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penguins
39 Posts |
 Posted - 04/10/2008 : 18:23:55
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Hi there, tomorrow marks 4 weeks since I started reading Sarno and today I can say that for the majority of the day I was pain free! I did have sporadic twinges in my upper back/neck, but noticed that when I did, I was thinking of something stressful at the time. At one point this afternoon a period of time had gone by and all of a sudden it dawned on me that I had just gone for a long stretch with no pain. That hasn't happened in almost a year. Now that I'm getting my "herniated disc" under control, the plantar fasciitis that has plagued me for over a year and a half (and is bad at the moment) is next on the agenda. I still have doubt about it because it's so hard to believe my feet are due to TMS too.
Anyway, the question I have is for my dad. I just sent him two of Sarno's books and he's begun reading them. He had major back surgeries over the years (not sure what was done), but I know he was told that he has severe scoliosis and "major structural damage". I didn't realize this until tonight, but he said that the pain he feels at this point is mostly in his ankle (the back pain has gotten better over the last year). His leg (where the ankle pain is) has atrophied immensely since the various surgeries. He hobbles around and now needs a cane most of the time. He doesn't think he can get the muscle back. Does anyone have any experience with this? I thought I remembered reading somwhere that you can get it back. He's only 68, which I think is still young. :) Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!
--Jennifer :) |
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mk6283
USA
272 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2008 : 18:39:59
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TMS doesn't cause atrophy by itself. I suppose disuse secondary to severe pain (TMS) could have led to some atrophy. However, he should probably see a neurologist before concluding that it's due to TMS.
Best,
MK |
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Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 08:33:01
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I can answer your question in two pieces.
First, yes my legs atrophied horribly during my worst TMS pain. Over the year plus of complete decapitation (not being able to work,play,etc) my left leg became a toothpick. I still lifted weights at therapy so I looked a bit like Foghorn Leghorn...you know the big Chicken from Warner Bros. cartoons?
Fortunately the TMS spread to the other side about 9 months in so I limped evenly on my canes...But I have a photo somewhere from that Xmas and My calf muscle is non existent. I can assure you, the second the symptoms resolved my legs began to normalize. I assume the atrophy was from lack of use and the mild paralysis of numbness that was part of my cast of symptoms.I was 32 or 33 at the time (it's all foggy back then)
I have read that Muscle development has now been studied by geriatric Doctors and that there is no finish line for developing Muscle mass. A 70 year old on the correct diet will gain as much muscle mass as a 25 year old on a comparable diet, though it might not LOOK as good for obvious reasons (gravity,taughtness of skin,etc)
I think the important part will be how receptive to the idea of recovery he is. The longer you've been programmed with the mythology of the medical model, the harder it might be to refute it. I only had one back surgery...maybe if I had even got a placebo reaction I might have believed.
hope that helps
-bb65 |
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penguins
39 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 10:54:18
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| Wow Baseball! What a recovery for you!!! Thank you so much for your hopeful post. I will pass it on to him!! :) |
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jdshetterly
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2008 : 08:41:19
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| Baseball's story is typical I think. Muscle atrophy happened to me too, just not to his extent. My herniated and extruded L-5, S-1 disc was supposedly causing my pain in the low back and sciatic nerve. What a bunch of BS! Since Xmas '07 I've recovered to about 85-95% doing normal everyday things, including lifting weights, and able to run 3 miles w/still 3 on the pain scale out of 10. I'm still doing treatment everyday, but I've only been on the "Sarno program" since 1/10/08, so a little more than 3 months ain't bad. Like baseball, my left leg atrophied a bit and was weak. I couldn't do calf raises on my left leg really at all. Right leg was perfectly strong. My left butt cheek also sagged a bit. I could tighten the left butt cheek but the right one didn't respond much. As Baseball said, once the symptoms start to disappear, the muscle mass returns with some use. I almost have 100% strength in my left leg and calf now...about 90%. Everything can return to normal by kicking TMS to the curb. Someone mentioned that TMS doesn't cause atrophy, but it does indirectly. It causes muscle weakness, which causes the atrophy. You can't get it back until the weakness goes away, which is caused by the BRAIN, not lack of physical use. |
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Question about muscle atrophy
