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Jeff
USA
68 Posts |
 Posted - 10/24/2006 : 15:13:18
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Have any of you experienced itchy and/or sensitive skin as a TMS equivalent? My skin has become very itchy lately, and alternatively my skin has been very sensitive, sometimes a slight burning and other times a slight tingling. This has been occurring all over -- legs, arms, hands, feet, torso, etc. Thanks.
Jeff |
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sonora sky
USA
181 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2006 : 17:01:45
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Yes, absolutely. Here are links to some recent threads on skin issues:
http://tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2654
http://tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2593
I itch like crazy from time to time--in various places simultaneously--and it nearly drives me mad. And of course, scratching just exacerbates the situation. It seems like dry weather (or cooler weather w/heating system running) triggers/provokes itching for me, but I know it's TMS because of the disproportionate sensitivity of the reaction. My skin has been hypersensitive since developing allergies (also TMS). If you just lightly scratch my arm with a fingernail, it will get red and raised almost immediately. Distraction seems to work well for me (though not for other TMS symptoms). I usually slap on some lotion/cream or hydrocortizone (which is evil--don't get hooked), sparingly, and try to ignore it until it calms down or the urge to scratch passes.
good luck,
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carbar
USA
227 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2006 : 20:24:58
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I got an itchy nose this weekend when I was at a farm, lots of corn and hay. I am a city girl so it's a change in scenary. Also, I was with a dear friend who is moving out of the country in about a month, so I was feeling a lot of emotions all at once at this. I really wasn't sure what was more responsible for this nose itch, repressing my feelings to try to have a "nice" last day together or being around lots of hay.
Probly both. Since I got back from the farm visit, the "cold" I had last week has been getting better and better. So strange. It's hard to even see what emotions I'm repressing.
To the journal-mobile, Batman.
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Littlebird
USA
391 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2006 : 00:03:35
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In addition to a chronic, localized rash, which gets worse and covers a larger area when I'm stressed, as the stress level increases I develop a general itching so bad that I end up scratching my forearms until they bleed. My arms are not the only area that itches, but they are usually the worst. I also get a sensation of burning and sensitivity; for me it feels sort of like having a sunburn. I always carry a sweater because the feel of air moving over the skin of my arms can be painful.
I always realized these symptoms are psychosomatic, but until I found Dr. Sarno's book I didn't know how to fight it. I do find cortisone cream relieves the symptoms somewhat, on a temporary basis, but I'm doing pretty well at just ignoring it most of the time now. I haven't given up the sweater yet, but I'm working towards it. |
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Jeff
USA
68 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2006 : 08:22:33
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Thanks for the kind replies. Now that I've started to see the itching as TMS, it is begun to die down. At the risk of hijacking my own thread, here is another issue. Is it possible that susceptibility to colds is TMS? The reason I ask is that for years I have been someone who frequently gets colds and the flu, especially in winter. I had a really bad spell of colds in the two or three months before my pain symptoms really started last year. Then I had 18 months of pain symptoms -- but not one cold! Now I have finally started seriously addressing my TMS through the methods advocated by Sarno and Brady, and I am starting to see glimmers of relief. Well, wouldn't you know it, for the first time in 18 months, I get hit with a doozy of a head and chest cold. At first I thought nothing about it, but then -- and this is how TMS awareness works on you -- I began to wonder if my earlier frequent colds were really TMS, and now my subconscious has now reverted to a previous symptom since the most recent pain symptoms aren't working as well any more. Am I nuts?
Jeff |
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ndb
209 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2006 : 09:07:43
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| Susceptibility to colds is TOTALLY TMS. I have this problem too. I think it works a little bit differently from other symptoms...possibly, when you encounter your trigger (mine is cold/ air contitioning), your immune system is suppressed, and you ACTUALLY catch a cold. However, sometimes, I have noticed, that even with a cold, a lot of the symptoms are over the top, like I get uncontrollable sneezing if I don't tuck my shirt into my pants while I have a cold...if I tell myself to calm down, that its only TMS, then my symptoms are definitely less severe. The other day, I was coming back home on a flight...I already had a 'cold', but in addition, I hate how cold they keep airports and airplanes, and I was inwardly very anxious and angry about having to fly this way. I told myself to calm down about hating the a/c, and my symptoms also calmed down, and I flew home with my cold much better. |
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armchairlinguist
USA
1397 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2006 : 10:41:42
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Definitely not nuts -- you're exactly right. That's exactly what happened to me. My pain was starting to go away and I caught a horrible cold just then. I knew afterward that it was just another form of TMS acting up.
I always catch colds right after stressful periods in my life. I didn't know why until I discovered TMS theory -- I guess that's the time, in the downtime, when my emotions are more likely to spill over, so the cold keeps me distracted. It happened again just recently, but this time I knew to look at what was stressing me out.
I think over time if you realize that colds and such are part of TMS, and take steps to deal with the emotions both regularly and in stressful periods, you'll get fewer colds. I'm hoping so anyway, because getting colds during vacations has never been fun. :-)
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Wherever you go, there you are. |
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Mary Ann
Canada
42 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2006 : 15:46:39
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This is really affecting me now. That and my allergies (though they're gradually getting better). I know both are TMS and am just patiently waiting for them to subside (or morph into something else).
Oh, those TMS equivalents! Will we ever be completely symptom-free?
Mary Ann |
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Jeff
USA
68 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2006 : 16:00:45
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| Actually, I think I have been living with TMS symptoms for many years. It was only recently when they morphed into real pain symptoms that my quality of life was seriously affected. Before then, I didn't enjoy the TMS symptoms, but I could get through them well enough. I look back at myself over the years and wonder how long I have been having TMS symptoms. I've had acne issues since HS and throughout adulthood. I started with eye floaters in college. In graduate school it was tinnitus. I've always been susceptible to colds, sinus infections, and allergies, and I've had various skin sensitivities over the years. A few years ago I had tennis elbow (even though I don't play tennis). Etc. Etc. I'm wondering how many of those symptoms will begin to ease off once I get the pain symptoms under better control. |
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ndb
209 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2006 : 19:35:55
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Mary Ann,
I think the symptoms will someday go away, as long as we pay attention to our emotional health once in a while. I have gotten so busy with life, post-TMS, that I have long stretches with no symptoms. I am so happy about these long stretches compared to how frequently I used to be down with one thing or another, that it gives me positive feedback to not obsess about new symptoms when they do appear. Hopefully this loop will someday result in no annoying symptoms. Actually, I don't mind some symptoms once in a while, because it is such a good indicator of whether my 'rage reservoir' is overflowing. Its kind of neat to have your mind give you this signal...when you get preoccupied and unmindful of how stress is affecting you.
ndb |
Edited by - ndb on 10/26/2006 20:52:25 |
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holly
USA
243 Posts |
Posted - 10/27/2006 : 06:08:48
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| I had the skin thing a long time ago. I hated my business and everytime I touched paper my hands got irritated bad. I couldn't file my stuff (I hated filing & all the paperwork) I had trouble from just touching paper. It was definitly TMS! |
Edited by - holly on 10/30/2006 06:04:35 |
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Itchy/Sensitive Skin as TMS Equivalent
