| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| cja |
Posted - 04/17/2013 : 19:16:03
Hello all, I recently found this website while researching TMS and wanted to share my story and ask a few questions. Here goes:
I am a married 41 year old man with a wife and two beautiful young girls ages 9 and 6. I work as a contractor and am a small business owner. Over the past 5 years started getting low back pain that got worse every year. The last 2 years it started to cause my leg to go numb. The pain comes on after standing or walking for any length of time over 5 or 10 minutes. For about the last 7 months the pain has got to the point that I cant stand for very long at all. I cant go for walks or hikes with my kids and trick or treating on Halloween night was ruined. The doctors have told me I have spondylolisthesis, degen disc disease and 3 bulging discs that are causing my pain. The treatment given was xrays, mri,cortisone shots, epidurals and physical therapy plus lots of time and money wasted on those treatments only to get very little relief.
I read Sarnos book Healing Back Pain and am convinced it is TMS. The fact of me being a perfectionist, business owner, people pleaser and stress case pretty much describes my character. I am currently reading The Divided Mind.
My story is probably no different than anybody elses but I need to know how to treat myself and get rid of this pain. Dr. sarno talked about the disease but not much on the cure. I did a few searches and found the 12 steps and have practiced them for 2 weeks now but have not found any relief yet.
Is there any links to a definitive treatment program I can follow?
Has anybody had any positive results from Dr. Schecters home program?
I live about an hour from Dr. Schecters office, does anybody recommend making an appointment and seeing him in person?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| catmac |
Posted - 04/18/2013 : 13:53:30
[quote]Originally posted by cja
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Cja
My main symptom was similar to yours as I too had lower back pain on one side and numbness and pins and needles down my leg.
I read Dr Sarno's divided mind and the mind body prescription. They were both excellent but I needed more to heal. I bought Steve Ozanichs book 'The Great Pain Deception' and I have never needed another tms book. He tells his own harrowing story, and also tells how he dealt with his symptoms. When you read what Steve has been through, and healed, it gives you confidence to think that you can also heal. ( I had to read it about three times as there is so much in there to take in on one read) I cant recommend it highly enough as it gave me hope when I felt hopeless (the doctors had told me I would probably not get better, but I did), and in the end it gave me back my life.
Hope this is helpful cja....................and good luck for the future.
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| EileenTM |
Posted - 04/18/2013 : 13:15:08
Steve, You mention that people pick and choose what they think is right or wrong and that hinders their healing. Can you explain more. Does that mean all I really have to do when a symptom flairs is just say "Oh it is my emotions...I wonder what I am repressing??" And leave it at that?
Thanks |
| tmsjptc |
Posted - 04/18/2013 : 12:45:03
cja, there's no definitive treatment program other than believing 100% that there is nothing physically wrong with you and then taking whatever additional steps necessary to get healing. Some heal just from the knowledge and 100% belief. Others have underlying and unconscious issues to deal with that are key to relief. No one is exactly the same and we all resonate differently to different things.
I wasn't clear from your post, how long ago did you read Healing Back Pain? It sounded pretty recent. If so, you may be expecting results too quickly. Fast results happen occasionally but I don't think are the norm.
You said "get rid of this pain". That's a telling thing to say. Of course, we all want that. But part of the healing process is seeing past the pain to what originates it. You have to think psychologically and not focus on the physical pain. The pain is just a distraction.
You could of course go see Dr. Schecter or someone else. But, you may also just need to allow your self-convincing to sink in. After all, many people, myself included, got healing simply from the books and never went to go see a TMS doc.
One tip that SteveO wrote about in his book was to get an audio version of Dr. Sarno. Depending on the kind of learner you are, you may find that hearing Dr. Sarno helps you even more than visually reading his book.
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| SteveO |
Posted - 04/18/2013 : 11:47:13
You have all the hallmarks for TMS. You fit the prime age group with the family dynamic, and the personality. But nobody can diagnose TMS except an MD. Even then it's shaky depending on the MD. People often come out of Dr. Schechter's office with a confusing diagnosis. I know several of them.
Healing requires confidence. You have to have confidence that you're ok physically, or TMS lingers. If you need another peg in your TMS confidence board then you should go see Heir Schechter. But be aware that his diagnosis is not final. The final say is from you.
Dr. Sarno never gave a set of rules or requirements to heal from TMS (other than you must accept the diagnosis) because there are no fast hard rules. Where the human brain is involved, and ego, healing can get quite complex. The most common problem I see now is that people pick and choose what they feel is right or wrong, delaying their healing.
All you really need is clearance from an MD that you're ok, and belief, then you can begin. The major factor in healing is belief. And the major obstacle is always fear.
I've always been of the opinion that you only need one book to heal. But doubt in the process, along with unconscious motivation to not heal, will string people along, meandering to this method and that method, for years. People heal when they are ready to. They often need their TMS for the reasons Dr. Sarno described. So they should not be rushed into anything. TMS exists to protect them from deep anger, a side of themselves they fear--thoughts and emotions that are dangerous to their image of themselves. The TMS is there to ground them to their bodies.
Step one is to get a physical exam. Step two is gathering information. Step three is slowly building confidence as you apply what you gather to yourself, and to your life--building your belief up steadily until your pain is gone. If you decide that Dr. Sarno is wrong here and there, then you need to think of why you don't want to heal?
Healing is a choice. And it takes tremendous courage to let go and face the fire that you call your life. It burns, but only for a short time, and the light reenters you, and happiness replaces suffering.
Good luck, cja
Steve
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| pspa123 |
Posted - 04/17/2013 : 20:03:15
PS others may think otherwise but it seems to me the main reason to see a TMS doctor is if you are not convinced you have TMS. As you appear to be convinced, I am not sure what incremental benefit you might get from an appointment. |
| pspa123 |
Posted - 04/17/2013 : 20:00:47
Different things help different people, read some of the success stories. There is no definitive, one size fits all treatment or treatment program. Some emphasize mindfulness/stress reduction approaches (cognitive/behavioral), others advocate getting to the root of your emotional issues through one or another depth psychology approaches. Do some reading and see what resonates with you. |
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