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SuperKev
USA
7 Posts |
 Posted - 03/09/2013 : 07:17:58
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Hi. Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for your patience and help.
I have been reading these forums for awhile and posted last summer when I had my first ever gout attack and was angry, depressed, and confused. Searching around on the web and even on these forums it seems that many do not think gout is Mind Body related. However there is not total consensus -- stress, folks acknowledge, plays a role. I keep reading things like “not everything can be TMS.” Or that raised Uric Acid is simply a condition people have because of diet or genetics not because of mindbody. Well, I am having my second bout with gout and as a life long sufferer of Mind Body / TMS ailments I am not willing to concede that isn’t yet another example of my mind distracting me. As a teen I had chronic strep. As a young adult chronic Achilles tendonitis. I’ve had back pain, IBS, and chronic sinus infections. I have, after a lot of work, stopped having all of those ailments (except for minor IBS) – and on the rare occasion something flares up, it takes minutes, or at most a day, for me to fight it off.
I just stopped having sinus infections. I used to get them every three weeks from Oct – April for about 10 years. Well I finally acknowledged it was Mind Body and told myself to stop getting sinus infections. And so the past two winters I did not have a single sinus infection. Whew! I kicked it. So satisfying. My IBS was still a problem but not overly so. I was going to start tackling that next.
And then, the gout. Ouch! Yes I have high uric levels (from labs in previous months – my lab from yesterday did not show high UA levels despite the gout symptoms) and yes my grandmother got it. I have got rid of my other physical manifestations. Why can’t gout pain / inflammation be another example of my mind finding a new distraction-- I still have crazy stress in my life. Why does THIS have to be the one thing that is not mind body. IF my mind can control the blood flow to my Achilles tendons, affect my digestion, and somehow cause infections in my sinuses, why can’t it plant some Uric Acid crystals in my toe or ape the feeling of crystals in my toes?
I just got some meds from the dr – I was resistant and didn’t want to give in. I mean antibiotics always stopped my sinus infections - temporarily. Until the next one. The pain in my toe was too great so I gave in and got pain meds and also some gout medication. But I don’t want to give in. I want to beat this forever not with meds but with figuring out the underlying cause. Anyway, sorry to vent. Am frustrated. Which makes me think my brain created distraction is working (it is – I am not thinking about money woes or family woes or job stress at the moment – in fact my toe hurts more as I type).
Grrr.
Anyway, needed to vent. Your thoughts are most appreciated.
Many Thanks! |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 07:26:28
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| SteveO mentions gout and tms in his book, if you do a search here you may find more. |
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SuperKev
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 07:32:07
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Thanks, TT. It is just that people seem to waffle about gout in ways they don't about other things. One blog about mind body / tms went through a massive list of mind body ailments and then wrote that gout is not one of them. I just don't understand why it wouldn't be. SteveO responded to my post in the summer (July 15th or so) and was helpful (as he always is) but also waffled a bit. That gout CAN be related but often isn't. I did see his list in the appendix of his book, and yes he does mention gout -- so I was glad to see that!
quote:
Originally posted by tennis tom
SteveO mentions gout and tms in his book, if you do a search here you may find more.
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MatthewNJ
USA
691 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 07:38:03
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Superkev,
I believe that almost anything can be TMS. Your success story reads very similar to mine, and many others. You have had such fabulous successes, build on them. Use the tools you have succeeded with. But the key thing I would say is stop trying to figure it out! My dad has gout and it is very painful. So, I would think it is a perfect distractor. Sit with the pain for a few moments, observe it, don't try to fix it. Just be curious. See what comes to mind. My bet, with your extensive experience and success with TMS is you are going to "see" what is creating this pain (message).
comejoin us at 3:oo EST for the tms chat (tmswiki.org/chat). maybe there are others there that can shed some light on this for you.
Good Luck
Matthew
Ferretsx3@comcast.net
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Less activated, more regulated and more resilient. |
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pspa123
672 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 07:41:43
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| I think there are predisposing factors such as genetics uric aciid etc but actual attacks could well have a mindbody component I have had a few and the pain is quite indescribable but for me the good news is that just alleve at a regular dose for a day or two knocks it right out. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 07:50:06
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quote:
Originally posted by SuperKev
Thanks, TT. It is just that people seem to waffle about gout in ways they don't about other things.
That's exactly how I feel about my hip/TMS/arhritis...try working on fixing your life and not your gout.
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SuperKev
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 08:08:24
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Thanks, everyone, for the support and advice. I think years and years ago i had success after reading one of Dr. Sarno's early books knocking out my chronic tendonitis almost instantly that i fell into the habit of attacking my brain (ie scolding myself for giving me these pains and symptoms) and getting rid of them until something else came round. I feel pretty knowledgeable now about why I am stressed and even angry... i just need to find a more balanced way to go at this so new symptoms don't keep coming on the rest of my life.
Thanks! |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 08:43:21
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Is your big toe connected to your body? And does your mind, and what goes on it, have any impact on your physical health? What do you think? What have we learned as a result of our experience with TMS? Why is it that we can say some ailments are not related to our emotions while others are not? What criteria are we, and MindBody practitioners, using to make that judgement? I am merely asking questions here and not providing answers.
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“Nonresistance, nonjudgment, and nonattachment are the
three aspects of true freedom and enlightened living” -- Ekhart Tolle |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 08:50:18
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| Very good questions shawn |
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Jim D.
USA
63 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 10:04:14
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SuperKev,
I too suffer from gout (or used to), and I was glad to see your post wondering about its connection to TMS. I have never had any other pain like it. My mother had it, and so I always assumed (and the doctor said) that it is inherited. I don't think anybody believes any longer that it is caused by diet--even though books on gout keep mentioning that factor. I have had tests during an episode, and my uric acid level was normal, but of course the doctor had an explanation--"this often happens." When I noticed that my worst bouts occurred when I was visiting my family (always a stressful event), I became suspicious. Yes, it is caused by crystallization of uric acid, usually in the extremities where blood doesn't flow as well, but what causes uric acid to crystallize one time and not another? Sounds very TMS-like.
But I do take medication for gout. I have been on allopurinol for maybe six years now, and have had no serious gout episodes since beginning to take it. It has no side effects, it's cheap, and one pill a day does the trick. I am a fairly strict Sarnoist and always try to use his methods (as he wrote about them). I'm trying to follow them right now with my long-lasting episode of golfer's elbow. So why don't I try Sarno's approach in the case of gout? Frankly I am chicken. The pain of gout is so excruciating and taking allopurinol is so easy that I am not willing to take the risk of stopping the medication. |
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MatthewNJ
USA
691 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2013 : 10:51:36
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quote:
Originally posted by SuperKev
i just need to find a more balanced way to go at this so new symptoms don't keep coming on the rest of my life.
Super Kev, keep doing what your doing....for the rest of your life.
Matthew
Ferretsx3@comcast.net
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Less activated, more regulated and more resilient. |
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Peregrinus
250 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 08:08:15
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SuperKev:
Don't take advice about gout from anyone who does not have the disease. Gout is one of the best understood ailments around and it has an effective treatment (allopurinol) that works and that has no side effects. Gout is also very dangerous since high levels of uric acid attack the kidneys and other organs.
Take your allopurinol and concentrate on your real problems! |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 09:28:07
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SuperKev, I agreed with Peregrinus here. Gout is painful and many doctor said it can be dangerous, you need to do what the doctor recommended to reduce the immediate pain and potential harm to your body. Just like cancer, many people think cancer have a mindbody origin, you need to take immediate conventional medical care to halt it's negative effect on your body. But keep in mind, also do use mindbody approach to deal with it too. I personally believe Gout is caused by mindbody for several reasons:
- I cured myself of gout using mindbody. I now eat anything I want, I don't take any medication for it. My doctor said my uric acid level is high but I don't get symptoms for years now. (I just don't fear gout)
- If you ask any gout sufferers, they will all said they also have lot of stress or trauma and/or other mindbody symptoms. You can not find anyone who are happy, content, have a stress free life that have gout. (try to look for one)
- I have heard from my doctor gout caused by stress. He were highly respected and were a doctor for 50 years.
- Many many people with very hight level of uric acid never developed gout.
- read the comments at the bottom of this page http://www.gout-aware.com/Gout-and-stress.html and see what do they have in common.
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No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
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susan828
USA
291 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 15:40:40
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| As someone who had a uric acid kidney stone, I try to follow the gout diet (same thing). I don't need allopurinol but I try to keep the alkaline system. My cousin is on allopurinol and still gets an occasional gout attack so now she drinks sour cherry juice. If you have gout, you know about that, I imagine. Lots of water...doc told me if I drink 12 glasses of water a day even with a lousy diet, I will probably not get another stone. I agree with Peregrinus here. It's like the serenity prayer "the wisdom to know the difference". Some things are just physical, we are not perfectly made. |
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Sceptical that gout is NOT Mind Body
