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EileenTM
92 Posts |
 Posted - 07/13/2005 : 17:07:31
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You might want to contact Dr. Nancy Selfridge in Madison WI. She wrote the book "Freedom From Fibromyalgia". She herself suffered from that and cured herself by applying the principles of Dr. Sarno. I am sure she can share with you the approach she uses with patients in her practice as she educates them about TMS. I believe she does offer them both choices, either regular meds, etc or the TMS route.
Also, since you are both a physician and understand TMS I would like to ask your advice. I do not have the classic TMS symptoms. Instead all my symptoms started at menopause, 3 years ago. I cannot take hormones as I experience a lot of side effects. Since you are a neurologist and understand the brain, do you think my symptoms could be a result of hormonal fluctuations at this time or could they be TMS?
I find it hard to pursue the TMS route when I have some doubts. My symptoms are:
poor sleep, mood swings, difficulty concentrating, memory problems and poor mood. My psychologist thinks it is hormonal as do my doctors. I have a history of just a few TMS type problems over the years. One bout with IBS, one but with hives, and laryngitis when I was pregnant. No history or mood problems. I would appreciate any thoughts you might have. |
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drziggles
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2005 : 21:38:39
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I just wrote a long post that got mistakenly deleted! let me try again.
First, thanks for your advice. That book is on my amazon wish list, and i will make a point to check it out and contact her.
Now, about your symptoms, first the usual disclaimer--you naturally need to see a physician for a full history and examination in order to make medical decisions. I think that the symptoms you mention may be manifestations of TMS, especially with a history of IBS, which is almost certainly a TMS equivalent.
However, they are also very common symptoms in general, and may be caused by various medical problems such as thyroid disease, which needs to be excluded. Menopause/perimenopause can also cause those same symptoms, and may be what you are experiencing. You need to do some of the soul searching that's part of TMS therapy in order to decide for yourself if TMS is the cause in this case--I think that it can be helpful even alongside usual medical therapies, such as SSRIs (eg prozac), that are also used to treat menopausal symptoms. In addition, depression also be a culprit, even in someone who may not feel "sad", so that would be worth considering.
I hope that is in someway helpful for you. |
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EileenTM
92 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2005 : 22:42:03
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Thanks for your reply. Yes, we have ruled out other causes such as thyroid etc. And my symptoms began when I started to skip periods. Any chance I could have a phone consultation with you (I would pay you of course) to discuss some other factors of this situation. I value the fact that you are both an MD (neurologist) and educated about TMS. I could give you my email address so we could set that up.
Thanks.
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Jim1999
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2005 : 22:28:40
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quote:
Originally posted by EileenTM
You might want to contact Dr. Nancy Selfridge in Madison WI. She wrote the book "Freedom From Fibromyalgia". She herself suffered from that and cured herself by applying the principles of Dr. Sarno. I am sure she can share with you the approach she uses with patients in her practice as she educates them about TMS. I believe she does offer them both choices, either regular meds, etc or the TMS route.
Dr. Ziggles,
When I read your posting (in the "Doctor knew about Sarno but didn't say so" thread), I also thought of Dr. Selfridge. I tried looking through her book last night, but I couldn't find the part where she talks about how she presents TMS treatment to her patients. I know she offers her patients a choice. I didn't have the impression that she tells her patients they have repressed emotions, although she does tell them that her success rate is higher with the psychological treatment. Hopefully, this makes it less threatening and the patients don't react quite so strongly.
Although I'm not a medical professional, I was influenced by Dr. Selfridge's approach. I am active in an on-line chronic pain group. When I talked about Dr. Sarno's books, I just told about my own success and the success Sarno claims to have. The reaction to Sarno was mostly negative, but people there still accept me. I think that if I had said that they all had repressed emotions and needed to renounce their physical treatments, they would have shown me the proverbial door.
I hope this is of some help to you.
Jim |
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Carol
91 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2005 : 13:27:32
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A casual friend of mine, a person with whom I have never discussed my pain problems or TMS, experienced back pain a couple years ago. She was going through a very stressful time, as she had just finished being treated for breast cancer when her father was hospitalized for what eventually proved to be a terminal illness.
She went to her doctor for the back pain. She (the doctor) asked about my friend's personal situation, and told her that the pain was most likely a reaction to the extreme stress that she was under. She suggested that my friend take it as easy as possible, and see what happened after the situation with her father resolved. Sure enough, the pain improved almost immediately, and went away completely once her father died and she was relieved of the double whammy of trying to care for herself and her father.
She told me of this when I inquired about her health. I told her that she had a very wise doctor, and said no more.
Maybe that is an approach to try, eg inquiring about what stresses that patients might be under while explaining that back pain is often the result of stress. There have been many articles recently stating the connestion between back pain and stress, so this might be a good way to approach the subject without making a person think he/she is somehow neurotic!
Carol |
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drziggles
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2005 : 20:04:34
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Hello, again, and sorry for the delay. I'm actually out of town and will be soon going on a vacation for two weeks, so I won't be checking the board.
First off, unfortunately I don't think I would be able to do a phone consultation, but not for lack of being interested in helping you! To be honest, I would not be able to competently treat you without being able to fully examine you and would not be doing my job in a thorough way; if you feel the problem is clearly TMS, a phone consultation with a mental health professional familiar with the concept would be more appropriate. I hope you understand.
Thanks for the tips about presenting the idea of TMS to people. I agree with the approach, and usual ask people about any stresses in their lives. Sometimes, the patient instantly breaks down in tears, and in that case the TMS concept is not a difficult one to bring up. If you've read Sarno's book, you may recall that TMS often happens in people that don't even realize that they are stressed or have any issues at all! It's in these cases that it's complicated, and it's possible I shouldn't broach the issue with them. I will definitely take a look at the Fibromyalgia book!
thanks again. |
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