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cindyo6
USA
20 Posts |
 Posted - 08/18/2009 : 13:17:33
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I would like to know if others have this phenomenon -- the pain in lower back and sciatica down leg make me cry almost every night (my pain is worst late in the day). i can make it through the workday, come home, collapse on my bed (lying down brings relief), and the tears roar to the surface. i am concerned about myself and i'm thinking about trying sertraline (generic zoloft) that my doctor gave to try. do others have experience with these SSRI medications? and do they help your pain? it seems like a viscious cycle -- feel pain, cry, feel worse, feel more pain. i am sick of it. i'm doing louise hay positive thinking stuff, and esther hicks, all good stuff. but yesterday was a bear, so i'm really thinking about trying the meds.
cynthia oeser |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2009 : 05:48:43
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I don't know about antidepressants, but my 2c would be that as well as doing the positive thinking, you need to do some anger release. It's a great step up from crying into your pillow to POUNDING it! Often we women, especially, get sad when we're really mad. It's cuter, less threatening, more feminine, carries within it an ancestral hope that a Knight on a White Horse will rescue us (which he won't if we're pissy!)
And the classic explanation of depression is that it's anger that we're suppressing or turning in on ourselves.
Again, do not consider this to be medical advice. However, I'm a TMSer and have had, and recovered from, pretty much every symptom on this forum.
xx
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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hottm8oh
USA
141 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 09:08:55
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Anti-depressants did absolutley nothing for any of my TMS symptoms, and I tried more than one.
An anti-depressant might help you get through the day with less emotion, but it most likely will not do much more than that.
Are you crying because of the pain or because of your feelings about the pain? Just something to think about. |
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guej
115 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 10:22:32
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Cynthia,
I know exactly how you feel. I must have cried a river full of tears this past year. As Hottmh08 adeptely points out, my crying had less to do with the severity of the pain, but rather, was a response to the "suffering" and loss of activities that the pain caused. I would look at a picture of me doing something fun with my family prior to developing the pain syndrome (like skiing or vacationing), and I would literally have body-wracking sobs, which made my pain physically feel 10x worse. I was put on a low dose of Amitriptyline (anti-depressant)to help with my chronic insomnia, which was definitely making my pain feel worse. It did help for awhile with sleep, but eventually, the dose had to be increased because I built up a tolerance, and I didn't like that. I eventually went off of it completely, and now I take a few Tylenol PMs every now and then if I've had a few bad nights in a row. I saw a ton of doctors who tried to push Xanax, Lexapro and Zoloft on me because they could see my anxiety levels. I didn't take any of them.
Honestly, what turned it around for me was painkillers. I hate to admit that, but I finally found a medication that I could take that didn't cause huge side effects (Tramadol), and just by taking it once a day, I got huge relief. I then found Dr. Sarno, and I'm working on getting rid of the underlying cause of this pain. In the meantime, the Tramadol relieves the constant, relentless pain, and I've gone back to doing normal things again (supermarket, playing with my kids, etc) that I could not do when I was in constant pain. I really wish I didn't need to take anything, but I'm over the guilt. I know it won't be forever, but for now, if I'm in too much pain, I have a really hard time concentrating on Sarno's program. Talk about being focused on the physical! We all know that painkillers and ant-depressants aren't a cure for TMS, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do to survive and get some temporary relief from these symptoms. Just as long as you stay focused on getting to the underlying emotional causes for the pain. Believe me, I've hashed this out with my psychotherapist, who worked with Dr. Sarno for years, because I wanted to make sure that taking a painkiller a day wouldn't somehow interfere with accepting a psychological basis for my pain. Maybe you can try the anti-depressants or find something to help with the pain that doesn't completely zonk you out or change who you are. I went 3 days last week without taking anything, and I'm really proud of that. I don't automatically take a pill each day, but I make a conscious decision. The difference in me from the non-stop relentless pain, to having a manageable level that allows me to re-gain my life and stay focused on this TMS program, is like night and day. I felt like I was spiraling further and further down beforehand. I hope you find a solution that is best for you. We all have to do whatever is best for us to get through this tough experience. |
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guej
115 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 10:28:55
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| I forgot to answer your specific question. I have heard that anti-depressants are sometimes used for myofascial pain. When I was taking them at night, they helped me sleep, which definitely helped my overall pain tolerance the next day, but I would have to say that they had no direct effect on my pain level. Maybe I wasn't taking a high enough dose. I was afraid to take them during the day because I didn't want to be zoned out and I just feared they would make me spacey. From what I understand, they have to build up in your system over time to work, so you can't take them like a pain killer (on an as needed basis). |
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cindyo6
USA
20 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 11:57:21
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thanks for your posts, guej, very interesting to read them. i've tried zoloft, lowdose, and didn't like it, so i think an antidepressant isn't what i will do. i do take a small amount of darvocet so i can sit and listen to my clients (i'm a marriage counselor). i wouldn't be able to work without it. i don't take it in the evenings when i am able to lie down to get relief. on the days my pain gets really bad and moves up into my lower back (usually it's around my right tailbone, down the right leg), on those days i feel like trying to get a doctor to tell me exactly what's causing it -- i run in my mind to seeking a physical cause. it's very confusing because you read so many people's stories who've imporved by reading sarno, etc., but there are also people for whom surgery was the answer. i can't afford any more doctoring, unless i have an emergency, so i will continue to look at other ways to manage it on my own. i do yoga which is co mforting and feels good, but i don't look at it to cure my pain. i just know it's good for my body. and i heard about a woman who cured her pain by doing pilates to strenghten core muscles. it took 6 months but she stayed with it and it worked. so we're all different and we have to develop our own eclectic bag of tricks, i guess. yesterday my pain was an 8 in the morning, a 10 at night. today it's a 5 in the morning, and i'm grateful. there's no rhyme or reason. although i have been doing a lot of affirmations. maybe that's helping. i love louis hays video, "you can heal your life". it inspires me.
cynthia oeser |
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Plantweed
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 12:22:35
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quote:
...my crying had less to do with the severity of the pain, but rather, was a response to the "suffering" and loss of activities that the pain caused. I would look at a picture of me doing something fun with my family prior to developing the pain syndrome (like skiing or vacationing), and I would literally have body-wracking sobs, which made my pain physically feel 10x worse.
So true... |
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Northerner
62 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2009 : 13:13:57
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Dr. Sarno isn't a fan of antidepressants for TMS pain.
However, Dr. Sopher, who was trained by Dr. Sarno and also has published a book on TMS care from the perspective of a family practitioner where TMS is only a small part of his practice, says that in his experience, when his patients successfully are able to use antidepressants, the TMS pain goes away in most cases, returning when they go off of them.
I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.
- Mark Twain |
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sarita
130 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2009 : 21:51:51
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| sopher is right, when you stop them, the pain returns. so how the ____ can they be good? its a bandaid, and one with big side effects. this only proves the tms theory. |
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antidepressants
