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Kavita
USA
47 Posts |
 Posted - 11/03/2004 : 08:27:55
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Hello all,
How many of you who have visited a doctor that treats/identifies TMS have been able make progress towards recovery? There is one in my area, but I am not sure if it is worth the money. I do need help taking my focus off the pain. I repeatedly tell myself that the pain is a distraction from my repressed anger, but this doesn't make it lessen any. I've always been so healthy, and this kind of pain at a young age is just mind-boggling! Advice?
Have any of you had pain towards the sides of the lower back/rib cage area, including the diaphragm area, where you experience discomfort when taking a deep breath? Thanks.
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2004 : 10:09:26
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Kavita, TMS doctors DO NOT COST A LOT OF MONEY! It's the OTHER dox, PT's, chiro's, body workers, accupunks, snake-oil salesmen, ad nauseum, that COST YOU a lot of MONEY, TIME, and most importantly do NOTHING to help you, if it is, TMS you have, which the odds IMHO are 80% or better.
I, along with others here have gone to these voo-doo dox, for sometimes ten years, of regular treatments. If they could "cure" anyone, why isn't it happening? In my experience, any benefits I received from seeing all of the above, was PLACEBO and lasted about ten minutes after getting out of the parking lot and into the emotional/stress producing traffic of life.
You can keep trying every new-age scheme, scam and quack and you will get an endless placebo effect cure, with no lasting benefit and your wallet will be much lighter, but I don't think your breathing will be any better.
You are extremely fortunate to be in proximity to a TMS doctor, there are only a small handful on the planet. If I were so fortunate, I would go in a NY minute. I would trust them infinitely more to separate what is TMS from what is not.
The exam is very short. It just involves palpating (pressing) on the the TMS hot spots of the neck, shoulder back and legs. No big deal what-so-ever. By the time most people see a TMS dr. they have had tests out the ying yang and all the x-rays and films. I regret ever having them because they have exponentialy delayed my recovery by implanting the visual evidence of arthritis in my brain. If a TMS doctor interprets the tests, at least you have a fighting chance, to get an accurate interpretation of the tests.
A TMS exam will probably be the least expensive medical procedure you ever do.
It takes a while to get suitably brain-washed to accept the TMS cure-everyone if different. It took your mind, perhaps, a lifetime to develop the thought patterns and personality that has made it subsceptible to TMS and it will take some time to change these thought patterns about pain and deveolp your TMS thinking that will help you combat psychogenic pain.
Keep reading your Sarno in the meantime. You mentioned that because of your mechanical scientific and legal background it makes it difficult for you to accept TMS.
TMS is scientific and mechanical. The subconscious brain, a real thing, can't deal with all the repressed emotions, which are real. Before the emotions errupt through, which is taboo in our society, the autonomic nervous system, which is real, shuts off a liitle blood supply to a body part that it selects because our logical (mechanical) thinking conscious mind will accept it to be real, causing real psychogenic pain. The pain may be excruciating but it is harmless like a leg cramp that wakes you up in the middle of the night. There is no voo-doo here, it is mechanical. It is the others who are practicing voo-doo and giving temporary placebo cures.
Who is the TMS doctor you are thinking about seeing?
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Kavita
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2004 : 09:54:54
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Hi Tom,
Thanks for your input. The doctor is Andrea Leonard-Segal at the George Washington Center for Integrative medicine. If I fork over 300 dollars (which is more than I've spent on healthcare all year), then I would want more than a brief visit of being poked. I'll call her office and make sure theor philosophy is to focus on the mind and the body - that there will be an emotional component to the exam as well.
I'd really like to know if anyone out there has experienced significant progress after seeing a TMS doctor. I've been faithfully practicing Sarno and journaling for months, but have experienced no lessening of pain.
Tom, you mentioned pain in your quadratus - was it one side, or both? Was it very intense pain on the side, at the waist? Any pain at the front of the torso? Sorry to pester you!
I welcome comments from all of you out there! |
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Logan1
2 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2004 : 16:02:58
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Kavita,
The only thing I miss about being in pain are my state income tax refunds. I'm only being facetious here to emphasize how much $$$ I spent on various quackticioners before I, thank god, discovered Sarno. On chiropractic alone, I spent $2000 in 2002. All completely wasted as Tennis Tom so eloquently expressed already.
On top of that wasted money, I also went to acupuncturists, massage therapists etc. at $60 a pop. That's a lot of money to spend for feeling good in the parking lot for ten minutes! Tom is so right, about the relatively low cost of a TMS doctor. Go! Put in on a credit card or sell some CDs or get money for your plasma, but go.
I wish I'd had one in my area as I may have recovered more quickly, but the main point I want to make to you is that I am WELL. I am PAIN FREE. And in 2002, I was afraid I'd be an invalid by now, that's how bad my upper body pain was. Good luck and let us know how it went.
L |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2004 : 19:17:35
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Kavita,
I will answer your question, but we're going off in the wrong direction here. You are new to TMS and your concern with the anatomical is normal at your stage. I was there for years infact.
I'm just trying to prevent you from re-inventing the wheel.
My imagined "quackdratus lumboreing"  pain would have been on the right side, if there had been any. All my pain has been on the right side. It was part of an anatomical pain fishing expedition, I had been on for years. Some body-worker somewhere probably mentioned it to me so I started feeling something in that area. I have had pain in front, in back, on the side, and inside. I, and other well-meaning practioners, (who, no doubt, had mortgages to pay), directed me to all kinds of places I had never heard of: trocanteric bursitis, ilio-tibial band, piriformis syndrome, sciatica, pinched nerve L4/L5, compensatory gait disorder, hip socket congenitaly too samll, trocanter too big, cartelge too thin---in the end they were all dead ends. In my case I now believe to be TMS.
Kavita, if I ever knew the grand total that I have spent, in the past ten years, searching for the source of my pain, I would have a real injury, because I would slit my wrists.
Thanks for the name of your TMS doc. If I'm ever in her area I would pay a call just to visit with an intelligent doctor.
Good luck and let us know what happens.
tt
p.s., to Logan1, thanks for your kind words.  |
Edited by - tennis tom on 11/04/2004 19:34:40 |
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Kavita
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2004 : 08:10:22
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Tom,
You may know this, but there is a website, tarpityoga.com, where you can obtain a listing of doctors that treat TMS. That is where I got the name of the doctor I mentioned to you. When you go to the tarpit side, click on the link for all TMS/Sarno info, and there is a section for a "directory of TMS physicians". Thanks for your feedback, as well as your understanding.
My pain started in my lower right side and continues there, thus the reason for my concern. However, this morning, I felt pain in my upper back, and was a little excited because the pain in my "quadratus" is not so intense.
Logan- good advice, I will go. My husband has been encouraging me too, as well. It's worth the money for the peace of mind, to have someone who will validate: 1)how you feel; and 2)the importance of the mindbody connection. Also, thanks for the heads up about the chiropracter. I know tons of people who see and recommend them, but I agree with you that it would be a dead end.
Once again, thank you every so much for your support and guidance.
K |
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floridaboy
40 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2004 : 13:55:29
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| Kavita...I saw Dr. Segal 2 times in DC and subsequently went to Florida. I liked her so much...I paid $300 for an hour phone consult after I moved. We have never met...but let me be blunt...you are a flaming IDIOT if you don't go see her. That office is the first group of doctors in over a decade to figure out what was wrong with me. Dr. Segal is AWESOME and doesn't just re-hash Sarno. She "tells it like it is" and pulls no punches. I audio taped our first session (the appointment after the initial medical exam) and have listened to it many times since. She is GREAT. Get on the phone on MOnday and book your appointment. She is tough to get in to see so do not wait any longer. I am not 100% cured...but i can run, type, drive and hold long conversations (face pain) all of which I was unable to do when I went to see her. She is no miracle worker...but she has great referrals to shrinks and is "instructive" in her approach (she does most of the talking in session #2). She read me like a book and knew my personality as well as my wife of 14 yrs. In fact, my wife attended my session #2...it was extremely helpful having another set of hears there...she reminds me of things Dr. Seagal said in our session all of the time. Look...$300, $600, $1,000, what's the difference? I spent that on beer last month for crying out load. Think of the bull%$#@ you spend money on every day. Your health is ALL that matters. Go see the woman, it will not be a waste...even if you have to eat beenie weenies for a couple of months to pay for it. Trust me. She is wonderful. |
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floridaboy
40 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2004 : 14:00:49
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| PS. Tell Dr Seagal the guy and his wife and 4 kids (wife was preganant with #4 when we saw her) who moved to Florida at the end of the summer said Hi. You don't know my name (by design), but she will!!! |
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pault
USA
169 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2004 : 04:53:39
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| Kavita ,I had very quick success after seeing a tms doctor.If there is any question of your having tms,it is a great asset to have a tms doctor diagnose you.When the doctor told me I have tms and that all was o.k. and I could resume normal activity.That was an instant boost.Having the doctor tell me that the pain is real but harmless,was a real asset as pain was in complete control.I exercised my way through the pain,without fear and was cured in no time.I think I could have done it without the doctor but,it would have taken much longer! Good Luck,get well soon. Paul. |
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Kavita
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2004 : 12:15:09
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Hello all,
Thanks for the excellent advice. I have left a message with Dr. Segal's receptionist, so hopefully I'll have an appointment soon! I'll let you know how it goes.
Floridaboy: I'll be sure to pass your message along! Thanks for the suggestion about bringing a spouse to visit number 2. One I my challenges has been trying to explain this to my husband - or anyone else for that matter!
Paul: I think you a right in that my next challenge is to be in control of the pain, and not the other way around. I think you and I are a lot alike, and I appreciate your candor. I'll keep you posted!
Kavita |
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menvert
Australia
133 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2004 : 03:15:12
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I am jealous :) I want to live close enough to a TMS Dr hehe(travel to America from Australia is kind of expensive)
I think having some one of authority confirming, yes, I have TMS would remove a significant barrier.
I am basically sold on TMS , but having some one of the authority confirm it really helps when you're gremlin is pushing you to relapse... |
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Kavita
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2004 : 09:34:57
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This is a question mainly for floridaboy,
The earliest appt I could get with Dr. Segal is for Feb 3. I went ahead and scheduled a second appt for two weeks later, since she is so hard to get, and I am going to take my husband with me. Does this sound like a good plan, floridaboy? Is that the right amount of time to have between sessions? Any input you have would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Kavita |
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floridaboy
40 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2004 : 19:26:23
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now you know why I said "call now!". Yes 2 weeks is enough time. Appointment #1 is a basic physical...mostly traditional medical stuff. Appt #2 is the TMS appointment. She can't do that until she has poked and prodded to rule out serious structural stuff. I had to wait too...but one thing you can do is call the receptionist and tell her you will go standby. Believe it or not, many patients cancel appointments #3 and #4 because they get BETTER and do not need them. The receptionist told me she has a high cancelation rate due to CURE rather than what you might expect. When is the last time a waiting room was empty of existing patients! When they have a cancelation, the receptionsit just starts at the top of the "waitlist" and starts calling until someone wants to be bumped up. I think you will get in much sooner that way. I am going to make a separate post on this..but one thing I asked her when I went in during appointment #2 was whether she saw any reason why I couldn't train adn run a marathon...a life long goal of mine...she said "Physically, you could run one with a refridgerator on your back if you wanted to!" Talk about confidence building! Well...yesterday I ran my first Marathon (26.2 miles) in 4hr 9min 30secs. You have NO idea how much this meant to me...I owe a big part of that accomplishment to her comment.
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Success with a TMS doctor?
