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mariel
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
 Posted - 05/12/2010 : 04:30:29
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Hi,
hope it's ok to ask for help?
I have had about 5 months of sciatica now. In the last month it has got worse twice and stayed pretty bad.
I'm still doing the medical checking out but all the TMS stuff makes complete sense to me.
I've bougth 2 of Dr Sarno's books and nearly finnished one and also downloaded Georgie Oldfield's audio bit of her DVD.
I realise I'm not quite ready yet to 'let go' of the bulging disc explanation yet although I am trying to do the journalling and self talking etc.
I wondered if anyone had any insight or suggestions about sleeping? The leg pain keeps me awake for a good portion of most nights.
Right leg is pretty much numb now but pain down back of left thigh and calf kicks off moments after I lie down. I'm taking painkillers and occassionally valium.
In the past 5 motnhs I have not slept for longer than 1.5 hours and more commonly it's just a few blocks of 30 - 50 mins sleep followed by half an hour lying in awake in pain.
If I'm understanding the TMS theory I'm thinking my unconscious mind just really doesn't want me to dream? does that sound right?
I'm so tired, it's hard to be assertive and confident. |
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jude
14 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2010 : 21:05:08
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| In my experience, night time is when it's easiest for whatever is trying to get our attention to get through. Because there are fewer other distractions. So, if pain is acting as a distraction from whatever is trying to get through, it makes sense that the pain would act up especially at night. In my experience, it's not about dreaming or not dreaming, it's about whatever I'm trying so hard to avoid feeling. |
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pandamonium
United Kingdom
202 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2010 : 03:05:25
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Hi mariel, of course it's ok to ask for help.
There have been a few people on here who have decided to act as if they have TMS and do the emotional work while waiting to finish the physical investigations, it cannot do any harm.
If you decide to go for it I would try and see Georgie, she has helped a lot of people.
I used to sleep propped up with a pillow but I had lower back pain, not sciatica. Is the GP giving you anything to help with the pain or the sleeping?
Panda
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A beginner's guide to psychology: If it's not your mum's fault.... it's your dad's... |
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mariel
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2010 : 06:01:16
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thanks guys, currently taking 8 paracetamol, 3 diclofenic and 3 dihydracodeine a day. Ended up in hospital last week where they gave me some valium too. A&E doc said it isn't sciatica, that would be much worse, it's just that I'm holding my muscles tense so that led me to finding all the TMS stuff. this week had prebooked appot with physio ( referal arranged by GP) , she said it's sciatica and probably from a generally budging disc and has referred me for an MRI and written to GP to ask for stronger painkillers (think gabapentin or amytriptilin).
It hurts all the time, TMS makes sense but I didn't have lots of other TMS things earlier, I'm thinking that if the MRI shows bulging that doesn't really answer the question based on the stuff in the book saying lots of people have bbulges with no pain...so when it's advised to rule out structural things first what exactly are they? and how do they get ruled out?
my pain has been a little less each day since I started reading the book and listening to the audio  |
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pandamonium
United Kingdom
202 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2010 : 07:26:51
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I also never had any other symptoms other than back pain. When I stopped to think about it I could actually feel that I was holding my lower back in tension and had to relax myself.
I know it's a lot to take in but there are a few ideas on how to cope with TMS at the wiki on this page.
There's also a link on that page to a paper which demonstrates that not all disc bulges cause back pain.
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A beginner's guide to psychology: If it's not your mum's fault.... it's your dad's... |
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Capn Spanky
112 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2010 : 08:12:45
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My only suggestion is to have patience and stay with it. Keep reading Dr. Sarno’s books and do the things he suggests. Think about the psychological rather than the physical. Work on understanding your emotions and try to be conscious of them throughout your day.
It took me a lot longer to get better than the 2 to 6 weeks that Sarno talks about in his book. I had bad sciatica for nearly 20 years. It took months for it to go away. But I’ve had no reoccurrence in 2 ½ years.
My tennis elbow was tougher and I battled with it for a couple of years. But now it’s 99% gone. That's why I say hang in there. It does work!
It’s a little tough to apply this TMS stuff to your problem when you’re getting conventional medical treatment at the same time. But if you stay with it, a light bulb will almost certainly go off and you’ll start to improve. That's what happened to me. |
Edited by - Capn Spanky on 05/18/2010 11:02:22 |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2010 : 20:58:34
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quote:
Originally posted by mariel
If I'm understanding the TMS theory I'm thinking my unconscious mind just really doesn't want me to dream? does that sound right?
I'm so tired, it's hard to be assertive and confident.
Not sure how you came to this conclusion...
I suggest you keep reading the book; however, until you are ready to dismiss the structural explanation and stop physical treatments, recovery will be elusive. Perhaps once the MRI rules out serious issues, you will be able to focus more on the TMS diagnosis and accept that bulging discs do not necessarily cause pain. |
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LuvtoSew
USA
327 Posts |
Posted - 05/14/2010 : 05:46:53
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Hey Mariel,
I say the rosary when going to bed and never finish it, sometimes take advil pm. you need to get sleep. oh anything like maybe listening to a cd, self talk or whatever but sleep is important.
really a disc bulge is not that bad, many people have arthritis, bulges, herniations, failed back and or neck surgeries, so not much to do about a disc bulge, just knowing our mri results can send us off on a nightmare of worry and fear. I know, my spine is terrible.
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catspine
USA
239 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2010 : 15:36:06
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quote:
from Mariel
It hurts all the time, TMS makes sense but I didn't have lots of other TMS things earlier, I'm thinking that if the MRI shows bulging that doesn't really answer the question based on the stuff in the book saying lots of people have bbulges with no pain...so when it's advised to rule out structural things first what exactly are they? and how do they get ruled out?
my pain has been a little less each day since I started reading the book and listening to the audio
Tms pain can hurt beyond imagination and for a long time: In my case I got paralyze from the waist down for weeks at a time with a bunch of scary symptoms taking place simultaneously, this went on and off for years, I have 4 herniated disks and according to the orthopedic surgeon operation was the way to go but outcome would be uncertain, as far as I can tell to this day the bulging disks are still here.
By luck I came across Dr Sarno's work when I was at my worst and at the end of my rope and it took care of the problem , it took a little while but NO MORE BACK PAIN since it got getter.
As for ruling it out this is quite simple: A TMS doctor can do that because they have a procedure for that.
In the mean time if self help is not satisfactory you know that you can always resort to the conventional medical solutions later on if you wish to but now that you also know that here is something else available like the TMS theory that is unlikely to hurt you and that you can try first why would you deprive yourself from a drugs free extra chance to heal?, the good thing is apparently your first readings already made a difference. Take your time to do it right.
I would suggest that that you can read more about TMS and persevere for a while if you can, hope for the best and see what happens.
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Darko
Australia
387 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2010 : 18:04:03
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Hi Mariel,
I too have had episodes of sciatica, so I know what you're going through. I also agree with Dave's comment, if you do not fully believe that your pain is repressed emotions etc, recovery will be very difficult! There is an article on the science daily website which a study was conducted and found that MRI's do not actually prove anything. They're basically a waste of time and should not be used as a method of diagnosis. "But this study shows the limitations of depending too heavily on an MRI. A surgeon may see something in the image, but it isn't causing a problem." Search for "MRI Hockey players" Here is the heading for the article
New Study Finds 70 Percent of Able-Bodied Hockey Players Have Abnormal Hip and Pelvis MRIs
ScienceDaily (Mar. 17, 2010) — Seventy percent of healthy professional and collegiate hockey players had abnormal hip and pelvis MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), even though they had no symptoms of injury, according to a study presented March 13 at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in New Orleans
Sciatica is a tricky beast because it's easy to believe there is something wrong, and if you continue to listen to doctors then you will suffer for much longer. Look even if there is something wrong then it's only nerve pain and you can't really damage anything. What has worked for me in the past is proving to myself there is nothing wrong. Get drunk and push through the pain, do the things you're normally afraid to do. Yes it will hurt, but it's important to know you can do these things. The fear is just as debilitating as the pain. Stretch it out and push through and then tell yourself "see you can do it, nothing to fear" Observe the pain and don't react emotionally to it! This is an important statement, re-read it 10 times. Also breathe with intent, this helps me. Focus on breathing slowly and deeply all day. This should be your focus.....deep, slow breathing and ensuring your muscles are relaxed. It's just pain, yes I know you can't sleep, but it's important that you commit to this theory. If you don't commit to this then you are simply wasting your time with this concept. What will the doctors do for you even if you have a disk problem.....more drugs, surgery? Whatever you choose to do, I would suggest that you make getting some better sleep at least once a week a priority, as depression will come knocking if it already isn't! While I don't advocate drinking I have found it to be a good tool every now and then. Sit down with a bottle of nice red and get a funny dvd and enjoy the evening. Have a laugh relax and forget about all the madness. Also it's not that your unconscious doesn't want you to dream but what I have found is that when I sleep that's when my unconscious is free to control my body as my conscious mind is out of the picture. If you think about it THIS ALONE should be enough evidence to you that the pain you have is a manifestation of you unconscious mind and not anything physical. The ball is in your court.......good luck Mariel! |
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Capn Spanky
112 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2010 : 11:18:42
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Yeah, I was told that my sciatica was caused by a degenerated disk in my lower back. Over the years, different doctors showed it to me on separate MRIs.
In my mind’s eye, I could see the 2 vertebrae pressing together onto the nerve because of skinny degenerated disk. As I noted earlier, I had terrible pain for nearly 20 years.
Then I discovered Dr. Sarno and in a few month, no more pain. It's been 100% gone for over 2 years.
Maybe my degenerated disk re-inflated itself... |
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newbie need help with sleeping and back pain pleas
