| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
 Posted - 07/27/2012 : 03:51:59
|
Been reading here & thinking. My gut has been awful of late as many of you know. So I told myself a few days ago I'm fed up and I'm going to start eating everything no matter what. It's a bit scary & there is no pattern to what causes my gut pain. I had a fish burger I hadn't had one in ages.
Then a student of mine calls & wants to meet. I had a latte & macaroons with her. After that I went out for dinner with some girlfriends from out of town. I had 3 lychee martinis (lethal) & pizza & salmon tempura. All this to tell gut whose boss.
Strangely the gut isn't too bad considering the junk I'm putting into it.
Then day before yesterday I Skyped my hubby who is in Singapore & is flying to Bangkok. He wanted me to join him & I've been avoiding it coz the way I'm feeling. I mean what's the point of going to Thailand when I can't eat all that lovely , spicy Thai food. After I spoke to him I said what the heck, not going to let this get to me. I booked a ticket & I'm going to surprise him by joining him tomorrow.
But guess what, Last night a spot on the left side of my jaw (where I'm having neck problems) has started to throb & this morning I feel tightness & heaviness & shooting pain in that area.
Interesting how one thing gets better an another part of the body starts reacting. Especially a part of the body where its easy to believe that the pain must be real. Like choosing the side of the jaw where the neck hurts so you link the two together. How devious. Why does this pain keep testing me so.
Will observe & keep posting.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
Edited by - mala on 07/27/2012 19:24:03 |
|
|
balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2012 : 07:03:38
|
Wonderful for you Mala. Your choice to be fearless of the symptoms I think would greatly help reduce your anxiety. I did the same thing and overcame my anxiety. But be persistent. Don't let setback scare you. Tms/anxiety is sneaky and it love to trick you.
If you do go to Thailand and if you have time and if it is not too much expensive I think it would be wonderful if you can go visit one of those camps for refugees from Burma. The reason I said this is because everytime I have a chance to do that, the time I spend there help so much with my mindbody health. Whatever problems I have, just seem so insignificant compare to what those people there have to went thru and continue to endure. I usually came home much happier and much more grateful for what life gave me.
Goodluck and have fun in Thailand.
------------------------
No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
 |
|
|
mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2012 : 07:32:26
|
Balto thx. Can I ask if you took any drugs or medication when you were recovering. I am not taking any medication for pain since I had bleeding from ulcerative colitis 2 years ago but sometimes feel that it would help a bit. Its so hard every time a new symptom pops up. I agree the setbacks are really difficult. I just hope I can deal with them effectively.
I will see if I can arrange to visit a camp but when I was in Cambodia I went to S21 & the killing fields where we spoke to people who had to put up with all sorts of atrocities during the Khmer rouge & also victims of landmines. We also saw many street children & orphans that are being helped by many charities there. Does put things into perspective.
When we were doing the temple rounds one day , I was buying an ice cream & 2 small kids asked if they could have some too. I said why not and soon there were about 30 kids all surrounding the ice cream cart. I bought each of them an ice cream & the look on the faces was worth 100 times what I spent.
I don't remember all the temples magnificent as they are but I remember the afternoon with those kids. Priceless.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
Edited by - mala on 07/27/2012 07:37:16 |
|
|
|
balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2012 : 07:45:58
|
quote:
Originally posted by mala
I don't remember all the temples magnificent as they are but I remember the afternoon with those kids. Priceless.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala
You are right, those are priceless moment. Grateful of what we have and proud of what we can contribute are priceless.
No, I never take any medication. The list of possible side effects on those drug labels scare me to death.
I used to "tough" it out, but one time an old monk told me: don't tough it out, just go with the flow, go peacefully with the flow. And it help.
------------------------
No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
|
|
|
drh7900
USA
194 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2012 : 08:18:19
|
quote:
Originally posted by mala
Interesting how one thing gets better an another part of the body starts reacting. Especially a part of the body where its easy to believe that the pain must be real.
I don't know if it's just the way you worded it or if it's a mentality thing, but, just in case, I just wanted to make sure you're clear on something. The pain IS real! It's not imagined, it's not "in your head", it's not made up...the pain is very very real...it's a physical symptom CREATED by your brain using your autonomic nervous system to create physical changes that create pain. The cause may be psychological, but the pain is real. If you're trying to convince yourself otherwise, don't. If you're spending your time telling yourself "the pain isn't real" you're wasting your time and energy. That will keep your focus on the pain symptoms which make them win. You need to work on getting your mind OFF the physical symptoms and ON the emotions.
That said...keep in mind that the ROOT CAUSE of the pain (if it's TMS) is not physical...it's psychological.
Have fun in Bangkok!
--
Dustin |
|
|
|
mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2012 : 19:22:54
|
Yes Dustin Thx. I think I know that the pain is real. The way I understand it is that the pain or discomfort is produced by the ANS in response to some emotional or psychological trigger.(usually unconscious) The pain is real but what I meant is that the way & where the brain chooses to locate the pain is becoz it wants you to believe that it is purely physical to keep you focused on that instead of the emotions.
I remember the very first time I ever had back pain was in 1997. My husband & I were in London looking to buy a flat. My mom had accompanied us and 2 weeks into our holiday she turned on my husband & accused him of something nasty. She completely misunderstood the situation but refused to back down. I remember being caught in this horrible situation. 2 days after the incident, I woke up with such bad back pain that I couldn't move for a few days.
I went to a chiropractor for the foirst time ever & of course he told me all sorts of negative things about my back.
What a nocebo.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
Edited by - mala on 07/27/2012 19:24:54 |
|
|
|
Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 00:13:55
|
I keep being in situations in which people are talking about their TMS. I sometimes want to tell them, but often it is people I have already told, but they are not interested. So far, their symptoms are meeting the secondary gain quotient of something that serves them.
You really have to bottom out in this stuff to break through into change.
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
|
|
|
art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 05:31:59
|
| Yes to that bottoming out stuff. I've been fighting the biggest bear of my life with this getting old thing. I was half way to convinced my symptoms were true aging (as sarno puts it), but it eventually dawned on me (like 2 days ago) that this was simply another tms trojan horse. I'm 61, not 81. Sheesh. |
|
|
|
mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 21:35:36
|
Well Balto talked about being persistent & not to let setbacks scare me but here I am in Bkk and I've now got pain in my jaw going up my head . I keep telling myself this Is another symptom imperative but boy this is hard work . I'm regretting having come here coz frankly i'mot enjoying myself at all.
Is there any stage at all when you get a feeling that you are on thee right track, that this is working? Some sort of glimmer when you can see that this is the right path?
Oh and interesting one Wavy about secondary gains. Wonder what mine is.
And art I,m so happy you finally accept that you are not old. Why you are the same age as Richard Gere! And he's no way old by any standards. 
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
Edited by - mala on 07/29/2012 21:59:15 |
|
|
|
RageSootheRatio
Canada
430 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 23:30:39
|
Mala, when I could "abort" headaches in progress, (the kind that would usually progress to be debilitating, where I would HAVE to take pain meds), that is when I knew I was on the right track and that is what gave me confidence to continue.
When I was able to stop my meds (which I had taken daily for years) that was another thing that gave me confidence I was on the right track. - RSR |
|
|
|
mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 23:41:16
|
RSR that's great. How long did that take & more importantly what techniques did you use to achieve that?
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
|
|
|
Joy_I_Am
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 05:59:25
|
Mala, that ice cream story is so sweet! That was kind of you.
And I can't think of anything much more stressful than buying a flat in a different country... and taking your mother! No wonder you were ripe pickings for the chiropractor! You just look for ANYTHING to alleviate your stress in those situations.
I am inspired by your 'don't give a damn' approach to eating what you like. This is what always works for me, but it needs reinforcing sometimes when I get so anxious that I forget. Thanks for sharing that, I bet it helps you!
The stomach is such an obvious site for stress-pain, especially with what we now know about the 'second brain' in the stomach. I watched a science programme on the BBC the other night, and a gastroenterologist was talking about this, and said that introverts and extroverts react differently to pain - extroverts' blood pressure goes up, in accordance with medical lore - but recently they've discovered that introverts' B/P actually goes down in an attempt to 'self-soothe' them. So he concluded that extroverts respond better to meds, but introverts respond better to mind-body treatment, like CBT or hypnosis.
Hope you're feeling tip-top today, Mala! |
|
|
|
mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 07:07:46
|
Joy that's a very interesting article about the stomach. I've always had low blood pressure
Today I have had the worse neck pain which radiated all down my upper back & caused headache. Out of curiosity just now I touched my husbands neck and it was absolutely soft with no tension whatsoever . Then I touched mine. It's like a rock. Really really hard.
One thing after another. It's taking all my strength to stay focused on tms.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
|
|
|
mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 22:30:03
|
Just an update. Worst holiday ever. Thumping against chest, no appetite which has led to terrible weakness which means falling asleep whenever & wherever i can. Pain in neck, upper back & today lower back as well.
What is going on???
Still treating it as tms.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
Edited by - mala on 07/31/2012 23:02:31 |
|
|
|
TaylorJoh
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 23:27:36
|
Mala,
You might be deficient in some vitamins/minerals because you haven't been able to eat properly.
I would get the thumping in chest and shallow breathing for two reasons. Vitamin B deficient and dehydrated. You might want to see a doctor to test for anemia and vitamin deficiency.
I don't want to sound accusatory, I'm just a little confused about you saying you are treating your pain as TMS. I thought you believed that your fibroid is causing the back pain? If you have any doubt that your back pain is TMS the pain will persist. It's not something you can be on the fence about. I'm not saying you are, I just might have misunderstood you in a previous post.
Taylor |
|
|
|
mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2012 : 06:30:05
|
Taylor you are right, the back pain may be due to fibroids but I have treated it so long as tms that I still think of it that way and tend to include it with other things that are happening.
What you said the other day about fibroids being small & the uterus being able to hold an 8 pound baby then why not a small fibroid has got me thinking again so maybe u r right I am kinda sitting on the fence with that one at the moment. 
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
don't know whether to laugh or cry.
