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chingborden
USA
10 Posts |
 Posted - 10/16/2006 : 22:19:29
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I got introduced to the TMS idea a few months ago as a result of dizziness/imbalance I have been having since the end of April. As I read the Sarno/Sopher/ and now Brady books I truly saw myself so clearly and realized that the long list of issues I have had since childhood (IBS, knee pain, anxiety, sciatica, bulemia, shoulder and neck pain and most recently the dizziness, severe neck pain, and muscle tremors in my neck- which I saw someone else say Sarno agreed was TMS too) were connected as TMS/equivalents. I am a perfect Sarno candidate with heavy issues in all three of the possible causes for TMS (past issues, personality and present life pressures). This past year and a half in particular has been the real "straw that broke the camel's back" in regard to life pressure. Three days after my daughter (fourth child)was born she suffered a stroke and rocked my world in a way I had never experienced. Thank God she is fine and a pure miracle, but I am a classic Scott Brady "Fear-prone" personality and her stroke changed me for good. I was SOOOO filled with anxiety for the first 6-7 months of her life, because with her stroke it was a watch and wait game to see if she would or would not have developmental problems. Just spitting up was enough to cause me to panic becasue I was convinced something was wrong with her esophogeal (sp?) muscles or something. EVERYTHING she did FREAKED me out. This is a hard way to exist on a daily basis. It was during the year that followed that I noticed my health was never back to normal. Before this, my TMS issues were more annoying than life affecting. Suddenly I got TMJ, irritable bowel, an enlarged gland in my neck, my sciatica flared up again and on the anniversary of her stroke I got the vertigo. It too was more annoying than anything. I had had a short episode a few times a few years back and was told it was Meniere's Disease. I didn't take any of the meds and it went away on it's own. It wasn't until I decided to finally go and see the ENT this time that my symptoms got worse- such TMS! Tests were done and I was diagnosed with allergies and neck issues (the infamous buldging disks) both of which were said to be linked to the dizziness by the multitude of alternative medicine doctors I was also now seeing. I was in the typical pre-TMS enlightenment HELL. Tons of treatments, no help. I had also seen the regular doctor early on for the swollen gland. It was small (and still is) and she didn't seem worried. The naturopath is the one that mentioned that is could be the thyroid. No regular doctor ever mentioned this though; not my general doctor or the surgeon who tested it. I had it biopsied, an ultrasound, and a CAT scan on it. That was all about 6 months ago. Also right when the vertigo hit. No real cause found. I truly believe that the vertigo came on as a reaction to the fear I had over the gland testing which unluckily coincided with the anniversary of my daughter's stroke. Too much. AS Brady says, Autonmic OVERLOAD!!! So here's where the thyroid issue comes back in... just today I was reading a email sent to me on women's health and it had a section on thyroid problems. I remembered that the naturopath had mentioned the gland in my neck possibly being the thyroid so I read on. It listed a lot of the sypmtoms of hyperthyroidism as many of the ones I have been experiencing, that are also listed by Sarno as TMS/equvalients (IBS, tremors, fatigue). I know the connection was briefly brought up a few years ago by 2scoops and I was hoping to get it going again. In researching hyperthyroidism, it is very closely linked to the autonomic nervous system which once again makes this seem like a psychological issue. I know it is not mentioned by Sarno, but I believe that he is continuing to learn more about TMS and will continue to add more illnesses to his psychosomatic list. Here's the thing....Before I even considered the thyroid connection my symptoms have been improving as I have been doing the TMS work, the tremors/vibrations are pretty much gone, as is the sciatic, and neck pain and the dizziness is retreating. I am gaining control over the IBS as well. So if this is a thyroid issue, then the TMS work seems to be causing things to improve dramatically. Isn't this the way Sarno began so long ago with his back pain theory? He tried the treatment, it worked, so TMS had to be the cause. Sorry this is a novel. I felt I needed to detail this whole journey so this would make sense.
Thanks in advance,
chingborden |
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Littlebird
USA
391 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2006 : 01:09:31
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Hi Chingborden,
I'll share what I know about thyroid issues. I have hypothyroidism and use thyroid medication, but I've experienced hyperthyroid symptoms when my medication was increased to a level that was too high. Because I have fibromyalgia, I always have fatigue, but the way the fatigue feels changes when my thyroid hormone levels are off balance.
My husband had thyroid cancer and has seen an endocrinologist for blood testing 4 or more times a year and thyroid scans twice a year for the past 7 years. Since his thyroid was removed, he also takes thyroid hormone replacement medication and has had to have the dose adjusted at times. So I'm familiar with what the specialist looks for when checking out thyroid function.
When my meds are too high I feel significantly warmer than usual and sweat much more easily than when they are at the correct level. My hands have tremors that are severe enough to interfere with writing clearly. Fatigue can occur with both hypo or hyper thyroid states, but when my thyroid hormone level is too high I also feel a sense of restlessness, even though the fatigue limits what I can do, and I have more difficulty concentrating. The symptoms are pretty distinct. While IBS, tremors and fatigue can be associated with other conditions, the body temperature can be a good clue as to whether the thyroid is involved.
If your tremors were being caused by hyperthyroidism then they would not be likely to go away on their own, unless your thyroid happened to be fluctuating quite a bit in it's production of hormone, bouncing between high and normal levels. You'd also be likely to feel warmer than usual with hyperthyroidism. Since you've seen a regular doctor, you probably had blood tests done to check your thyroid stimulating hormone level, which should have showed up any true hyperthyroidism.
I'm not a doctor, but if your symptoms have decreased since learning of TMS then it does seem reasonable to think that is the likely cause.
You should probably ask your regular doctor if any blood testing you had done included tests to check your thyroid function. When you say you had a biopsy, ultrasound and cat scan, are you talking about your thyroid gland or the swollen area? People often speak of having swollen glands when what they really have are swollen lymph nodes, and even doctors refer to lymph nodes as glands sometimes, although they don't do the same things that glands do, according to what I've read.
With the extreme stress you've experienced, it wouldn't be any surprise if TMS was the source of your symptoms. The TMS books say to have a thorough evaluation done to rule out other problems, and if nothing significant is found to assume it is indeed TMS.
Hope things will continue to improve for you. When you write another post, it will be easier for people to read if you can break it up into smaller paragraphs. Take care...
Corey |
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Penny
USA
364 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2006 : 12:08:28
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ChingBorden,
Have you been tested for Hashimoto's thyroiditis? This is scarier sounding that it really is, so don't worry. Hashi's is a progressive auto-immune problem that is quite easily detectable by testing thyroid function but specifically testing for antibody presence. If you have hashi's what happens is your thyroid can fluctuate between being underactive (hypothyroid) and hyperactive (hyperthyroid), and then even be normal (euthyroid). Thyroid hormones change based on a lot of things, pregnancy and stress have a play too. I'm not a doc but have done extensive research on thryoid b/c I had thyroid probs myself.
I would say it would be good for you to go to your doctor and ask him/her to test you for thyroid antibodies as well as your function. She may not know what test to order to get the antibodies checked, as this is quite specialized (my doc didn't know). If that's the case, ask for a referral to an endocrinologist to get the tests done. Hashi's is treatable with medication that replaces or works with the thyroid hormones your body is making, so if you need thyroid replacement, it's nothing to be afraid of, but it is important that you know how your thyroid is functioning b/c thyroid impacts so many things: metabolism, menstrual cycle, moods, body temp. etc.
Check out http://thyroid.about.com/ and you can peruse a ton of easy--to-read up-to-date articles about thyroid from a patient advocate who endured undiagnosed thyroid problems for many years, Mary Shomon.
Take care,
>|< Penny
Non illigitamus carborundum. |
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thyroid and TMS
