Sharing - Little victories...got it on the run (and spontaneous weight loss?)

My back was slowly getting better after a strong resurgence following an attempt to 'play' (shoot-around, really) basketball two weeks ago for the first time in 12 years.

Then on Thursday, I get a text that my teenage daughter (whom I've been estranged from for almost 2 years) wants to see me and talk on Sunday. BAM - back flares up again. Ok, makes sense. Every morning after that, no matter how or where I sleep, it just aches all night long...I wake up so stiff and so much worse than the night before.

Sunday morning I decide to try something I really hadn't done yet - centering myself with deep breathing. I sat on my porch, put on an Alpha Stim unit (stimulates alpha waves in the brain) and deliberately focused on deep breathing while finishing SteveO's book. I did that for about 4 hours. My back pain lessened significantly and I entered the meeting extremely centered and relaxed and it went excellently. By the end of the meeting I had minimal discomfort.

Then there was some significant conflict with another family member later the same evening and, of course, my back pain returned. Ok - makes sense.

I woke up this morning....ugh... no better.

Now, here's an interesting bit. I get on the scale as I do every morning...and I've lost 4lbs. This is very unusual. I've been between 199 and 204 all year and had been 199 for the past couple weeks or so. I typically don't fluctuate like that unless I'm sick. I didn't eat or drink any differently yesterday than usual. The only significant behavioral change was the intense deep breathing for 4 hours. Is that possible? Maybe... very, very interesting.

So, I continue the deep breathing today heading into work and while at work. The pain lessens. I head to the gym during lunch. Today is legs....ugh. I think to myself as I'm walking into the gym...'Ok, no way I'm trying squats and deadlifts with the way I'm feeling. I'll substitute with the leg press and leg curl machines today.' Then I stop. I'm accommodating the pain. Let's not do that. Let's try what I really want to do and see what happens...what's the worst that can happen? "Just Do It!", right SteveO? Ok - let's do it your way.

Nothing happened. Minimal pain using the most amount of weight I've used since I got back in the gym this year. There's no way it should have felt that fine given how my back has been feeling otherwise. It should have hurt like the devil - if the pain was due to anything structural that is. But it's obviously not. I was fine. I'll do more next time.

Oh - and then on my way out of the gym, I feel this little pain in my groin muscle. HA!! It's on the run. Check and mate.

 

Congratulations! You've got your TMS on the run! Keep at it and be patient and persistent, and recovery is in your future.

Thanks for sharing your story and welcome to the Forum.