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chester
49 Posts |
 Posted - 01/10/2012 : 06:41:26
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My first bout of TMS was 4 years ago. I learned about the disorder and slowly recovered completely. This past August it came back as sciatica in the other leg.
I went to a TMS doctor, had an MRI that showed only a slightly bulging disk, tried self-treatment such a journaling, and have been in therapy with a TMS specialist since November. Nothing is working.
I have pain all of the time. It's worst when I sit, because I am putting pressure on where the pain already is. I take OTC painkillers 3 times a day to take the edge off.
I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, or what to do next. All I know is that I can't continue to sit at a desk 9 hours a day in pain.
I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance. |
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Darko
Australia
387 Posts |
Posted - 01/10/2012 : 20:06:25
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Chester,
forgive me for making an assertion here if I am incorrect. However it seems to me that you still believe that the bulging disk is the cause of your pain. Let me be straight with you.....if you continue with this belief you are wasting your time here, because it matters not if that is the cause......what matters is what your mind believes.
Go to the science daily site and search for the article about MRI and ice hockey players. MRI's are crap and they should not be relied upon.....but don't believe me, read the science on it and judge for yourself.
Then re-read Healing backpain and focus on the areas that discredit your current belief.
This is the only way forward IMO.
ANSWER 2
I just re-read your post....and thought of a different answer. I have had 3 pain episodes now. In my experience you will not get better without learning to connect and process your emotions, this includes day to day stresses. I have posted about this extensively, might help you to read all my past posts and see if it helps you.
IMPORTANT: What ever you choose to do you must stick with it for a period of time and give it a chance to work, sometimes it take a bit to start seeing the results because we have spent years making a mess in our bodies
Good luck
D |
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chester
49 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2012 : 06:40:19
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I don't believe the bulging disk is the cause of my pain. In fact, even my GP, who is not a TMS believer, says that such a slight bulge should not cause the amount of pain that I'm having.
My pain started up while I was dealing with a kidney stone on the same side. I have had an ultrasound, CT-scan, MRI, and blood and urine work. When I passed the stone, that pain went away but the sciatica didn't. My TMS doctor says the stone was a trigger for the sciatic pain.
I agree completely about giving it time, as does my therapist. What I'm struggling to deal with right now is finding a way to sit comfortably and upright in my chair at work, because I look totally unprofessional slumped all the way down in my chair, especially during meetings. |
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Darko
Australia
387 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2012 : 16:04:55
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I know this goes against Sarno's recommendation but when I get real sore, I stretch that part hard. it might be different for you but my soreness comes from tension, all my muscles become tight and then I get pain. Stretching in general doesn't really help as I need to do the work in my head, but when things get bad I stretch the problem area.
I might also take an anti-inflam or other pain killer and heat it up and stretch it real good, for a few days. This can increase short term pain but it helps break the cycle of fear of the pain, then I focus on what is happening in my life and use the sedona method. This is what helps me, it may not be the right way but suffering for long periods is no good either.
D |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2012 : 09:14:18
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| I'm wondering if the considerable pain of a k.s. stressed you out enough to induce the sciatica. Stress is fertile soil for psychosomatic pain. Especially fear and worry. More fully buy into the TMS explanation, and dollars to donuts your pain goes away. Just accepting there's nothing physically wrong is very often enough to effect a cure. |
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2012 : 13:14:58
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I somewhat agree with what Darko said about Pain meds. It can be okay to take them from time to time if you have a flare-up or something like that. The only key thing though is to fully acknowledge the true cause of your symptoms.
It also sounds like you have been giving this approach a pretty good effort. Have you thought about just taking a couple days off from it? Taking a break from TMS and especially worrying about our symptoms may help you get in the right mindset when you start it up again after a few days. It sounds like you are starting to get a little frustrated that you haven't recovered yet or that it is taking too long, but this is just a case of "Calender Watching." Don't worry if someone else recovered after one day. This is about you uncovering all of those emotions that you have been repressing for quite some time. Feel free to take a break and then come back to connecting with your unconscious self.
Forest
Check out the TMS Wiki's free Structured Educational Program! |
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chester
49 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2012 : 08:13:14
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Thanks all for the feedback.
I am totally sure that the pain is psychological, not physical. As I noted above, even my GP says that the slightly bulging disk I have shouldn't cause this much pain.
Here's my problem. I have pain all the time, mainly right buttock soreness and tightness that sometimes runs down my leg. When I am up and around it is tolerable. But when I sit, I am pressing on the painful area and it hurts a lot.
I've been told that I'm wrong for associating the pain with sitting, but that's not what I'm doing. The pain is already there, and sitting makes it worse. It's analogous to spraining your ankle; it hurts, and if you try to walk on it it hurts a lot more.
I don't fear the pain. It took me 10 months to recover from my first bout in 2007-08, so I know it can be done. And it certainly hasn't been worsening since it started in August. I just need to be able to do my job, which is sitting at a desk 9 hours a day. The only thing that helps me is Advil, which is strange since there is not supposed to be any inflammation. It works even better for me than Tylenol or even Oxycontin, somehow.
I tried a bit of light stretching the other day and it made it much worse, so I'm hesitant to go that route again.
I do have a lot of stress issues at home, and my therapist has told me it may take a while for my TMS to work through. I can deal with that. I guess what I'm looking for here is any other short-term ideas on how manage my sitting problem other than pain meds. Thanks. |
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chester
49 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2012 : 09:38:07
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| Let me also add that I will do a 5 mile walk in the woods this weekend, without taking any meds, as I have in the recent past. I will have some discomfort, but the activity makes it easily tolerable. My issue isn't moving, it's not moving. |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2012 : 14:08:18
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quote:
Originally posted by chester
...It's worst when I sit, because I am putting pressure on where the pain already is...
This comment is telling. It means you have not fully accepted the pain is due to TMS. The pain comes when sitting because you are conditioned to expect pain during that time, not due to some physical cause.
Sometimes trying too hard backfires. Try to think about what changed in your life when this new round of pain started. Be honest with yourself about how you feel about those changes. Try to figure out what may be troubling you deep down that you are not fully facing up to. But most of all, accept the pain as benign and live your life. |
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Ophelia
France
38 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2012 : 07:40:35
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quote:
Originally posted by chester
Thanks all for the feedback.
I am totally sure that the pain is psychological, not physical. As I noted above, even my GP says that the slightly bulging disk I have shouldn't cause this much pain.
Here's my problem. I have pain all the time, mainly right buttock soreness and tightness that sometimes runs down my leg. When I am up and around it is tolerable. But when I sit, I am pressing on the painful area and it hurts a lot.
I've been told that I'm wrong for associating the pain with sitting, but that's not what I'm doing. The pain is already there, and sitting makes it worse. It's analogous to spraining your ankle; it hurts, and if you try to walk on it it hurts a lot more.
I don't fear the pain. It took me 10 months to recover from my first bout in 2007-08, so I know it can be done. And it certainly hasn't been worsening since it started in August. I just need to be able to do my job, which is sitting at a desk 9 hours a day. The only thing that helps me is Advil, which is strange since there is not supposed to be any inflammation. It works even better for me than Tylenol or even Oxycontin, somehow.
I tried a bit of light stretching the other day and it made it much worse, so I'm hesitant to go that route again.
I do have a lot of stress issues at home, and my therapist has told me it may take a while for my TMS to work through. I can deal with that. I guess what I'm looking for here is any other short-term ideas on how manage my sitting problem other than pain meds. Thanks.
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Ophelia
France
38 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2012 : 07:43:43
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quote:
Originally posted by chester
Thanks all for the feedback.
I am totally sure that the pain is psychological, not physical. As I noted above, even my GP says that the slightly bulging disk I have shouldn't cause this much pain.
Here's my problem. I have pain all the time, mainly right buttock soreness and tightness that sometimes runs down my leg. When I am up and around it is tolerable. But when I sit, I am pressing on the painful area and it hurts a lot.
I've been told that I'm wrong for associating the pain with sitting, but that's not what I'm doing. The pain is already there, and sitting makes it worse. It's analogous to spraining your ankle; it hurts, and if you try to walk on it it hurts a lot more.
I don't fear the pain. It took me 10 months to recover from my first bout in 2007-08, so I know it can be done. And it certainly hasn't been worsening since it started in August. I just need to be able to do my job, which is sitting at a desk 9 hours a day. The only thing that helps me is Advil, which is strange since there is not supposed to be any inflammation. It works even better for me than Tylenol or even Oxycontin, somehow.
I tried a bit of light stretching the other day and it made it much worse, so I'm hesitant to go that route again.
I do have a lot of stress issues at home, and my therapist has told me it may take a while for my TMS to work through. I can deal with that. I guess what I'm looking for here is any other short-term ideas on how manage my sitting problem other than pain meds. Thanks.
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chester
49 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2012 : 09:04:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave
quote:
Originally posted by chester
...It's worst when I sit, because I am putting pressure on where the pain already is...
This comment is telling. It means you have not fully accepted the pain is due to TMS. The pain comes when sitting because you are conditioned to expect pain during that time, not due to some physical cause.
But the pain is not "coming" when I'm sitting. It's always there. It's just worse when I'm sitting because I'm putting more pressure on an already painful area.
The first time I had TMS my GP said it was due to a herniated disk and spinal stenosis, and I recovered. This time, the same GP says all I have is a slightly bulging disk (other side, of course) that should not be causing me this much pain - neither he nor anyone else is telling me it's physical.
I am totally confident that I can and will get through this. I'm just really struggling with its impact on my career in the meantime. And I hate to have to rely on painkillers (even OTC ones) to get me through my work day. |
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Ophelia
France
38 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2012 : 11:06:14
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quote:
Originally posted by chester
quote:
Originally posted by Dave
quote:
Originally posted by chester
...It's worst when I sit, because I am putting pressure on where the pain already is...
This comment is telling. It means you have not fully accepted the pain is due to TMS. The pain comes when sitting because you are conditioned to expect pain during that time, not due to some physical cause.
But the pain is not "coming" when I'm sitting. It's always there. It's just worse when I'm sitting because I'm putting more pressure on an already painful area.
The first time I had TMS my GP said it was due to a herniated disk and spinal stenosis, and I recovered. This time, the same GP says all I have is a slightly bulging disk (other side, of course) that should not be causing me this much pain - neither he nor anyone else is telling me it's physical.
I am totally confident that I can and will get through this. I'm just really struggling with its impact on my career in the meantime. And I hate to have to rely on painkillers (even OTC ones) to get me through my work day.
Chester, how I sympathise, I too have been suffering with permanent sciatica for over 2 years, pain radiates down left leg with pins and needles in both feet, I have sent MRI C-T scan and nerve reports to a TMS practioner who has assured me that my MRI is very normal and the slight change on the nerve test is not the result of sciatica. Result massive relief and confirmed belief that it is TMS I have read Sarno & Schubiner books and totally buy into the programme the answer for you and I is just to think positive and realise that our brain is more than capeable of overturning this pain, the choice is ours and ours alone, we HAVE to learn to discount all the endless medical tests we have undergone, none of which have cured our problem!! Good Luck let me know how you are doing, it is so great to know there are others out there in 'the same boat'. Ophelia |
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chester
49 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2012 : 07:23:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Ophelia
quote:
Originally posted by chester
quote:
Originally posted by Dave
quote:
Originally posted by chester
...It's worst when I sit, because I am putting pressure on where the pain already is...
This comment is telling. It means you have not fully accepted the pain is due to TMS. The pain comes when sitting because you are conditioned to expect pain during that time, not due to some physical cause.
But the pain is not "coming" when I'm sitting. It's always there. It's just worse when I'm sitting because I'm putting more pressure on an already painful area.
The first time I had TMS my GP said it was due to a herniated disk and spinal stenosis, and I recovered. This time, the same GP says all I have is a slightly bulging disk (other side, of course) that should not be causing me this much pain - neither he nor anyone else is telling me it's physical.
I am totally confident that I can and will get through this. I'm just really struggling with its impact on my career in the meantime. And I hate to have to rely on painkillers (even OTC ones) to get me through my work day.
Chester, how I sympathise, I too have been suffering with permanent sciatica for over 2 years, pain radiates down left leg with pins and needles in both feet, I have sent MRI C-T scan and nerve reports to a TMS practioner who has assured me that my MRI is very normal and the slight change on the nerve test is not the result of sciatica. Result massive relief and confirmed belief that it is TMS I have read Sarno & Schubiner books and totally buy into the programme the answer for you and I is just to think positive and realise that our brain is more than capeable of overturning this pain, the choice is ours and ours alone, we HAVE to learn to discount all the endless medical tests we have undergone, none of which have cured our problem!! Good Luck let me know how you are doing, it is so great to know there are others out there in 'the same boat'. Ophelia
Thanks, Ophelia. I do realize and agree with everything you're saying. I am just very frustrated with the pace of progress and with my inability to accelerate it. |
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Stryder
686 Posts |
Posted - 01/24/2012 : 20:40:24
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Chester said: "I don't believe the bulging disk is the cause of my pain. In fact, even my GP, who is not a TMS believer, says that such a slight bulge should not cause the amount of pain that I'm having."
You both are 100% correct. Consider this...
Have you ever woken up from sleep and you find that your arm or leg has "gone asleep"?? ,,, meaning that your limb feels numb and doesn't respond for a few moments until you shift position. This "gone asleep" feeling is what happens when a nerve is compressed. Dr. Sarno mentions this in several of his books. Sarno says that if the disk were compressing the nerve, then you would feel numbness, not pain.
The pain you feel is muscle pain from TMS, not the disk pressing on the nerve.
It took me a while to re-train my brain to grasp this fact.
As far as being frustrated on the path to recovery, we have all been there too. You cant put a time limit or a schedule on re-training your brain from years of thinking physical. It take as long as it takes, unfortunately there is no short cut. But you can be assured that you will get there as so many before you have.
Take care,
-Stryder
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Back2-It
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2012 : 21:36:44
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quote:
Originally posted by chester
My first bout of TMS was 4 years ago. I learned about the disorder and slowly recovered completely. This past August it came back as sciatica in the other leg.
I went to a TMS doctor, had an MRI that showed only a slightly bulging disk, tried self-treatment such a journaling, and have been in therapy with a TMS specialist since November. Nothing is working.
I have pain all of the time. It's worst when I sit, because I am putting pressure on where the pain already is. I take OTC painkillers 3 times a day to take the edge off.
I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, or what to do next. All I know is that I can't continue to sit at a desk 9 hours a day in pain.
I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance.
I'd be curious as to whether your pain would be reduced if you took an anti-anxiety drug vs a pain killer? If you believe the pain is in your brain, then an experiment with an anti-anxiety drug might help you to nail the proof.
"Bridges Freeze Before Roads" |
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Ophelia
France
38 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2012 : 09:42:23
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| An anti anxiety drug is a very interesting idea, and i have often wondered if it might help with my constant and unrelenting [except when i sleep] sciatica like Chester I am getting so disheartened by my apparentl lack of progress in beating this, I simply cannot understand why my TMSmuscles will not relax and release the sciatica, and accompaning numbness and tingling in both feet, whey is it so hard for peole to get rid of it, even when they believe it is TMS .Any encouragement so gratefully received by the way Chester how are yu ding/ Ophelia |
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Stryder
686 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2012 : 12:04:29
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Ophelia said: "...why is it so hard for peole to get rid of it, even when they believe it is TMS..."
Good question. It has to do with conditioniong. The TMS pain is a cycle that repeats, and when you have been in the cycle and play the movie over and over again in your mind, you have trained your mind (badly) to use this as the distraction. Some people can break out of this cycle sooner than others, and it also probably has to do with how long you have been in the cycle. Also, since the muscle pain of TMS is real pain, it will take some time for your symptoms to resolve. The length of time cannot be scheduled or decided upon once you buy into TMS theory. It's very individual. We all read in Dr. Sarno's books about how some learn the TMS theory and within a few days/weeks they are done, all better. For myself, it took much longer, and I had time of going backwards in progress too. You will get better as many have gone before, keep going, you are on the right path.
Take care,
-Stryder |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2012 : 16:14:08
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If you can not make yourself completely believe that your pain/anxiety is psychogenic, it is going to be tough to rid yourself of it. If you continue to think your pain/anxiety is there because something is wrong structurally with you, or because of what you eat, breath in, or absorbed in.... or because of some rare disease that science have not find a cure for yet, you will continue to suffer. You have to think mindbody. You have to somehow make your brain believe that it is stress and worry and wrong thoughts that is the cause of your illness, your pain. Thousand and thousand of people believe in Sarno's diagnosis and loose their fear of it and got well.
We worry too much about ours health, our body, our life, money... which created stress, and if the stress is prolong tms/anxiety will appear to "help" you forget your stress. :) But even when your life stress is gone, the pain, the anxiety is still there, why? because now you have a new stress which is your fear of the pain, the anxiety symptoms. hahaha, your brain is now trap you in a loop, an endless loop of: pain - fear - stress - then more pain - fear - stress.....
How to break out of that loop? There are many way to do it, for me, the quickest way is take away that middle component in that loop: take away FEAR.
No more fear will result in no more stress. Without stress the pain will leave by itself. It has no more purpose to stay.
So for tmser's the question is not how do I get rid of this pain or that pain, how do I get rid of this symptoms or that symptoms. The question should be how do I get rid of the FEAR, the health worry? Search this forum, there are many many wonderful posts on how to deal with fear. How to rid yourself of fear.
Also, check out this cnn news article. You think your life is stressful? you think you have it tough? Check it out:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/26/gotta-watch-living-without-limits/?hpt=hp_c3
and be thankful for what you have. |
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Darko
Australia
387 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2012 : 19:10:59
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Well said Balto! Just to add to that......
Once we take RESPONSIBILITY for the fact that the "root issue" resides in our minds and not in out body, or in the outside world 2 wonderful things happen.
1- You have nothing to fear because you understand that all your pain and suffering is caused by your mind....and if you created it you can learn to uncreate it also.
2- You gain personal power.....you are no longer a victim of your symptoms, disease, pain, emotions....or whatever else!
"THE WORK" is not your diet, stretching, taking pills or ANY other thing one does to treat the symptoms.......THE WORK, my friends, is to get control of that crazy BS producing machine in your head. Look at your beliefs, thought patterns and perspectives....change everything so that your mind serves you and you life. Remember that the basic cause of TMS is emotions.....and thoughts create emotions, and suppressed, painful emotions lead to TMS......so you do the maths.
No matter how many times you read this your mind will resist it because it doesn't want to cede control. You have to TAKE IT BACK!
Get in front of the mirror and start having some serious words with yourself and meditate. Take a look at the things that keep popping up in your head and either deal with them or let them go. Choose the pain and be ok with it, it is simply a guide that is telling you that you're on the wrong path. Change the way you live and the pain will go......focus on that! If you focus on getting rid of the pain it will never leave you.
If you resist the pain it will persist.....simply because you will be focusing on it. Your brain magnifies the things you focus on.
If you haven't read "pain free for life" by Scott Brady I suggest you do.
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BecB
30 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2012 : 20:01:53
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Hello,
I am pretty new to the board but I just wanted to add my thoughts. My issue is not back pain but trigeminal nerve pain, tooth pain, and tongue pain. A year ago I was completely taken over by it. I felt it all day long and all I did was focus on it. It has been such a journey for me to understand how the whole body/mind relationship works. I could absolutely believe none of this a year ago. I was going through tests and living in chronic pain and popping meds to get through a day. Anyway, sometime the whole thing takes time. I was in the same boat with the most horrific pain of my life that could not really be medically explained since it was so very severe. I think it is really a process of learning this stuff and then really believing it. Our mind plays tricks and even if you fully believed it and were healed four years ago, maybe now your mind is telling you that this could not be the same thing or something. I know for me that when I realized that it was TMS there was still a lag period when I felt symptoms all the time. It is like it takes a while to really sink in, even if you think you believe it. Anyway, I think you are doing the right thing by journaling. I have read about people who were upset about their job and developed problems with sitting or typing. I am not saying this is the case with you. Try to stick with it and when you have physical pain, even if it is all the time, try to focus instead on what is bothering you menatlly whether it be people or circumstances or anything else. It can be a long and hilly course but you will heal.
Becca |
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I am spent
