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Banjoman
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - 02/19/2008 : 14:05:18
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Hello everyone. I've been lurking for awhile and have just aquired the ability to post. This is my first try. I bought Sarno's book about 10 years ago and found it somewhat helpful in reducing problems I had suffered with my low back for a number of years. I don't know if I was completely convinced that TMS was my problem. In an attempt to confirm it I had an appointment with Dr Schecter when I was in California visting my daughter. He was ambivalant in his diagnosis. Since my back had improved I stored the Mindbody Prescription away and continued to embrace the concept as a good possibility. Since then I have had a number of problems that were covered in the book, but I had forgotten about them over the years. Over the years I have had a cervical fusion of C1-C2 due to neck pain. Cause was thought to be damage suffered during ejection from a jet fighter years earlier. I had extensive accupuncture treatment for tennis elbows, which finally seemed to work. More recently I have had four shoulder surgeries for torn rotator cup, two each side. I have suffered with TMJ problems. Now my back pain has come back with a vengence. I have recently dusted off Sarno's book and of course found all these problems could have been TMS. Re-reading the book has helped some with my back, but its still pretty bad. Recent X-rays are ugly. Just about every malady of the spine is evident in them. One of my main reasons for this post is to see if any of you have any thoughts about the efficacy of Sarno's treatment associated with someone of quite advanced age. I'm only 73 now but what will happen when I get old? Sorry for such a longwinded first post.
Ben |
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Littlebird
USA
391 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 13:55:12
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Hi Ben,
The only book of Sarno's that I've read is his latest, The Divided Mind, but that book has not only Dr. Sarno's writings, it also has chapters by other doctors who've accepted the concept and used it to help patients, and one thing they all seemed to say is that many of these conditions that develop in the aging body are found in nearly everyone, whether they have pain or not. Obviously aging does have some effects on our function, but severe pain does not need to be a part of aging. Perhaps you can do a little bit of searching through this web site for discussions of the different problems you've been dealing with, to read about the experiences of people who've got rid of there pain using Sarno's method, despite having the same type of physical maladies show up on their x-rays and other tests. There is a link at the top right of the page labeled "search."
It may feel unnatural to look deeply into your emotions, since you are part of a generation that was taught to be emotionally strong and just keep on going, no matter what you felt, and it also tends to be something that men of any generation are conditioned to do. But with time spent doing the work, it can become easier to acknowledge our emotions. I know I still am in the process of learning to really acknowledge my feelings, rather than having the knee-jerk reaction of thinking that what I feel doesn't really matter, that I just need to carry on. But I have made progress with this TMS stuff, and I keep plugging away at it.
Welcome to the forum, it's good to have you here. |
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Banjoman
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 19:53:46
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Littlebird
Thanks for the reply. I hope to get The Divided Mind soon and see Dr Sarno's latest ideas and that's interesting to know about the collaboration of other doctors. One reason for my post was the lack of success I had with the search function. For instance "age" produced every post that had rage, message, page, etc.,etc. What I had hoped to elicit was some info from someone who is more senior or knows someone who is and has had success with the TMS approach to pains which may well be either TMS or just age related degeneration. As you noted Dr. Sarno does refer to the fact that many older patients have degenerative defects evident in Xrays but suffer no debiltating pain. However, I suspect there must be some point where we have to admit we just can't do all the activities we once did pain free. I have liked to run for fitness in the past, but in the last 2 years shoulder pains and now recently back pain have prohibited me from running. On a positive note I have been having some success lately using Dr. Sarno's methods and have begun walking and even managed to run a half mile. I used to do 5 to 10 miles regularly.
It seems that the average age of posters here is more in the 20 to 30 year range and I don't think I can hope to duplicate their results with Dr Sarno's methods. So I just was wondering if there are any people out there in their sixties or seventies who have had notable succes with TMS treatment of pain.
Ben |
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cheryld10
13 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 20:50:58
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Hi Banjoman!
I'm 44 and just barely starting on this TMS journey. It's been amazing. My MRI was scary and ugly, trust me.
I do know a man in his 60's that was cured after reading Healing Back Pain- The Mind Body Connection a few years ago. He had severe sciatica and was in tremendous pain. He has a little numbness in his foot still, but other than that he's very active and is always constructing and building stuctures on his land. He hasn't had any pain other than a normal muscle ache once in a while.
I hope you find more people that can answer your questions. I know how important it is to have that extra reassurance when you're dealing with TMS.
Blessings...
Cheryl |
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Banjoman
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 21:39:20
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Cheryl
Thats the kind of info I was hoping to find. Thanks for the post.
Ben |
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Littlebird
USA
391 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2008 : 02:24:18
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Hi again,
We do have a member on the forum who is 77 and has had success with the TMS treatment. His name is Allan. Perhaps he'll be able to offer you some useful information, if he reads this thread. Or you might be able to ask him by email how he's doing, since he has an email link in his profile.
Here's a link to a recent thread in which he mentions his success with treating some symptoms caused by TMS.
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4341
Best wishes,
Corey |
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Scottydog
United Kingdom
330 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2008 : 05:30:02
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My mother and mother-in-law are 86 years old.
I must say their complaints seem to me to have a TMS factor. For example, while visiting family they were in good form. Back home alone they both developed nasty complaints, severe cold which left my mother weak and housebound (!), ingrown toenail which left mother-in-law housebound! - and very sorry for themselves, understandably.
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Banjoman
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2008 : 09:11:01
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Lil'bird
Thanks again for the reference to Allan. I clicked on "all his posts" in his profile and I'm finding a wealth of info to review including some from more seasoned posters.
Ben |
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mcone
114 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2008 : 22:35:44
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"If I'd known I was gonna live this long..."
Your title reminded me of the idea that sense of humor is associated with health and longevity.
True story about Jeanne Louise Calment, the world's longest living person - born in 1875 and lived until 1997, to the age of 122! At her 120th birthday party, a journalist hesitantly told Mme. Calment, “Well, I guess I’ll see you next year.” Instantly, she shot back, “I don’t see why not. You look to be in pretty good health to me!”
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Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 09:14:22
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quote:
Originally posted by mcone
True story about Jeanne Louise Calment, the world's longest living person - born in 1875 and lived until 1997, to the age of 122! At her 120th birthday party, a journalist hesitantly told Mme. Calment, “Well, I guess I’ll see you next year.” Instantly, she shot back, “I don’t see why not. You look to be in pretty good health to me!”
THAT was really funny!! (rotflmao)
I speak to my Mother (aged 78) quite often. She has been active her whole life, still ski's, Hikes, does walking trips of Vietnam, drives cross country by herself,so on and so forth.Apparently no one's told her she's old, and if they did, she didn't listen. She actually chased a purse snatcher for a half mile ,at a sprint ,when she was around 70 (yes, she got her purse back)
Having been recovered from my pain for years, I have of course, like any person with TMS would, begun to develop a sort of sensory acuity to obvious cases of TMS in people around me.
My Mother is from the old school...the WWII generation.'Stiff upper lip'.... 'Just ignore it and it will go away'.... She is pretty flat emotionally.She has a very difficult if not impossible time expressing her emotions.
She has always had perfect health, but as soon as I Moved to Nashville from L.A.(with her grandchildren), she came down with high blood pressure. Once she got that under control she hurt her ankle...not a sprain or a turn, I mean nursing an injury for an extended time (months). She has begun to have bouts of back pain and shoulder pain, always intermittent and always around times and events and family dynamics that make it clear to me it is TMS.
Her symptoms usually fade when she is about to go on another one of her world tours. They tend to return at Holidays,around her birthday and around My Children's birthdays.
It is pretty obvious what's going on, but I don't think she would ever accept TMS as her diagnosis, because in spite of a Stanford Education and an extra decade or so in college, she absolutely,positively believes in the world of the corporeal and mundane. Anything outside of that experience that might imply that there is more to life, our existence then what she can rationalize is absolutely unacceptable to her. In fact, she was one of the last people to stop being 'worried' for me after I found Sarno and returned to Baseball, weightlifting, manual labor and a vigorous life after all of my failed treatments. She was forever warning me to be careful, and was worried that this "Sarno guy might be wrong"
Well... a decade later, he wasn't wrong. I knew it in my heart when I still had the pain 36 hours after I read the book, understood it and wondered why my recovery was taking so long! (I got better in about a month)
Regardless.... I don't think TMS plays favorites. Anybody who can generate emotions (anger being #1) can get TMS. It might manifest itself a bit differently in each of us, but the underlying process is the same.
BTW.. What do you say to a Banjo player in a three piece suit ?
"Will the defendant please rise"
I just took my first Banjo Lesson at christmas...and decided to cheat and get a guitjo
welcome
-baseball65 aka piggy
P.S.
I still recommened "Healing Back Pain" to anybody I might mention Sarno to. I still think it's the most methodically edited and organized of his books...but then, I am biased. I got better reading only that book.
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up. |
Edited by - Baseball65 on 02/23/2008 09:19:03 |
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Stryder
686 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 10:18:50
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BB65 said: BTW.. What do you say to a Banjo player in a three piece suit ?
"Will the defendant please rise"
Did he steal the banjo or the suit? ;-) -Stryder |
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Stryder
686 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 10:29:45
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Banjoman said: Recent X-rays are ugly. Just about every malady of the spine is evident in them.
Hi B-Man,
The first thing you need to do is just loose the X-rays, just forget about them. As the good doctor says: These show normal abnormalities. There is no study that shows a connection between spinal imaging studies and pain. The docs and the medical/industrial complex are the guys that are making the connection for you, and they plant this connection in your mind. The docs are smart, but in the case of TMS pain, they have the wrong diagnosis. Its that simple, their DX is just wrong.
So as long as your doc has ruled out a serious condition, the imaging studies are benign, and you can proceed to ignore them.
Yes, I too have a pile of MRIs and X-Rays that I used to tape up on the sliding glass door in my house and proceed to go over them again and again. After I became Sarno aware, I put them away and have never looked at them again. I am now 99% pain free from severe LBP and sciatica after 30 years of on/off symptoms.
Sarno Rocks!
Take care, -Stryder
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Banjoman
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 11:43:18
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Thanks for the encouraging advice.
First I guess I should confess to the fact that I don't have a banjo.
It just makes kind of a catchy name and is a play on my first name, Benjamin. And if any of you know any Japanese, its better than what they called me-Benjoman (benjo in Japanese is the toilet).
Update on my exercise progess; Walked one mile to a closed Supermarket site that I like to use for running, ran 3 laps around the site (approximately one mile), then walked one mile back home. This is quite and accomplishment for me, as two weeks ago I had extreme difficulty running 100 steps. I am experimenting with Chi Walking and running. The walking is going very well. The running is still far from pain free, but I see a number of people here recommend working through it. The verdict is still out on that for me, but I intend to keep trying.
With regard to my xrays my doctor, who is an internist, just read the radiologist report and said your back is a mess. He said I might try some deep massage, but didn't seem offer any hope. PT tried a little massage and heat, then said try NSAIDS. A Chiropractor tried some decompression on a machine. Helped a little at first but then seemed to be aggravating things. Overall no medical professionals point to any specific indications on the xrays or MRI but that just its such a general degeneration that its somehow responsible for my pains. I keep the xrays in the hope that I can apply the TMS aproach to alleviate my pain and then show them to someone and say look what I've done in spite of this!
Ben |
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If I'd known I was gonna live this long........
