| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/16/2005 : 17:56:54
I am begining to think that there are quite a number of us from MA. I have heard from a few people, but I am interested in hearing from anyone else from MA who has been to see one of our TMS Doctors. Who did you see and how did the appt. go for you?
Thanks,
Colleen |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| pault |
Posted - 04/29/2005 : 03:58:46
Coleen , I found my old e-mail address was on record and have corrected it. Have you gotten any mail from me as of late? Can you check you own information for accuracy? How are you doing as of late? Thanks Paul. |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 12:09:13
Fred,
If you are comfortable doing so, could you send me an email telling me the name of your therapist or is there a "list" of TMS therapist. The one I have been seeing for awhile....even before my Mom got sick.....I am teaching her about TMS.
Colleen |
| Fredarm57 |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 09:22:23
Colleen: Don't panic if you can't get to see Dr. Siegel. Because of insurance issues, I am seeing a different therapist, not Dr. Siegel (other than the once last month, which he fit me in on a cancellation because I am a former patient). In my opinion, as long as the therapist is receptive to the concept of emotionally induced pain, you don't have to see a "TMS" therapist as such. Fred |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 09:07:42
Dear Fred,
Thanks for your reply. I feel like I really need an appt. with Dr. Siegal....if only for one appt.
Colleen |
| Allan |
Posted - 04/26/2005 : 17:38:01
To the Massachusetts connection:
Please send me your email address if you would like to attend a cookout in Weymouth this summerfor TMS survivors or strugglers.
Allan.
|
| Fredarm57 |
Posted - 04/26/2005 : 13:16:32
Mike and Colleen:
Dr. Siegel's approach is described in his book "Back Sense" and in the lecture available at http://www.nicabm.com/olt/mindfulness_psychotherapy/demo/audio_lectures.htm.
I saw him primarily from 1991 to 1993, when he was just beginning to develop his approach to chronic pain. He is very reassuring and empathetic; having been through back pain himself, he familiar with the fears that it generates. We spent a lot of time talking about emotional and life issues, not so much time talking about the pain as such. He is a very good listener! I saw him a few more times in 2000 when I had a relapse and again once in early March this year (at $145 a visit, that's all I could afford-my insurance does not cover him).
He recommends using mindfulness techniques to deal with the pain, and starting to do those things that you stopped doing because of your pain. His approach takes a somewhat different tack than Dr. Sarno's because he recommends accepting that the pain is something you can't control, like the weather. Once you accept it and stop fighting it, you become less tense and the pain caused by muscle tension lessens. He call it the "benign barometer of anxiety". He doesn't really get into the Freudian repressed anger theory, but rather attributes the pain to muscle tension caused by the fight-or-flight response. In some ways it's an easier approach for me to accept, and more like Dr. Sarno's original theory as set forth in his first book, Mind Over Back Pain.
The mindfulness component encourages you to focus on the present, rather than worrying about the future. So much of our anxiety about pain revolves around when it will strike next, causing us to become tense and helping create the pain itself. We think "I have to do X next week, what if I get back pain" and so on. If you focus on what's going on now, and don't worry about whether you will have pain next week, you will be a lot less tense. In the book he describes mindfulness techniques you can use, including various forms of meditation, breathing, and noticing your thoughts (particularly helpful for dealing with worry). He doesn't specifically recommend journaling, although for people who are having trouble resuming activity he does recommend keeping a pain log for a while so that you can see that the pain doesn't really correspond with the level of activity. His point is that if you wait for the pain to go away before resuming activity, you will probably wait forever.
My recent contact with him has been mostly for reassurance: "yes, it sounds like TMS again, don't worry about it, you'll be OK, keep doing your activities, etc.". I have a tendency to get anxious when I get an episode of severe back pain, even though I know what is going on. I went to see him after my most recent episode of back pain in late February. One of my concerns was that I was supposed to go on a ski trip in a couple of weeks. He said "go", and I did. I had some pain, but it didn't get worse and the skiing was fun. I began to relax about the whole episode, and within a couple of weeks, the pain was gone. For me, he's that calm voice in my head, telling me that it's OK, the pain will go away.
Fred |
| MikeC |
Posted - 04/26/2005 : 09:52:13
Colleen,
While it does take some time, don't feel that it take 2 years for everyone. Also, I'm sure that the pain tapers down after awhile so it is more survivable as time goes on. Now that I am working with a psychologist who has given me some tools to work with, I can get through the day in an okay fashion. As many people have said on the board, it is up to us to do the readings, journaling, activity. By no means, it is easy, but it is certainly worth it.
Good luck,
Mike C |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/26/2005 : 09:15:49
Fred,
Thanks for your advice....I do have a feeling this is going to take SOME time.
PaulT......How do I get that 20/20 tape from you?
Thanks,
Colleen |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/25/2005 : 13:02:49
I would really like to know how Dr. Siegal works on pain issues.
Thanks,
Colleen |
| MikeC |
Posted - 04/25/2005 : 09:00:43
Fred,
Maybe you explain how Dr. Siegel goes about treating patients? Is it very similar to Sarno? Does he recommend journaling, meditation, etc. Both Colleen and I are on a waiting list to see him and I was just curious as to how he goes about it.
Thanks,
Mike C |
| Fredarm57 |
Posted - 04/25/2005 : 08:40:07
Colleen: The first time through recovery can be long. In my case it was almost two years (1991-93). Two steps forward, one step back, but if I took the long view I could see gradual progress over time. The second time, it was a few months (spring of 2000). This past time, a few weeks (late Feb. to early April 2005). It varies with the individual, since TMS is an emotionally generated disorder and we all vary in our emotional make-up. Keep working on it (but not too hard, since my experience is that obsessing about the pain or trying to make it go away is counterproductive) and try to return to normal life as much as possible.
Mike: Glad to hear you're making progress!
Allan: The cookout sounds like a great idea! Let me know what I can bring.
Fred |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/24/2005 : 11:33:52
Pault,
How do I go about getting that video from you??
Thanks,
Colleen |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/21/2005 : 09:23:30
Mike,
The "pain killers" given for nerve pain are a wide variety of anti-depressants....mostly the old, out dated variety. I am trying to save that as a last resort.
I had a huge emotional issue with my Dad last night regarding his will and his retirement and a bunch of very emotional stuff. Anyway, I could feel the pain in my feet and a new one, numbness in my arms. It was really strange. I could actully feel the TMS as it happened!! Then the strangest thing happened.....the more vocal I got about these very upsetting issues, the pain in my feet lessened and the numbness in my arms increased!!
I got little sleep last night and feel pretty lousy today and yes, my feet hurt, but what a strange situation last night. At about that same time, my Dr. Sarno lecture videos arrived by FEDEX....Go figure!!
Colleen |
| MikeC |
Posted - 04/20/2005 : 10:02:04
Colleen,
Regarding the fact that you aren't better after two weeks, I know there are many cases of people taking much longer to get over it BUT they are much better. I know that's a frustrating thing to hear but Dr. Rosenfeld told me that he had patients have to wait nearly a year before they got relief. I think it becomes frustrating because when your only recourse is to read, journalize, etc., you automatically feel like you should be doing more which then stresses you out causing more pain (the pain/stress/pain cycle).
I think that is why Sarno will prescribe painkillers because no one should have to suffer while doing the process. People take painkillers all the time while they are healing from an injury. If you can take them, then you should.
Mike C |
| MikeC |
Posted - 04/20/2005 : 09:54:34
Colleen,
After I left Martinez's office for the first time, I felt a lot better leaving than when I showed up. He gave me a lot of confidence that we would work together to ease the pain that I was having. I think that should tell us that emotions have a lot to do with our pain levels. Also, maybe the fact that you were in Florida in mid-January as opposed to artic Massachusetts helped.
Mike C |
| MikeC |
Posted - 04/20/2005 : 09:49:46
Allan,
Both examinations are the typical examinations that you would see in the doctor's office for checking the spine. At the end, they press on the parts of the back that Sarno suggests. Mine were pretty much all painful. Rosenfeld explained to me what TMS was. The best comparison he made for me was when he asked me if I had children. When I told him that I had an 8, 7, and 3 year old. He then used them to relate the inner child to me. He asked me that when the three year old does things (Example: plays with toys), she is not concerned with sharing with other, cleaning her toys up after she is done, etc. She does her thing while it is fun and then moves on to the next thing that will entertain her. Eventually, parents (where have we seen that word before) will teach her that she has to share and clean up. There is the TMS conflict that we all demonstrate along with external stress and childhood issues. We used to be kids but then we have been innundated with rules and the "right" thing to do. Rosenfeld basically instructed me to do the strict Sarno method and get back to him in six weeks. Because he was down the Cape, I decided to go with Martinez who was closer to me.
Martinez explained to me about Sarno and thinks the man is a genius but will tell you that not everything he says is correct. He will let you choose how to proceed. YOu can go with Sarno, Siegel, or aggresive physical therapy (known as the Rainville Method). We chose a combination of Rainville and Siegel because I had been working with Sarno and was getting frustrated (looking back at it, I think I was trying way too hard on the Sarno approach which eventually made things worse). The best thing about Martinez is his passion and his compassion. When things weren't working, I felt that at least I had him to bounce things off of.
What I think turned things around for me was going to see a behavioral psychologist and letting out A LOT of frustration over 20 years. I am by no means out of the woods, but I am going to try working on all these psychological tools that have been provided to me.
Sorry for the wordiness. Please feel free to send me an e-mail offline if you wish to chat further.
Thanks,
Mike C |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/20/2005 : 09:49:46
Allan,
I appreciate your insight. My pain is one year now and going strong. I had some relief in mid-January while in Florida at a competition with my family (Why??) and then again for a week or so just after my first visit to the TMS Doctor.
Colleen |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/20/2005 : 09:45:32
Hi MikeC,
Good to hear from you. We are a growing group here in the Bay state!!
I think I told you that I did start reading Nancy Selfridge awhile back and that is just what I liked about it, that it was coming from another pain point besides the back as my pain is in both feet. Only problem, and I have to laugh at myself for this, I started to think I had fibromyalgia the more I read. I am just about done the book.
As I recently told Holly, who has foot pain issues as well, I am now in a place where I am quetioning the TMS diagnosis as the burning pain has really flared up again. Holly said that she too has gone through this and so, maybe we just get use to the pain over time and learn to live with it?? But then is it really TMS ?? According to the Doctor, I should be doing better pain wise, at this point, but I am not.
Colleen |
| Colleen |
Posted - 04/20/2005 : 09:35:46
Paul,
I DO want a copy, but my e mails to you keep bouncing back to me and No, I have not received your e mails.
Thanks,
Colleen |
| pault |
Posted - 04/19/2005 : 18:55:06
If you guys want a copy of the Channel 5 show Cronicle that my shop was on for tms,let me know.I am from Longmeadow,Ma. Paul. |
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