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shamrock62081
USA
14 Posts |
 Posted - 10/04/2009 : 17:41:32
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I'm in need of some encouragement/advice. About a month ago I had an acute attack, which brought me to read Dr. Sarno's books. I had been diagnosed with 2 herniated disks (l5-s1, l4-l5) and stenosis at the l5-s1 vertebrae. Previously I had painful sciatica in my left leg, which seemed to be getting better over time (placebo effect from the chiropractor).
After this last acute attack I no longer have pain in my left leg, it is all in my right leg and foot. I am having the weirdest symptoms in my right foot. It feels like the ball of my foot by my big toe and my big toe have stepped in gum. I can't put weight on my right leg for longer than 10 seconds without pain, but I can walk, run, or whatever and it doesn't bother me in the least. I also can't arch my lowerback without pain in my buttocks and down the leg.
I'm frustrated because I can't figure out how to let the pain go. I get discouraged and wonder if it isn't TMS. I've tried journaling but I'm not sure it is benefiting me because I keep writing the same things over and over. I try and acknowledge my conscious emotions and "think" through other things that my be causing tension. Please help with any advice. I feel like I do a good job most of the time at ignoring the pain, but that has only gotten me so far. I've quit doing all of my physical therapy exercises and have pretty much resumed all activity I was doing "before" the pain.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be VERY appreciated! |
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2009 : 17:11:58
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quote:
Originally posted by shamrock62081
I'm in need of some encouragement/advice. About a month ago I had an acute attack, which brought me to read Dr. Sarno's books. I had been diagnosed with 2 herniated disks (l5-s1, l4-l5) and stenosis at the l5-s1 vertebrae. Previously I had painful sciatica in my left leg, which seemed to be getting better over time (placebo effect from the chiropractor).
After this last acute attack I no longer have pain in my left leg, it is all in my right leg and foot. I am having the weirdest symptoms in my right foot. It feels like the ball of my foot by my big toe and my big toe have stepped in gum. I can't put weight on my right leg for longer than 10 seconds without pain, but I can walk, run, or whatever and it doesn't bother me in the least. I also can't arch my lowerback without pain in my buttocks and down the leg.
I'm frustrated because I can't figure out how to let the pain go. I get discouraged and wonder if it isn't TMS. I've tried journaling but I'm not sure it is benefiting me because I keep writing the same things over and over. I try and acknowledge my conscious emotions and "think" through other things that my be causing tension. Please help with any advice. I feel like I do a good job most of the time at ignoring the pain, but that has only gotten me so far. I've quit doing all of my physical therapy exercises and have pretty much resumed all activity I was doing "before" the pain.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be VERY appreciated!
Hi Shamrock,
I think that the first thing to do is to rule out the possibility of a genuine structural problem. Whenever Dr. Sarno sees a patient, he first does a very thorough workup on them--even though he carefully screens patients for TMS before the workup. So, if you haven't gotten a good medical workup, I would do that first. I'm not a doctor, so I can't offer medical advice, but I think that a neurologist might be a good place to start.
Dr. Schubiner often says that you can't have correct treatment withouta correct diagnosis, so the first step is to decide whether you have TMS. There's a video at the top of of the wiki's So You Think You Might Have TMS page that might help you with this.
As I said, I'm no doctor, but it certainly sounds like this could very well be TMS. When symptoms change over time, with one symptom (weird sensations and pain in foot) being substituted for another (Sciatica), that always makes me think of Dr. Sarno's symptom imperative. When sensations are weird and inexplicable, that also makes me think of TMS. I also had a situation where I would feel pain from moderate activity, but not from intense activity and, in hindsight, that was a real flag for TMS.
If you are having trouble with journaling, you can check out the wiki's FAQ on journaling. It mentions Kelvin Gunnel's excellent handout on journaling, but Kelvin's site is unfortunately down. If you contact me, though, I'd be happy to send you a copy of the pdf. My email is "Forest @ tmswiki. org", but remove all of the spaces. Also, I'd definitely look at the wiki's So You Think You Might Have TMS page.
Finally, I'd take a step back and a deep breath. Keep you chin up. You can do this. Many of us have gone through some very dark times, but we always make it through somehow. Recoveries aren't always easy, but I never cease to be amazed at how Dr. Sarno's idea can transform lives.
Forest
tmswiki.org |
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shamrock62081
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2009 : 21:36:32
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Thanks for the information. I will definitely check them out.
I've had an MRI and have consulted with a neurosurgeon. In a nutshell, I have 2 herniated disk that are putting pressure on my spinal cord as well as stenosis that he said are causing my sciatica and other symptoms (originally in my left leg). Pretty much said I will need surgery at some point but since I seemed to be feeling better after the physical therapy, and due to my age (27) that he was ok if I didn't do anything immediately to see if things continue to improve.
I've since had an acute attack that I know has to be TMS caused (now no left leg issues, only right leg)... I was really stressing about money that weekend because I got a nail in my car's tire and because it was on the shoulder of the tire it couldn't be patched so I had to buy a new tire for a car that had less than 10K miles. I think that stress was the straw that broke the camel's back and I'm trying to recover from there. I just bought my first house within the year and have had some issues with repairs that continued to stress me out, along with stress at work with work load and the uncertainty of my job (I work for a large bank). I think all of this contributes to my TMS. |
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2009 : 12:41:29
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quote:
Originally posted by shamrock62081
I've since had an acute attack that I know has to be TMS caused (now no left leg issues, only right leg)... I was really stressing about money that weekend because I got a nail in my car's tire and because it was on the shoulder of the tire it couldn't be patched so I had to buy a new tire for a car that had less than 10K miles. I think that stress was the straw that broke the camel's back and I'm trying to recover from there. I just bought my first house within the year and have had some issues with repairs that continued to stress me out, along with stress at work with work load and the uncertainty of my job (I work for a large bank). I think all of this contributes to my TMS.
Wow, that sounds like a doosey, stress wise. Good job of identifying a psychological cause rather than a physical one. Many people see that as a crucial part of recovery from TMS.
You may want to check out the following article from what I think is the US's most prestigious medical journal:
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/331/2/69
The conclusion that they come to is that "On MRI examination of the lumbar spine, many people without back pain have disk bulges or protrusions but not extrusions. Given the high prevalence of these findings and of back pain, the discovery by MRI of bulges or protrusions in people with low back pain may frequently be coincidental."
Forest
tmswiki.org |
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skizzik
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2009 : 04:18:56
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quote:
Originally posted by shamrock62081
I've had an MRI and have consulted with a neurosurgeon.
What happens when you ask a Barber if you need a haircut? |
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shamrock62081
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2009 : 06:33:37
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What happens when you ask a Barber if you need a haircut?
That's what my family doctor suggested after he got my MRI results back. Who was I to question him at the time. I figured a visit to the neuro. couldn't hurt. A little over 9 mos later I'm definitely not as naive.
Forest - figuring out the psychological is definitely a challenge. I've definitely identified the obvious... it's that not-so-obvious stuff that is a challenge. |
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encouragement
