealing with the situations we fear in life. Where there's a will, there's a way-beg, borrow or steal the money if you need to.
==================================================
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
"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." Mark Twain and Balto
======================================================
TMS PRACTITIONERS:
Sarno John MD
400 E 34th St, New York, NY 10016
(212) 263-6035
Here's the TMS practitioners list from the TMS Help Forum:
http://www.tmshelp.com/links.htm
Here's a list of TMS practitioners from the TMS Wiki:
http://tmswiki.org/page/Find+a+TMS+Doctor+or+Therapist
Here's a map of TMS practitioners from the old Tarpit Yoga site, (click on the map by state for listings).:
http://www.tarpityoga.com/2007_08_01_archive.html |
| susies1955 |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 03:54:25
Thanks Bugbear. :)
Susie |
| Bugbear |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 03:40:34
I'm so pleased for you, Susie!!
stevep, for most of us seeing Dr Sarno is not an option but there are plenty of success stories nevertheless, both on this forum and the wiki. If you put the thought into your mind that you won't get better without seeing Dr Sarno, that thought will prevent your recovery. You can do it, mate. |
| susies1955 |
Posted - 12/09/2011 : 01:36:15
I'm a newbie at knowing about TMS BUT I have read Dr. Sarno's first book and I'm doing the Structured Educational Program here:
http://tmswiki.org/page/Structured+Educational+Program
and I have to say I'm 95% pain free.
I have three bulging discs in my neck along with instability and stenosis and I have a broken L5 in my back that is displaced along with the tail bone being deformed BUT and this is a big BUT........none of this matters because I believe what Dr. Sarno says in that it is a repressed emotion issue and not a body issue.
It was suggested to me to go see Dr. Sarno too as I live in northern NY but I'm not going to spend the money if I already believe it is in the mind. I did buy his second book and another book about TMS and I know I'm fine.
Hoping the best for you.
Susie |
| stevep |
Posted - 12/08/2011 : 22:48:08
Well I will heavily consider it, I guess that's all I can say. I'll call and see what my insurance covers and take it from there. Thanks.
Does anyone have any insight into the general stretching question I posed? |
