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lobstershack
Australia
250 Posts |
 Posted - 05/05/2005 : 21:56:00
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Hey!
Just wanted to give everyone a quick update and some advice to boot...
I believe I mentioned a couple threads back the books which AnneG recommended to me: Rick Carson's Taming the Gremlin; Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living; and Claire Weekes' Peace from Nervous Suffering.
I must say after reading them all, with the exception of maybe 1/3 of FCL, I must say that the information they provide has been invaluable to me!
They have taught me so much about being in the moment and not inside my head, breathing techniques, meditation, and just all-around general coping techniques.
I especially liked Weekes' book. One of the best self-help I have ever read.
Lately, I have been calmer, less stressed, and I have not been worrying or fearing my symptoms. A big old TMS symptom for me used to be chronic stomach aches. Well interesting enough, the past two or three day I have gotten a stomach ache (of the same variety) at around 11am each day. This is without fail TMS. Also some pain on the top of my foot (also TMS, I know). I'm taking this as a good sign, but not over analyzing.
I have really gotten my obsessions about my skin under control, stopped all the products I was using, and guess what? It's cleared up tremendously.
Lastly, remember I was fretting about the medications I was on? Well the Lexapro, of which I am currently on a higher than normal dose (50mg, the max I believe is 20).
I spoke to my psychiatrist and he said a study came out on Lexapro demonstrating that anything above 20 did not prove any more effective. So with his permisssion
I am SLOWLY tapering down (5mg every two weeks or so) to (I think) 20mg. While I know the meds are not responsible for my symtpoms, I'm still excited that I finally mustered up the courage to do this!
I'm graduating in less than two weeks! Yay! And learning to live in the present could not have come at a better time. I'm not worrying about future plans, etc. for the most part! Just breathing...
And even though my symptoms (refresher: my main symptom is a chronic headache in the temples) have not gone away, I am beginning not to pay it as much attention, even sometimes forgetting about it for a moment in time. But I'm taking the imporvements I described as better than nothing...
Take care and feel well.
Seth |
Edited by - lobstershack on 05/05/2005 22:17:56 |
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Fredarm57
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2005 : 07:29:05
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Congratulations Seth! Sounds like you're on the right track. Graduation can be a scary time, but remember that you don't have to have your life all figured out when you graduate. It took me a long time to realize that life is a journey, not a destination. I've got my 25th college reunion in a couple of weeks (yikes!) and I'm still working on the journey.
Fred |
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lobstershack
Australia
250 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2005 : 15:53:42
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So basically those daily 11am-ish stomach aches have sort of turned into a constant low-grade stomach painish. I used to have these years back. I'm screaming at my brain that it is TMS; and when I find myself paying undue attention to it I acknowledge it, remind myself what the cause is, and often try ad think of something that is bothering me.
The temptation is there, I'm just trying not to take the bait.
Seth |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2005 : 18:51:34
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Seth,
Thanks for that post. I went ahead and ordered "peace from nervous suffering." I almost died a year ago due to intense panic.The experience shattered me, body, mind, and spirit. I'm a strong individual,which most of us are of course,and slowly I've been putting the pieces back together. But I fear I'll never be the same. I've got a whole host of physical problems, every single one of them stress related. Since I know stress and anxiety are the very worst things for me, I get stressed over stress. Stupid I know, but it creates a self-sustaining vicious cycle that is incredibly diffcult to break. Slowly I'm learning that I can't "think" my way out of this...For every good and positive thought there's an equal and opposite negative thought, and I'm just constitutionally unable to to entertain one without the other cropping up it seems..My current strategy, stop all thought to the extent possible and just breathe...It's saving my life... |
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lobstershack
Australia
250 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2005 : 21:25:04
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So as I'm cooling off from my run this afternoon, my stomach started to ache again. No biggie, just TMS. I spoke to my brain for a bit and tried to think of something that could be bothering me, but then got to thinking...
You see, last week I made a smoothie two days in a row with Acai pulp that I got at my local health food store (incredible stuff, perhaps one of the most nutritious fruits) and both days developed a stomachache afterwards.
Today, since my tummy alread hurt, I figured that I need to get over my fear of drinking this smoothie because it was most likely coincidental that my stomach bothered me afterwards.
So I drank it and my stomach did not get worse, in fact it got a little better for a while (although it's been fluctuating between mild and moderately-mild all day). In my mind this had to be TMS especially because this used to be a chronic symptom for me.
And while I do occaisionally suffer from a stomachache now and then, it appears to be happening much more frequently the past week or two. A good sign perhaps? (although one that I will not dwell on)
In the past I would have been taking all sorts of remedies by now (ginger, soothing teas, etc.) but this time I'm obstaining.
It's just that although I am doing my best to ignore it and get on with my day, oftentimes I cannot help but "feel it." When this happens I try and think psychologically, yet it seems to happen quite a lot throughout the day. This has me worried in the sense that if I catch myself "feeling it" too often then I am working against myself.
Anyway, wish me luck...
Seth |
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Hi Folks
