| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| MikeC |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 11:39:20
How do you get MRI pictures out of your head? My MRI shows spinal stenosis of a "moderate" level. I have been trying to deal with this on a psychological basis with some physcial activity thrown in. When I notice the pain, I picture that MRI and say that I will never get well because of the scan. Anyone have horrid MRIs that are feeling much better, your story would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike C |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| MikeC |
Posted - 03/18/2005 : 14:47:14
Everyone,
Thank you for the response. You always feel like your MRI is the most hideous one out there despite the fact there are MRIs that are much worse with people who have never had back pain. I will review the books mentioned and appreciate the individual stories that you related to help me.
THanks,
Mike C |
| Caroline |
Posted - 03/17/2005 : 08:23:09
quote:
Originally posted by Colleen
Caroline,
Thanks for your response. So,did you go through a period of time where you questioned if it was TMS??
Yes of course. I actually think what set me back the most was going to the acupuncturist. I had about 6 appointments left with her when I read the Sarno book and I thought I'd finish the course. The problem is that it kept me focused on my physical problem and a physical solution. After the therapy was over (and unsuccessful) I decided to refocus on the Sarno theory. I took the book with me on a business trip where I had a lot of time to think and read. Thats' when the symtpoms started moving around. One day I saw red bumps on my arm (first time ever) and sort of ignored it, only to learn on this board that those things are called hives!!!I have been back 3 weeks now and I feel better every day. I have no more doubts: this is the way to go, but I also realize I am a newbie and have a lot to learn so I keep reading and posting and journaling! |
| Colleen |
Posted - 03/17/2005 : 07:46:52
Caroline,
Thanks for your response. So,did you go through a period of time where you questioned if it was TMS?? I am glad good came from your situation.....and you get to fly business class !! |
| Fredarm57 |
Posted - 03/17/2005 : 07:21:05
Mike: Ron Siegel's book "Back Sense" cites several studies where x-rays or MRI's were done to groups of people with and without back pain. Just as many people without back pain had spinal abnormalities as did those with back pain. Fred |
| Caroline |
Posted - 03/16/2005 : 08:07:33
quote:
Originally posted by Colleen
Caroline,
You said something that caught my attention...."my pain has moved around enough that....or the pain would always be in the same place."
My pain ALWAYS is in the same place. My feet have been painful for 11 months and I do keep doubting the TMS .
Colleen
It wasn't always that way. I had neck pain for at least 18 months and tried everything: acupuncture, massages, phaysical therapy, exercises, even neck traction! the more I sought treatment, the more I obsessed about my stupid neck. When I finally had the MRI and my orthopedists (one of the best in DC) told me I had unusually severe spinal stenosis, I started crying: I thought I was doomed to die of asphyxiation or something. It was only after I read Dr. Sarno's book that the pain started moving, to the head, to the back, etc. Interestingly, whenever my pain moves it starts with a dizzy feeling, as if my brain was hesitating what spot to hit next...
The only good thing that came out of that MRI is that I now have a good excuse for traveling business class (I work for a federal agency that only allows coach class travel unless you can prove some kind of disability). Ha!Ha! |
| mala |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 21:35:26
I'm actually surprised that you can identify the problem in your MRI. I 've had a few and I still can't make out where they say I have a problem. Most of us are not trained to see what is wrong.
One of my doctors told me quite honestly that most people he Xrayed had something that showed up whether it was related to the pain or not. He said that although he had no pain, he was sure that if he had an MRI, something would show up. Having something on your MRI doesn't mean a thing.
He told me he had seen horrible MRIs of people with absolutely no pain whatsoever so maybe you could start thinking about that instead.
I think that most doctors feel that they must give the patient an explanation for what is wrong with them. It is all a big con really . They send you for a really expensive MRI and then of course they can't say 'well I don't really know what is wrong with you sir' so they point to whatever they can find ( most of us will have something or the other) and hey presto there is a reason for your pain. We of course know better thanks to Sarno that it isn't true.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
| Colleen |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 18:20:39
Caroline,
You said something that caught my attention...."my pain has moved around enough that....or the pain would always be in the same place."
My pain ALWAYS is in the same place. My feet have been painful for 11 months and I do keep doubting the TMS .
Colleen |
| Allan |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 17:44:50
Hello again Mike.
I forgot to say that my MRI showed spinal stenosis. An orthopedic surgeon referred me to a specialist at the Brigham and Womans' hospital in Boston for surgery. Two weeks before the surgery, I read Dr. Sarno and Fred Amir and cancelled the surgery.
I had been pain free for four years. Now I have knee pain but that is another story.
Allan. |
| Allan |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 17:42:01
Hello MikeC.
How does one get the MRI out of one's mind?
Read the Maureen Jensen study, referred to in Appendix C of Fred Amir's book. She refers to patients with x-rays showing severe structural damage to their spine and other areas but have no pain. This is a must read for all TMS'ers.
You have all the tools that you need to recover right now. You don't need any more.
If you can't get the MRI out of your mind, you haven't related to what Dr. Sarno is telling you. Read his book a few times more, he repeats his message again and again. He is screaming at you that the pain (which is very real indeed) is caused by lack of blood and oxygen deprivation not by alleged structual damage described by an x-ray, MRI, or someone in a white coat.
Although not necessary to change your mindset, having a TMS doctor put your MRI up on the wall (as Dr. Rosenfeld in Sandwich, MA did for me) and tell you that there is no need for an operation helped me a lot. I never gave the MRI a thought after that experience.
Allan.
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| FarmerEd |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 17:39:06
Hello MikeC,
I was diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis by normal Xray. I still remember how scarry it looked especially when the Doctor told me it was an L2 50% which meant one of my vertebrae is slid 50% forward. It's pretty easy to see. In his first book Dr.Sarno thought this may be a legitimate structural source of pain. In his second book he believed it may cause pain but rarely and in his third book he was convinced after treating many folks with this condition that it does not cause pain same as other sturctural abnormalities. I choose to believe his experience in this matter and I have probably had this for most of , if not all, my life unknowingly. When my back wants to act up it can be difficult to get the picture out of my mind and the warnings from the Doctors about it slipping more and causing paralysis still try to scare me. I have to remind myself I probably had this when I played football, baseball and did Karate back in high school so if what they say was true I would have been paralyzed long ago. |
| Albert |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 16:51:56
I used to have pain around my L5 eventhough my MRI doesn't show a damaged disc. I guess a damaged disc wasn't the cause of my pain.
The spinal chord is always in contact with something. Why should a disc make a difference? There are thousands of nerves within a spinal chord. They are surrounded by various protective layers. The nerves would just reposition themselves if something got in the way of their path. A bundle of nerves doesn't need to be shaped in a particular way.
Even if they did get pinched they wouldn't do so for ever.
Do you feel symptoms in a place that doesn't have anything to do with the supposed pinched nerve?
How come lots of people who have worn discs don't have any pain. Several studies have found that there isn't a strong corelation.
Tell/ask your mind the above type of facts/questions on a regular basis, until it gets the point that there is nothing physically wrong with you.
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| n/a |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 16:12:56
Yes, MikeC, I had a scary MRI and I got better from the pain in my back. My scan showed up a partially collapsed vertebra at L4 with a disc protrusion below it.
At first that scan made me terrified and, of course the pain got much more severe. I was convinced that this would result in terrible disability if I wasn't very, very careful - so began a life of restrictions - don't lift anything heavy, don't bend from the waist, be careful getting out of bed, out of a chair, only sit in hard backed-chairs, sleep on a firm bed, use a back support cushion when driving, etc. etc. Who told me all these things? Doctors, physios and conventional books on back pain.
The thing was, it was all rubbish. When I read The Mindbody Prescription I started to sit any way I liked, bend any way I liked - in fact - do the opposite of what I had been advised - the fear and pain started to ease and eventually, it did take some time, I got rid of it.
MRIs are very much a mixed blessing, undoubtably, they give surgeons and other practitioners invaluable information when something needs fixing, but, as you and I found out, they can cause unnecessary anxiety.
Best wishes
Anne
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| Fox |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 13:27:02
Try thought stopping then thought substitution. Just say "NO" under your breath and consciously substitute the thought of the MRI with a thought of some anger provoking situation from your distant or recent past. Try to feel the anger that this situation still elicits....Also, every once in a while, run the info through your head from Sarno's books that mentions that people with no pain often have bad MRIs. |
| Caroline |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 11:51:23
[quote]Originally posted by MikeC
How do you get MRI pictures out of your head? My MRI shows spinal stenosis of a "moderate" level. I have been trying to deal with this on a psychological basis with some physcial activity thrown in. When I notice the pain, I picture that MRI and say that I will never get well because of the scan. Anyone have horrid MRIs that are feeling much better, your story would be appreciated.
My MRI looks pretty scary (substantial spinal stenosis) but oddly, it was my acupuncturist (whom I no longer see because she only provided temporary relief and I since discovered sarno's theory) who reassured me. She laughed at the diagnosis, said that most people have these abnormalities and that I was probably causing the narrowing myself by having such tense neck muscle. I have not thought about it again. Also, my pain has moved around enough that I know the spinal stenosis has nothing to do with it, or the pain would always be in the same place. |
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