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RajPatel
USA
12 Posts |
 Posted - 12/09/2013 : 13:21:51
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Hey guys, 18 years old and have been looking into TMS recently and it might explain why none of the conventional methods have had any effect on my lower back pain with my L5-S1 bulging disc. The pain started when I had a snowboarding fall in December 2011. Like anyone else, I've been through the run around ranging from chiropractors, physical therapy, traction, inversion therapy, and a cortisone shot, all of which have had no effect on me whatsoever.
The pain isn't normally that bad, but occasionally I'll get a "spasm" which makes the lower back pain severe. Last Thursday I was in the gym and I've never had a problem doing the bent over rows, but for some reason my lower back pain triggered mildly. I tried reassuring myself that it was TMS and not a structural problem, but couldn't bring myself to lift the bar due to the pain.
I tried to switch over to some shoulder shrugs instead and added some weight. I kept trying to pick up the bar, but kept feeling pain in my lower back. On 1 attempt I decided to push through the pain and lift the bar (which I failed to do), and it had caused me the most severe back pain episode yet. The pain has been in the lower right side of my back. I had to leave the gym right after arriving and could barely walk, since every step I took was quite painful.
I've read Dr. Sarno's Healing Back Pain book and I am trying to accept the diagnosis since he says it's very rare for back pain to be rooted in a structural abnormality, but I keep wondering if I'm the exception since my back was perfectly fine before the snowboarding fall.
Thank you for any input. |
Edited by - RajPatel on 12/09/2013 13:26:08 |
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icelikeaninja
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2013 : 13:31:46
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Don't go so heavy next time with the rows. You can really get hurt I have many times but it usually took a week to go away.
Do you see yourself in Dr.Sarnos books? Do you relate to any of the childhood stuff or life pressures he mentions?
**Sure I can lay down on a bed of nails and not have pain but why am I having back pain when laying down on a soft mattress? |
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icelikeaninja
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2013 : 13:33:02
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Btw age has nothing to do with anything. I was one of Dr Sarnos youngest patients and was told so.
So don't think you are to young for Tms lol
**Sure I can lay down on a bed of nails and not have pain but why am I having back pain when laying down on a soft mattress? |
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RajPatel
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2013 : 13:59:51
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quote:
Originally posted by icelikeaninja
Don't go so heavy next time with the rows. You can really get hurt I have many times but it usually took a week to go away.
Do you see yourself in Dr.Sarnos books? Do you relate to any of the childhood stuff or life pressures he mentions?
**Sure I can lay down on a bed of nails and not have pain but why am I having back pain when laying down on a soft mattress?
Thanks for your response. I have always used a 25 pound plate on each side, so I wouldn't surmise 95 pounds would pose any immediate danger at all. Funny thing is, I became quite distressed when my jacket's zipper caught in my shirt ended up tearing my shirt and breaking the zipper off when I tried to zip it down. This was an hour or 2 before working out I think. I don't know if that distress correlates with the "spasm attack" but that's the only thing I could think of.
Any life pressures, all I can think of is wanting to do something great one day in the future. As for anything I can relate to, I don't know, I do suppose I'm usually hard on myself.
In TMS sufferers the pain moves around, but not for me. It's always in the lower back, and lower right back during spasm attacks. So again, that is where my uncertainty comes from.
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SteveO
USA
272 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2013 : 11:30:05
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I've seen several people who had skiing accidents who had TMS, but were merely triggered by the accidents. They all healed with TMS healing once they realized they had it. One lasted 10 years until he realized he had TMS.
Of course you can always hurt yourself skiing or lifting, but the body should heal fairly quickly.
TMS anger is archaic. Tearing a shirt doesn't cause TMS. It's a trigger for deeper rage that comes from a deeper need.
There are a few observations I would consider:
1) The pain does not always move around with TMS. Mine was in the same area for 30 years. Sometimes it bounds around in people randomly, and sometimes it sticks to its comfort zone.
2) Why do you lift weights? This goes to a deeper need for approval/acceptance.
3) You only want to do something great one day? That is a powerful need, no doubt nurtured in adolescence. Tracordifying through Horney's "un-assailability" method for coping.
My LBP started at 14. I was a lifter. I had herniations at L5, S1 (but who doesn't?). My pain never moved. I always wanted to do something great in the future.
The best thing you can do is gather the information and then try to see if your lock fits the key. If you feel you have TMS then you have to get to work. But anyone can have an acute attack of TMS that may go away forever. Everyone has TMS at some point in their life when tension accumulated is greater than tension released. So maybe yours will fade.
Steve |
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RajPatel
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2013 : 15:51:26
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quote:
Originally posted by SteveO
I've seen several people who had skiing accidents who had TMS, but were merely triggered by the accidents. They all healed with TMS healing once they realized they had it. One lasted 10 years until he realized he had TMS.
Of course you can always hurt yourself skiing or lifting, but the body should heal fairly quickly.
TMS anger is archaic. Tearing a shirt doesn't cause TMS. It's a trigger for deeper rage that comes from a deeper need.
There are a few observations I would consider:
1) The pain does not always move around with TMS. Mine was in the same area for 30 years. Sometimes it bounds around in people randomly, and sometimes it sticks to its comfort zone.
2) Why do you lift weights? This goes to a deeper need for approval/acceptance.
3) You only want to do something great one day? That is a powerful need, no doubt nurtured in adolescence. Tracordifying through Horney's "un-assailability" method for coping.
My LBP started at 14. I was a lifter. I had herniations at L5, S1 (but who doesn't?). My pain never moved. I always wanted to do something great in the future.
The best thing you can do is gather the information and then try to see if your lock fits the key. If you feel you have TMS then you have to get to work. But anyone can have an acute attack of TMS that may go away forever. Everyone has TMS at some point in their life when tension accumulated is greater than tension released. So maybe yours will fade.
Steve
Appreciate the insight you offer. As far as unconscious anger: I'll even admit that I had a tendency to get bullied especially due to ethnicity in middle school and even some of high school. Of course, I'm no longer concerned about it and have moved on. Perhaps another consideration could be unconscious resentment towards my parents for attempting to excessively shelter me over the past years. Those are the only 2 causes of unconscious anger I can think of.
As for lifting weights, I never gave it much thought, but I just wanted to gain muscle and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I've always had a fantasy of doing something great one day. Only thing is, I'm still not sure what I want to major in anyways.
The primary factor that leads me to consider TMS is the fact that none of the conventional methods have mitigated the pain in even the slightest. Given this, I would certainly hope the pain originates from TMS, or all hope is lost! |
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eric watson
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2013 : 07:35:09
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There's no hope lost, you'll be fine -- how long has it been since you got hurt. Stop working out till at least the natural body has time to heal. Like 4-6 weeks.
If you cant feel anger then that's why you could have tms. You don't feel the anger that creates tms, its in the subconscious, if you felt the anger then there would be no reason for the tms. That's the whole point of journaling and thinking about your life pressures is to get you to feel the anger, face it -- then go about your day living life to the full. Don't let this hold you back more than it has. Accept this part of your life as an episode that's going to reveal how strong your mindbody really is.
If you want to do something big one day then it'll come to you in time. Don't stress over the pain or the future -- live in the now and know now that you'll be fine when you stop trying so hard, lighten up and know you'll heal.
If you have been through bullying then that is probably some of your inner tension, journal about the feelings and emotions you had when you were bullied. This can bring back the feelings you need to face so you can move forth with your life.
Just entering back into relationship with life is enough for most folks to heal. Some of us have given up on living and that aint fun. Never stop living your dream , whatever it might be but when you get an injury you do need give it time to heal.
Then if its still there you probably need to get back in touch with your emotions and stop focusing on the body, think more psychological.
Its the focus on the body and the fear of the injury and the loss of hope that adds fuel to the pain thus never giving you a chance to recover.
Steve put a lot of knowledge in his post and icelikeaninja has sound advice too. Read over this post several times and let it sink into your mind till there's not a doubt that you are indeed alright. You just have some work to do, like learning to be at peace with your current situation for one.
Learning to face our emotions and accepting them in a better light will bring you to a higher level of living too. You just need give it time so you can overcome your set-back. Trying to rush this will only keep the fire burning. Pull up a chair and put a smile on your face. You will be just fine soon enough if you take time to listen to what your body is telling you.
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RajPatel
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2013 : 15:48:03
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My snowboarding accident was December 23rd, 2011, somewhere around there.
I actually started working out around June 4th, 2012. I did take off a month from working out either September or October of 2012, but since it didn't improve the lower back pain any I continued working out. Many say it's bad to deadlift with a bulging disc, but I've been doing it for a while now and only had a spasm once.
I mentioned the possibility of TMS to my mom a long while after showing her the 20/20 Dr Sarno clip on youtube, and she responded saying "what kind of stress could you possibly have?"
College would certainly fall under a life pressure, especially when the ambiguity is just growing thicker and everyone asks me what I want to major in. Right now, I have that "time is of the essence" mentality since time is going by so much faster ever since beginning college. Then again, I don't suppose any potential stress past the TMS induced snowboarding accident would qualify, since the causes/root of the TMS would be before December 2011?
In regards to journaling, how would I go about that? Would it be a routine, or just a one time thing? And would journaling digitally on my laptop be any less effective than on paper?
I thank you for your elaborate post, and will reread it to reassure myself that the pain is TMS and not from the bulging disc. I didn't mean to come off as rushing through this.
In the midst of posting this, I journaled near 700 words on my laptop trying to weed out my suppressed emotions and the causes of them. Not sure how long I should journal for either.
Thanks again for the help. |
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MatthewNJ
USA
691 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2013 : 16:50:02
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Raj,
My first "back injury" was lifting a lawnmower out of the car at age 16. Unfortunately for me, I didn't learn about TMS for another 28 years. Your story sounds classic. You have seen the doctors and nobody has said you have a tumor. You came here. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck. If you liked Dr. sarno's work, I would suggest "The Mindbody prescription" and trying the "Jim Campobello method" in the back of that book. Also, read the success stories here and on tmswiki.org and see if any of it resonates with you. Read my story and see what you think. It is here.
Do it now, before you have 10 on a scale of 10 pain! I mean imagine your worst spasm stayin at that level constantly. Been there done that. Trus me, you don't want to go there.! save yourself 20 or 30 years more of suffering
Matthew
Ferretsx3@comcast.net
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Less activated, more regulated and more resilient. |
Edited by - MatthewNJ on 12/12/2013 16:53:18 |
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RajPatel
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2013 : 23:13:12
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Matthew,
I suppose I shouldn't have neglected to mention that I did have an MRI in August 2012 which led me to believe that the pain was from an L5-S1 bulging disc the entire time. But I suppose that doesn't matter given that bulging/herniated discs apparently have no correlation to back pain. I have read your story on tmswiki and noticed that you also had an MRI which indicated a herniated disc.
Still though, any problems, stress inducements, or pressures that I'd have would seem miniscule compared to the plethora of problems you had! Makes me wonder if me having TMS would be plausible when I haven't even experienced stress levels as high as you have.
I will certainly consider ordering The Mindbody Prescription. I was also thinking about buying The Divided Mind as well. The mind really is an amazing thing. Meditation is supposed to be able to do wonders, just look at Wim Hof for example! |
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icelikeaninja
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2013 : 00:13:57
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You are lucky to have back pain and an army of hundreds if not thousands confirmed "cured" Sarno back cases.
It's when you get into other Tms symptoms that aren't mentioned is what makes it scary. Be happy that sarno wrote these books.
I met the man and attended his meetings. I met one woman who had no cartilage in her knee but walked around like nothing happened.
The mind body is certainly interesting and wierd. Anything is possible.
My back pain was healed and yours can as well if this is what you think you have. I have battered and tortured my body ... I am fine.
Your mom has a typical response. Everyone thinks the life of their children is easy but we adapt to different life stressors. Just because iam miserable at work and your miserable because your girlfriend left you doesn't make it anymore worst for anyone, it's all relative to what you are use to at the time. Heck I could handle the girl thing and you could handle the job thing.
Everybody wants everyone else's problems but their own.
**Sure I can lay down on a bed of nails and not have pain but why am I having back pain when laying down on a soft mattress? |
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RajPatel
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2013 : 20:55:42
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Ice,
You are right, I was thinking just the same thing when reading Matthew's TMS story on tmswiki. It is fortunate that I do not have a wide array of problems.
Since everything I've tried has failed, I have nothing to lose in investing in Dr. Sarno's books and hoping that the shoe fits in this case of TMS.
Sometimes it's hard to clear any doubt, because I wonder to myself: what if I really end up getting hurt one day? As always, the pain from the spasm has been gradually reduced back to normal, annoying pain when bending over or putting pressure on the lower back. Today I went in the gym working back and triceps doing deadlifts and bent over rows without a problem.
At some point, I am going to order The Mindbody Prescription and The Divided Mind. No doubt would another spasm elicit me to hurry and order the books, though hopefully it doesn't happen again at the same pain level as it did last time. |
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icelikeaninja
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2013 : 22:01:04
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I'd buy the book any way. Tms is a life long condition lol.
The shoe will never fit unless you force it.
It tools tons of pt and doctors after sarno told me I had Tms to be 100 percent convinced.
Nature of the beast.
Spasms are normal. I am not a doctor just giving me story
Keep working out and stay hungry.
**Sure I can lay down on a bed of nails and not have pain but why am I having back pain when laying down on a soft mattress? |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2013 : 10:12:02
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quote:
Originally posted by RajPatel
At some point, I am going to order The Mindbody Prescription and The Divided Mind.
Can you explain the source of your hesitation to order the books? |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
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RajPatel
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2013 : 17:34:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave
quote:
Originally posted by RajPatel
At some point, I am going to order The Mindbody Prescription and The Divided Mind.
Can you explain the source of your hesitation to order the books?
Sounds kind of silly, but I'm going to get points via surveys on a get paid to site as usual since I really don't like spending money being the cheap person I am. Then I'll just use the amazon gift cards for the books. |
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icelikeaninja
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2013 : 17:51:08
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Man I gladly paid the 1000 dollars just to have sarno tell me I had Tms. It's up to you of course but there is no price to pay for relief.
Seriously I need to do those surveys too lol that's awesome
**Sure I can lay down on a bed of nails and not have pain but why am I having back pain when laying down on a soft mattress? |
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MatthewNJ
USA
691 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2013 : 19:23:22
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Raj, I would suggest not comparing my "problems" to your "problems" or anyone else's for that matter. We are all different. One thing I learned from Dr. Levine's work is trauma is in the eyes of the beholder. Particularly when the the beholder is a child of 3- 7 years of age. I used to be confused by the seriousness of my pain, when I don't have the life's emotional traumas I heard so many folks share. My major issue is not getting enough attention as a child. Doesn't sound to horrible to me. That all said, your story is classic. Even after Dr. Sarno diagnosed me, it still took me years to get where I am now. Steady regular hard work, every day. I don't like to buy books either. I get them from the library first!
Good luck!
Matthew
Ferretsx3@comcast.net
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Less activated, more regulated and more resilient. |
Edited by - MatthewNJ on 12/21/2013 16:33:07 |
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RajPatel
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2013 : 16:38:14
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So I'm about ready to order one of the 2 aforementioned books, but which one should I order and read first? The Mindbody Prescription or The Divided Mind?
As an update, I was in the gym today doing leg presses and of course had a mild spasm, not as bad as the last one but still mildly annoying pain. Only instead of the lower right back, this time in the lower left side. I don't know what could have emotionally triggered it this time either.
I'm sick of the pain occasionally getting in the way when I work out and just having it in general; tomorrow marks 2 years since I've had the pain from the snowboarding fall.
Matthew, it's a relief to hear that the root of your TMS was from something not as serious as the stress you depicted in your story. This means there is certainly hope for me.
Thanks for the input guys. |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2013 : 12:09:21
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quote:
Originally posted by RajPatel
So I'm about ready to order one of the 2 aforementioned books, but which one should I order and read first? The Mindbody Prescription or The Divided Mind?
I suggest to start with The Mindbody Prescription or even Healing Back Pain. |
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MatthewNJ
USA
691 Posts |
Posted - 12/26/2013 : 11:30:04
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I agree with Dave on book selection. the divided mind was written with TMs practitioners in mind. the other two are more patient oriented
I would also suggest you check out the TMS text chat on Saturdays at 3:00 PM ET http://tmswiki.org/chat/
Matthew
Ferretsx3@comcast.net
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Less activated, more regulated and more resilient. |
Edited by - MatthewNJ on 12/26/2013 11:33:07 |
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Topic |
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Bulging Disc - TMS or not?
