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faber0611
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 05/20/2012 : 13:05:33
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I have a horrible pain in my thoracic spine. It comes on at random times; no one thing sets it off. It feels like my chest wont expand and it makes me feel like I can't breathe. I have been to the hospital 4 times in the last 2 months because I 'can't breathe'. The er did all kinds of tests and they all looked normal. They haven't done an MRI yet though. I think I am an anxious person, but am not 100% convinced this pain is anxiety induced. Any ideas?
Oh, if I lay on my back while having the pain, it is all in my back, but if I lean forward, the pain moves to my chest. Please help if you can. |
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Aussie
Australia
87 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2012 : 16:13:08
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Hi,
No one here can convince you this is TMS 100%. If the pain is so bad it has hospitalised you then im surprised the hospital have not run MRI or CT scans to check everything out. A TMS doctor would do this too, Just to rule out the long shot that it could be something more serious.
TMS pain is very common in all parts of the back, Including the thoracic. Many TMS sufferers have had pain where you describe and of course what you have could be TMS. If you still have trouble completely accepting your pain is caused by TMS then my advice would be to stop all the wondering about is this physical or not physical and get an MRI done and take it to the closest TMS doctor to you for an official diagnosis as to what is causing your pain.
Good luck. |
Edited by - Aussie on 05/20/2012 16:40:08 |
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Back2-It
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2012 : 17:27:55
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I'm going to ask if you have been in some very recent horrific accident?
If not, you are most likely suffering from anxiety/TMS.
The thoracic spine is the most immobile part of the spine, held in place by the ribs. It is not prone to much, unless there is severe trauma.
Here is what is probably happening, based on my very similar experience. You have unconsciously tensed your back muscles. Lucky you, you have gotten your mid-back muscles into literal knots, as opposed to the "lucky" L-5ers and others, who have readily explained low back problems.
You can go ahead and get an MRI, but be cautioned: you may show some disc degeneration or even a nice shiny herniation. But...unless you have fallen off a three story building and landed square on your back on a fence rail, you will be showing NORMAL wear and tear. You will not hear that from the doctor, though, unless you are lucky. Up to 37% of non-symptomatic people have thoracic disc herniations.
That said, what the hell is going on, you might ask? Here is the clearest path to understanding what is happening to your body; it is in Thomas Hanna's "Somatics". I would suggest getting it. Basically, your pec muscles and abdominal muscles are being pulled down towards your pelvis and your back muscles are being pulled down towards your hip. Fun, eh? It's all caused by an unconscious reaction to stress. And your fear.
In my case, I had pain in my back that radiated to my front. Or was it in my front radiating to my back? I had some fun complicating things, like a gallbladder surgery, so the answer wasn't clear right off.
I had a "major" disc herniation, according to the MRI. Once doctors found this out they treated me like I had some deadly virus from outer space. They actually pitied me and often refused to do anything because they were afraid I was going to break and end up pissing on their floor and be paralyzed. I am not joking.
I had your same strange symptoms and many more as my torso actually twisted around because of worry and fear and over the top anxiety.
Please do yourself a favor and find out what anxiety/TMS does your body. Once you find out, read some books, such as Weekes' "Hope and Help for Your Nerves."
I am back to full activity, and feeling only a little stiffness.
Once again: beware. Doctors of all types do not often see thoracic problems, and will tell you some scary things if your MRI shows something.
"Bridges Freeze Before Roads" |
Edited by - Back2-It on 05/20/2012 17:29:25 |
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faber0611
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 09:00:39
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| Back2-it - I haven't been in any accident, but the pain did start after I had my baby in February. She is my first baby, and I labored for 18 hours without pain meds. I pushed for 3 hours. That is the only thing I can think of that would cause this other than stress especially since it happened AFTER I had her. Maybe I injured myself during labor, and the stress of being a new mom and everything else makes it worse? |
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drh7900
USA
194 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 09:16:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Back2-It
You can go ahead and get an MRI, but be cautioned: you may show some disc degeneration or even a nice shiny herniation. But...unless you have fallen off a three story building and landed square on your back on a fence rail, you will be showing NORMAL wear and tear. You will not hear that from the doctor, though, unless you are lucky. Up to 37% of non-symptomatic people have thoracic disc herniations.
Holy crap! That literally made me laugh out loud...thanks for the chuckle! I guess there was just something about the slapstick imagery that just really caught my funny bone.
Faber0611 - after the obligatory "check with your doctor first" routine, I have to say, sounds like TMS. In "Healing Back Pain" Sarno mentions that TMS can even present as chest pain making the sufferer think they're having a heart attack. I have been to the ER 3x in my life (every time under the age of 30) for frightening chest pain. The first doc diagnosed me with pericarditis. After that, every ER visit resulted in "perfectly normal heart with no evidence of ever having had pericarditis". The last time they brought in a cardiologist just to be certain (because my blood pressure was elevated...as tends to happen in moments of extreme pain and fear) and what did he tell me? The pain in my chest was coming from my injury in my lower back! He insisted the malalignment of my lower back was causing my sternum to separate which was causing irritation and inflammation that, when I breathed or my heart beat, caused excruciating pain. At this point I'd say that he was partially right...it was related to my back pain, but not for the reasons he mentioned...I have TMS.
I have since experienced that same chest pain twice and both times were around instances when my back pain was starting to flare up real bad (and both times in the last 3 months). When I recognized that it similar pain and was not afraid of it, instead of getting worse like it did in the past, it faded away within a day.
My whole point is this: if the doctors can't find anything wrong...and if they happen to find structural abnormalities like degenerating discs or herniated discs...remember this "your back is basically normal". It's like Aussie said...no one here can convince you 100%...that's up to you. And like many TMSers, you're likely to struggle with the concept for a short while and say "but my pain is different" or something similar...but rest assured...if its not something serious like rumors or cancer (as Sarno says...get checked out to rule out anything serious), then your good buddy TMS is doing a good job of diverting your attention away from your subconscious emotions and in the direction of your physical pain.
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Dustin |
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drh7900
USA
194 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 09:24:07
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quote:
Originally posted by faber0611
Back2-it - I haven't been in any accident, but the pain did start after I had my baby in February. She is my first baby, and I labored for 18 hours without pain meds. I pushed for 3 hours. That is the only thing I can think of that would cause this other than stress especially since it happened AFTER I had her. Maybe I injured myself during labor, and the stress of being a new mom and everything else makes it worse?
Congratulations on the new baby! We have a new little girl in our house, too!
There may have been muscle strain in the process of labor, but it's not likely it has lasted since February. The one example that seems to be popular in regards to the body's ability to heal is that even the femur (which is the largest bone in the body) takes only 6 weeks to completely heal...and even then the pain doesn't last the whole time.
And women who are subject to TMS who have babies around the house are likely to start showing TMS symptoms with the added stresses and emotions that come along with the new baby. There is fear, fatigue, anger (yes...anger...and that's okay long as you don't take it out on the baby), possibly depression...A LOT of potentially scary negative emotions surround the wonderful and joyous event. Do yourself a favor and explore your emotions and love your baby the best you can and recover from your pain so you're not afraid of hurting yourself more while lifting or changing or carrying your new bundle of joy :-) don't let the pain divert your attention from your emotions...that's what it's there for and it will keep winning if it has even the slightest chance to work.
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Dustin |
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Could this be TMS?
