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qso
USA
52 Posts |
 Posted - 12/31/2007 : 11:59:50
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Hi,
Re. pain killers - this is a grey area - I think it depends on what you think the pain killers are going to do for you. If you truly believe they are only for temporary comfort it it ok but if you think they are going to make you better in any way then it is likely to be a hinderance because some part of you then believes that the problem is physical. Dr. Sarno says you must stop all physical treatments. This is not inconsistent with his advice to take them when things are bad. The question is, do pain killers constitute physical treatmeant? The answer depends on what you, the TMS sufferer, thinks (or more accurately your subconscious..and we don't always know what *it* is thinking) the pain killers are doing for you.
I would also take this opportunity to say that my last vestigal denial (as it says in Sarno's book, denial of the syndrome is part of the syndrome) was that I believed that even though I was connvinced that I had TMS my muscles must be weak from a year of relative inactivity so I believed I was not going to completely recover until I had regained my muscle strength. However I now know that this mistaken belief was the last thing that the TMS was hanging on to. On that plane journey I realized that the notion is ridiculous-although muscle atrophy happens, the human machine is much cleverer than that - if you are eating ok your muscles will not drop in strength so much that they can't even hold you up against gravity. If that were the case we would be extinct by now! As soon as this realization sunk in the TMS just melted away and has not come back and I know it will not and cannot because my conviction is now perfect and inpeneterable. You MUST NOT believe that your muscles have become so weak. Believeing that your muscles are too weak tells your subconscious that a small part of you believes that some of your problem is physical. Even after a year of TMS, I think I am actually stronger now than I was before.
Many accounts of the subconscious portray it as kind of stupid compared to the conscious part of the brain. There is no denying that it has child-like qualities - that is to be expected. But I think it is actually more intellegient than the conscious layer. It knows how to trick the conscious you - don't underestimate its intelligence! It knows how to make you think that your TMS episodes correlate with physical activity or minor injuries. It is testing you. Be resolute and really examine in every way where your conviction could be anything less than 100%. Don't get bogged down with the details of your "issues" - the way freedom came to me tells me those details don't matter and resolving issues does not matter.
Dr. Sarno is years ahead of his time and a true pioneer - don't be put off by what anyone else says - remember that about 100 years passed between the first serious proposition of the existence of atoms (things that could not be seen, felt or heard) to the point where they are described in school text books and taken as truth by kids without even the slightest need for direct proof. The notion was violently rejected by the scientific community for a long time. One hundred years from now people will be wondering how most of the world could have been so blind to what TMS is telling us.
QSO (Mr.) |
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lidge
USA
184 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2007 : 12:31:40
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qso-
I think the vast majority of people who take painkillers (TMS or non TMS issues) know full well that it will not "make" them better. Their purpose is relief of pain so that one has some chance of resuming normal activities of life. I think Sarno understands this and therefore prescribes them. I recall one person who was a past patient of Sarno called him recently for new pain and Sarno called in painkillers despite the fact he had not seen the patient in years.
I had some doubts as to painkillers and TMS. But after reading some passages in his books, and certainly after hearing it from Sarno's mouth in the tapes, I have to go with what he says.
I often wonder whether many people who have TMS revel in saying that painkillers are a no-no precisely because of perfectionistic tendencies - ie. I will conquer this pain syndrome on my own- without help of medicines or anything else!
I found your recovery story very interesting. You mention that you had to ask other people to lift your luggage. I'm sure this was humiliating for a TMS personality. By the time you got off the plane, you did not have to subject yourself to this humiliation. Since you mention it, I wonder whether this played some part in your sudden recovery - could that humiliation have triggered enough anger that you broke through to recovery so as not to have to repeat that humiliation?
I was a little confused as to the significance of the plane ride and your recovery- was it the reading of Amir's book that suddenly propelled you from 99% to 100% belief?
You mention you had been looking at ceilings all year (flat on your back I assume). Was the plane ride your first challenging of what you could do?
You talk about not getting bogged down in the details and I agree- but I'm not clear on how "freedom" came to you- was it just some sort of divine intervention? - an AHA moment?
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qso
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2007 : 13:18:21
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Dear Lidge,
Yes the painkiller issue is a very subtle one. I know what you mean but I didn't take them simply because I can't swallow pills, they make me throw up and give me bad stomach problems. Also, in some of the TMS episodes it wasn't that kind of pain. Sometimes it felt like there was nothing holding me up and my body wanted to collapse onto the floor and it wasn't clear how pain killers could help with that. Yes, I spent a lot of time horizontal and had a zero-g chair in the office and at home.
Also in the early stages I believed that if I were taking painkillers maybe whatever it was inside that was injured would heal quicker by allowing me to do more. However I think this hindered me even though I wasn't taking pain killers! I had learned how to move different muscles deep inside my body and could feel tenderness which I thought were healing abdominal muscles deep inside.
The humiliation - yes it was very but I have had worse humuliations so it was not that which fixed me. As you know we look normal to people and I didn't have a doctor's note as I had given up on them so it is even more humiliating. The air hostess was very rude the second time I asked -fair enough that they could get injured and I suppose we are supposed to book help in advance but then we have no doctor's support that we are effectively disabled.
As for the challenge of the plane journey - it wasn't that either -I had done a more challenging one between Washington and London in July and after each one way journey I was struck down for two weeks with a severe attack. The significance of the San Diego journey is that I was able to eliminate a lot of factors. All I was doing was sitting, reading, and thinking. Before getting on the plane I really didn't want to go as I could hardly bend down to tie my shoelaces but I had to go to justify my existence for work. I was also thinking that this is what it's going to be like for the rest of my life because even Sarno's approach had not worked for me but I took Amir's book and Sarno's last book on board to give it one more chance in case I had missed something obvious.
So what was the Eureka moment? Well, in combination with reading Amir's book and putting together everything that had happened in the year at the same time, it happened without me even trying..a big clue was the excercise (Amir talks a lot about excercise).
I had been religously doing a 35 min routine everyday from this DVD made by JFK's physician, for two months. But I was hitting a brick wall in strength. Everytime I would try to step up beyond a certain difficulty level, even gradually, I would not be able to do it and would have an attack. While reading Amir's book I realized, hang on a minute, even healing muscles just don't work like that. They don't suddenly improve in hours and then reverse for no good reason. In hindsight these attacks were telling me 'dude -you're on the wrong track'. Finally, putting everything together, it came to me that I have a 100% software problem and there is absolutely nothing wrong with my hardware! Next thing I know, 'ermm sitting in this plane seat doesn't seem to be uncomfortable anymore..um this book doesn't feel like it weighs 100 pounds..erm, wow, is this what it feels like to be normal?'. Later in the hotel room I kept walking around the room wondering whether I am normal again as it had been so long I had forgotten.
Hope this helps..you will get there for sure.
QSO
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lidge
USA
184 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2007 : 14:04:54
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Thanks for sharing qso. I assume the DVD was Janet Travell?
Yes I've had many moments where I read passages that resonate but as of yet no recovery. Doubts creep in of of course. Your phrase about it being a "software" problem as opposed to a "hardware" problem is great. I think Lizzie's observation about it being a lonely journey is so true. We all have to find our own path. |
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qso
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 23:58:27
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The DVD was from www . backpaindvd . com
I would still recommend it as it is good for maintaining flexibility and circulation as long as you don't believe the excercises are going to fix you (a mistake I made which set me back 2 months or so). Like all such excercises they are extremely tedious and boring and I'm glad I don't have to do them every day any more.
Yes, you're right, we start and end at the same points but each person will have to find their own unique path to recovery. However there are signposts along the way and we hope that we can accelerate people's journey along the path and help avoid taking wrong turns or dead ends (I took many).
QSO |
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mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 02:59:28
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This is such a good thread. Everyone on the post has something invaluable to say.
I found that my pain was directly related to the problems I was having with my mother and that it was easy for me to be debilitated because it meant that she would be good to me and we would avoid confrontation. It worked well for my mom because my mom likes to be in control and in charge. She's very good at looking after people -even puts herself out for them. It feeds her martyr syndrome in many ways. It worked well for me because she would soothe me physically and be nice to me, fuss over me. The longer I was in pain, the better the relationship because I didn't have to get into arguments with her. I was too'weak' too much in 'pain'. Being in pain solved a lot of problems.
But thank god for Sarno for helping me to understand what the pain really meant and for providing a way to deal with it.
We will all of course deal with/handle/solve our situations differently but still within the parameters of his theories.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
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samchar1
United Kingdom
11 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 09:55:34
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Hi lizzie
aye lass of course i am a tea drinker i'm from yorkshire.
Back to what i have read in this thread it mirrors exactly what i have been through since i started (2 weeks ago) i feel better when i speak to peolpe about Sarno and TMS, mainly to work collegues but it gets repatative and i am sure after a year they are sick of my back stories. Do you think there a more success stories (qso taken into account) than are on here cos there seem to be alot of questions? i have been to the physio in yorkshire it was her that introduced me to TMS.
kuk yorkshire |
Edited by - samchar1 on 01/02/2008 10:25:22 |
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qso
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 10:45:20
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At the risk of sounding repetitive and boring myself, and with all due respect to physiotherapists and everyone on this forum-
I totally underestimated the importance of renouncing all physical treatments. I did not understand the importance of it. I thought I could pursue the Sarno method and physical treatment simultaneously (just in case). But it actually cancels out and negates all of the Sarno work. I was not able to recover until I deep-down renounced physical treatments. It is an absolutely crucial step but it is a very very hard hurdle to overcome. You have to find your own way to do it as it can't be faked. Even though the physiotherapist may have recommneded the TMS path he/she may also have underestimated the critical nature of renouncing physical treatments.
I know there are also family pressures to pursue physical treatments. Aside from pretending to go to the doctor/therapist, if this is a problem, perhaps you could convince your subconscious that you are only getting physiotherapy to keep your family happy and maybe your brain might let you off the hook.
To help you along the path try getting hold of the book
"Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy: Its Clinical Science and Evidence Based Practice"
by Kathryn Refshauge & Elizabeth Gass
This is a state-of-the-art book on physiotherapy written by a bunch of experts and the bottom line is that their conclusion is that the evidence for the benefits of standard physiotherapy procedures *for people with genuine physical injuries* is not very encouraging. And that's for people with real physical injuries!! (Of course they don't even acknowledge that there are people who have injuries caused by their brains).
That's the other point - with TMS your brain is literally injuring your body every day over and over..physical treatments are meant for one time injuries but TMS is doing stuff to your body all the time, undoing any healing physical treatments provide. That's why they all only provide temporary relief, if any.
Best wishes,
QSO |
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samchar1
United Kingdom
11 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 13:08:55
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Hi qso
The physio i went to see is one of the few in England that has committed to TMS. She made a visit to the USA to see Dr Sarno and came back inspired by him, his findings resonated with her own opinions regarding long term pain.
When i went to see her i thougth it was for a standard physio session, (i had never heard of TMS, this was two weeks ago) she did all usual physical test and said i had TMS. We had a 2 hour one to one consultation and of i went with Dr Sarno book, and some of her own advice. 2 weeks on i am now no longer taking Morphine and a cocktail of other stuff and feel that inch by inch i am getting results. I have given up all physical based stuff. I would like to say the comment you made in a previous post " In a nutshell, when my conviction that I have no physical injury or damage turned to 100% the TMS melted away" this is the key to it all
The TMS/Physio in the uk is
georgina@painreliefwestyorkshire.co.uk
kuk yorkshire |
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qso
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 22:19:52
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Excellent - great progress and glad to hear that the UK is picking up on this more and more. I grew up in the UK but have been in the US for 15 years. If you haven't read it already I would recommend reading Dr. Sarno's latest book as well (The DIvided Mind) - there are a lot of success stories in there and some new stuff and the reading really helps even if you have heard most of it before. Also if you feel the TMS is letting go of you it is time to do the deconditioning and reprogramming (Fred Amir's book is very good on this) - otherwise even if the TMS is ready to leave it may not be able to if your brain has set up hard-wired conditioned responses to certain stimulii, scenes, events or activities (and this is almost certainly the case if you've had TMS for a long time). I remember once just walking into my office after being away from it for a while produced extreme nausea and an immediate attack on my back. At the time I found it puzzling but it all fits in now.
QSO |
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Anyone FELT like this?
