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Joel D.
USA
12 Posts |
 Posted - 02/06/2005 : 14:15:56
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| I have read Dr. Sarno's book and watched his video's. Now a little history. I have had sciatic pain for about 3 or 4 months now. I have definitely been under alot of family and business related stress and anxiety for quite some time now. I have had an MRI that shows bulging or ruptured disk at L-5 S-1 putting "slight pressure" on nerve root. According to Dr. Sarno's book this rupture in the majority of cases is not the cause of the pain. I am willing to accept this and believe that I do have TMS because I have many of the personality traits that describes TMS patients. However, he also states in his book that virtually all TMS patients have tenderness in certain areas when palpated. I may have had some tenderness in the beginning but don't think I have any now. The scary part for me is, what if the pain IS being caused by the ruptured disk and I resume normal activities and really screw things up. If I knew for sure the disk was not the problem I could surely work through the pain. But how do you know for sure? |
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Susie
USA
319 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2005 : 18:51:22
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| Hi Joel-I understand your fear of guessing wrong and injuring yourself. Most of the board has had the same worry at one time or another. If you have time, check the old posts. So many that find Sarno have had initial doubts. The personality profile of tms is usually but not necessarily always true. I have several friends who are really in pain and are very calm,quiet people. They won't believe Sarno because they don't think they fit the mold. They just quietly stress and don't see themselves as I see them. I believe Dr. Andrew Weil when he said that tms is so common , it should be looked at first as a diagnosis than as a last resort. I can only tell you about the tenderness in my muscles and nerves. One of the first symptoms I had before the big back attack was soreness on my spine. I had no idea what it was. As my pain progressed, soreness in certain spots would come and go. Don't take the search so literal. We are all different. As for the pain from your ruptured disk--read the results of mri's in HBP. They are very inconclusive. You have nothing to lose by trying Sarno's theory. Probably the toughest thing you will do is to get by your Doc's diagnosis. If you give Sarno a try, you will later laugh at what bs it was. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2005 : 21:45:27
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| J-D, go see a Sarno doctor and find out for sure, good luck. |
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Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2005 : 08:13:07
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Hi Joel.
That's hot!
You just reminded me of one of my biggest obsessions!
When I was reading the book,I came to the part where he says virtually all TMS patients will have "tenderness on palpation..."...and of course being an OCD sufferer,I spent the day twisting and turning and poking in all sorts of positions to find these spots.
My big concern was "well...if I don't have then,than this thing might not really work for me"..it became an obsessive and intrusive thought after a while.
I honestly don't remember how it went away...I just kept plodding onward and too much of the rest of it made sense.I know there was a spot on my spine that made me jump...it felt like a perma-bruise.My therapist found it odd...when she would be massaging it,it hurt about 2 inches OVER the surgery spot...that made no sense!!
aLSO...I remembered that I always had my phantom "pain" right underneath the shoulder blade.I assumed this is what he was talking about.
There weren't many TMS doctors back then....in all of LA there was one,and he was on a long trip when I read the book...I decided I would see him when he got back....I just kept plodding along with the rest,and by the time he got back I was all the way recovered.
The "what if" in your brain is a normal reaction...you've been fed all this mythology for soooo long,they scare the hell out of people..they told me I'd risk paralysis if I ever ran,jumped,twisted,etc....suffice it to say that we all do these things symptom free now.
If you live in a bigger city,find a Doctor who is a TMS doc...if you don't,you can still recover...just make sure there is no serious problem first(tumors etc.)
peace
Baseball65 |
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Joel D.
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2005 : 10:01:04
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| Thanks so much for the replies. I called Dr. Sarno's office but he only see's patients who live in N.Y. City. They did give me a Sarno trained TMS doctor's name and number in the Atlanta GA area though. I have a call in for him now. |
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moose1
162 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2005 : 12:06:11
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Hey Baseball,
What kind of surgery did you have? I had a lumbar discectomy 4 years ago on a ruptured disk for leg pain. It "cured" the leg pain, but I've since had the nagging, chronic low back ache ever since. I occassionally have trouble figuring out if the pain relief is a placebo or not. I guess it should be a no brainer, but...
Anyway, just curious to know what your surgery experience was.
Thanks,
Moose |
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campo
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2005 : 11:13:30
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Joel,
How are you checking for the tenderness? In my case, when I press on myself I don't feel any tenderness anywhere. However when my wife presses the same areas, it feels very tender. It might be like trying to tickle yourself -- you can't do it, but someone else can do it to you.
Also, I've been through TMS incidents in which I had extreme tenderness on pressing, and others in which I didn't have any. Don't use that as the proof.
Incidently, my MRI also showed a bad disk at L5/S1, and my orthopedic surgeon said he could feel the vertebrae slipping and he wanted to operate. It was around that time that my wife found Sarno's book and made me read it. After a few re-readings I was completely cured.
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Campo |
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TMS Just Not Sure
