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Uchitel
2 Posts |
 Posted - 11/28/2011 : 09:23:44
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Alright, so I'm a long-term TMS sufferer. The pain in my.. knuckle tendons (I know, an unusual place for pain to occur but oh well) began at the end of February. Pain went on for 2 months, I was in neverending depressions and I almost gave up on life, thinking I wouldn't be able to draw ever again (dream job is to become a comic artist). The pain occurred when I was writing a lot (concerning a future story of mine that I hope would become mainstream when I start on it)
The pain returned in the summer when I was writing a lot AGAIN, but this time the pain occurred in the middle knuckle (previous one was in the index finger knuckle).
ALl of this was weird since when the first pain occurred it then spread along my arm. It even occurred for a matter of 30 minutes in my left hand too but then it poofed without even returning ever again. (I wasn't really concerned about this hand)
And now I'm here again, rewriting a notebook and I'm dying of anxiety as I have over 30 pages left. Just as I began I started to predict just a little pain. I'm sick of this. I want to write without having to think about any pain. Can you give any advice? Just don't tell me something like "Well stop associating it with a lot of writing." It's easier said than done.
Thanks again for your advice. 
PS. Forgot to mention that I'm a hardcore hypochondriac. The diseases I've "had" are more than I can enumerate. |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2011 : 13:56:17
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| Uchitel, welcome to the board. It seem pretty obvious there is something other than structural pain there, especially the fact that it affected the other (non-writing) hand too! Add in that drawing, writing, VERY important to you and you can see that the brain has picked the perfect spot to get your attention. Finally, throw in "hypochondriac" and there you are. I am a raging hypo too, and I can assure you it is worse when I am stressed. Lately, a fixation has been my right knee, though an x-ray less than 3 years ago showed it to be perfect. But as you know, we hypos don't let the facts get in the way of our fixations. |
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Uchitel
2 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2011 : 07:04:00
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quote:
Originally posted by wrldtrv
Uchitel, welcome to the board. It seem pretty obvious there is something other than structural pain there, especially the fact that it affected the other (non-writing) hand too! Add in that drawing, writing, VERY important to you and you can see that the brain has picked the perfect spot to get your attention. Finally, throw in "hypochondriac" and there you are. I am a raging hypo too, and I can assure you it is worse when I am stressed. Lately, a fixation has been my right knee, though an x-ray less than 3 years ago showed it to be perfect. But as you know, we hypos don't let the facts get in the way of our fixations.
Thank you for the warm welcome :)
Well actually it affected it because I had to type with it. But the pain was over my thumb and it was unbearable while in the morning it was gone as if it was never there.
And here I am, already sensing pain as I press onto the tendon (happened before, I get the feeling that if I continue writing it won't just be when I press on it) And high-five for hypochondriacs! This, um, "disease" totally turned my life upside down. Always making me think that I'm gonna be paralyzed or whatever forever.
But is there anything else I can do? My hypochondria side is awakening and I'm starting to fear that there's something structural going on. |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2011 : 12:28:19
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b8oB757DKc&feature=player_detailpage
Uchitel, watch the above 5 min video. I can refer you to others if you find this helpful. The idea, is that one begins to associate a benign activity with danger. Of course, the nervous system blindly reacts as though the danger were real and sends out the appropriate pain messages (and other protective symptoms, eg spasms...) to the body part in question. The more this pattern is reinforced, the more easily it arises.
Regarding the hypochondria, as you probably already know, there are some standard "no-no's" incl, constant checking, avoidance of feared behavior, seeking reassurance. All these feed upon themselves and soon you are in a vicious circle of increasing anxiety. As tough as it is, you must back off, begin to have faith that you won't fall apart in the next five minutes if you don't "do something" about the "dangerous symptom." If you review your hypo history you can probably easily see that this is true.
I definitely recommend Claire Weeke's classic, "Hope and Help for Your Nerves." |
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I can't stop associating my activities with pain
