Suggestions for pain while sleeping

My TMS relapse has been longer and more troubling than I ever expected. I thought just because I KNOW I have TMS, that I would be able to conquer it easily every time. However, this time has proven to be difficult because it has changed locations and is literally keeping me up at night. The pain that I previously suffered with for over a year was located in the lower left of my back and my left glute/hip area (like a piriformis pain). This TMS recurrence has settled into my right outer glute/hip, traveling down the leg into my calf. I've never had pain in my right side before and I KNOW it's TMS, but it doesn't seem to want to let up. The pain is entirely different too. It feels more like a nerve pain- like a grabby pinchy nerve pain. I have journaled my little heart out and I believe I know the reason the TMS came back, but still no relief.
Which brings me to night time. My brain seems to have been programmed now to have pain while sleeping. And oh what pain it is. I have pain in my upper/outer leg, but the worst pain is a charley horse type pain in my calf. I try the best I can to sleep with it, but inevitably I toss and turn and wake up exhausted and emotional from not having a good night of sleep in weeks.
Any suggestions on how I can "reset" my brain when it comes to this night time pain. I so desperately need sleep, and I feel like each day that goes by, the TMS starts to win a little more by breaking me down into complete exhaustion.

 

Hi Kris,
I don't know that I have any answers, but your post made me think how I would feel in a similar situation. I think I would probably start becoming so afraid that I'm not going to sleep that I would have an even harder time sleeping. Sort of analogous to how fear fuels the pain cycle - fear of not sleeping makes it harder to sleep, which makes you more afraid you won't sleep, etc. One of the interesting things I've discovered is that if I pose myself questions before bed, I get answers from my unconscious mind while I sleep via my dreams. This has helped me a great deal in understanding my emotions - it's like a glimpse into the unconscious - and it helps me understand and move forward. So, I'm wondering whether it might work to use your conscious mind to welcome sleep, to welcome messages that could come up from your unconscious mind overnight, to welcome learning more about your unconscious and the messages that your brain might be sending overnight via your dreams? If this resonates with you at all, or you try it, let us know how it goes!

 

I am sorry to hear you are suffering.

While a part of the acceptance of TMS is to let go of much of the beliefs instilled by Western medicine, I would say you should visit a Dr and ask him to prescribe some sleeping tablets and pain killers to reduce the pain and aid with your sleep.

There is no harm in you taking this medicine and practicing TMS healing simulateneously, until you have the pain under control. You may also want to try and incorporate some healthy habits I.e mindfulness meditation or a body scan meditation before sleep and performing some visualisation and affirmations

 

Hi,
You could also try the body scan meditation for sleep from this site:

http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22

It certainly helps me fall and stay asleep. Hope it'll help you too.
Stay strong!

 

Thank you so much! To top it all off, I got back from a long weekend trip on Sunday, which was fun, but I also think I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to feel better for that trip, and thus perpetuating the pain cycle. I just came back to work this morning and found out I have to be on a plane later today for work! The planner in me is NOT happy about this. I had hoped to spend this week regrouping and working on ways to conquer this latest TMS flare-up. The good news is that, despite being sudden and disruptive, the trip is a short one and Steve O's book should be delivered to my house by the time I get home.
I'm going to try the body scan for sleep tonight in the hotel and I may take something mild to sleep, like a Tylenol PM or something.

 

Hi, Kris. Those like me who sometimes have trouble sleeping find help in an OTC pill like Tylenol PM. It's okay to get some help like that.
I just discovered a natural OTC sleep aid that works for me. It's called Sleep Aid, from Kirkland. I bought it from amazon.com. 192 tiny tablets for about $12. It's main ingredients are reportedly like the more expensive Unisom Sleep Tabs. Some take 1/2 pill a half hour before bedtime, others take 1 pill.
I've tried both ways and they both work for me. You might check it out by looking it up on amazon.com.

But be sure not to rely on a pill to heal any symptom. Believe 100 percent in TMS and take a pill if and when you really need it.

 

Well unfortunately, my pain has gotten worse over the past couple days. I'm not sure what's going on because I have zero doubt that it's TMS. I know there is nothing structurally wrong with me and I did nothing to "hurt" my body. I healed from TMS before, so I know I can get past it again, but my goodness is my brain giving me a run for my money. My pain is getting worse, not better, and it's such a SHARP pain in my glute and down my leg that I've never experienced before, so it's hard to just dismiss it and try to ignore it- especially when it's keeping me up at night. I've tried the body scan meditation before bed and it helps me to fall asleep, but I inevitably wake up in pain. Last night I took a sleeping pill, but I was awake for about an hour at 3 am in pain. Despite being up for an hour, I still slept the best I have in over a week, so I'm grateful for that. I'm journaling and talking with my husband about emotions I could be repressing and I feel like I've covered so much, but still no relief.
Any other suggestions? I think I'm just having a harder time with this relapse because it keeps getting worse and worse, which I truly did not expect. It's just so hard to get the fear and focus on pain out of my head because it's such a sharp pain- almost like a slow onset acute attack. I was just entirely unprepared for this.

 

Hi Kris, it's great that you are doing the work, but I am sorry you are suffering

I know this is easier said than done, but most TMS'ers have quite a compulsive behaviour and put far too much pressure on themselves to get better which ultimately increases pain.

Try and focuss on something you enjoy or all the things that you are grateful for. I know you feel desperate and want to feel better asap, but please be gentle, loving and compassionate to yourself. As you reduce stress, the pain will subside and you will be able explore and identify the conflict which is bringing you pain.

Wishing you all the best in your recovery, I know how difficult it is, but be rest assured you will recover. Stay focuseed, determined, gentle and know that deep within, you hold the medicine that will cure you.

God bless

 

Thank you Mike. What you wrote above is SO true of me. I believe my pain has increased as time goes on because my fear has increased and the pressure to hurry up and feel better has increased. I want to control the situation and TMS often feels beyond my control and leaves me feeling weak.
I decided today that I need to relax and be kinder to myself, while still being resolute that TMS will not beat me. I describe the desperate fight against TMS as struggling in quicksand. The harder I fight, the more I sink. So I need to try very hard to be still, love myself, and have faith that my unconscious mind will eventually stop creating pain in my body if I calmly tell it that I don't need this distraction.

 

Kris, How are you doing? I think trying too hard often creates what you were feeling when you wrote back in August. I can relate to that.
I hope you are sleeping and the pain is better and you can enjoy yourself, I was very touched by your story.

 

Hi Fabi! I am honestly not making much progress. My pain got a little better during sleeping, to the point where I don't feel like I need to get out of bed EVERY night, but I still wake up at least a couple nights a week due to pain. I take a couple ibuprofen and it seems to relax me enough to get back to sleep.
I've had a good deal of stress lately and I am currently traveling out of the country for work, and I'm working long hours and getting little sleep. It is definitely affecting my psyche and my pain. I am in touch with my stress and aware of how it is affecting me. I was hanging in there with moderate pain for the first couple days this week, while working in the office until very late at night. Yesterday, I had a stressful day and I was just fed up with not getting any breaks for "me time" and found myself feeling angry about being stuck there, instead of being able to explore the city with my husband (who came along with me on this trip). I finally got out of the office last night in time to have a proper meal with my husband and get to sleep at a reasonable time. Sure enough, I woke up twice in pain and had a very difficult time getting back to sleep both times, so I slept very restlessly and didn't get nearly the amount of sleep I was hoping for. I was aware that the pain could be from two things- my anger over the intense hours that have been required during this trip, and possibly a bit of self-sabotage, due to the fact that I finally had the potential to get a couple more hours of sleep.
I'm in the office now, and feeling pretty intense pain. I think when I get back home from this trip, it might be time to schedule an appointment with a therapist that I've gone to previously about anxiety issues. I haven't seen her since discovering TMS, so I'm hoping that she is a TMS believer. I'm just feeling very frustrated right now that I KNOW 100% that my pain is TMS, but I just can't shake it. Even when I am busy and not thinking about it, it is still there. The last time I beat TMS, I just kept telling myself that the pain is from oxygen deprivation and it isn't structural. I think because the pain subsided a bit, it was easier to keep strong. However, this time, the pain isn't subsiding, so it's hard to sit here and calmly tell myself that the pain is from oxygen deprivation, when even crossing my leg over the other sends a sharp shooting pain and feels like I am going to rip a muscle or something.
TMS has a grip on me, and for some reason, it doesn't want to let go. I'm having a hard time now feeling very beat up by it.

 

Kris, I am sorry to hear you are not doing ok. I think it is a good idea to go to a therapist, maybe if you can search for one who can help you deal with psychosomatic symptoms.
My therapist asked me : What would it take for your symptoms not to be there?
And I have no clear answer, but I do know I need to be reminded by myself in a gentle way that I need to stop worrying and expect the best with a carefree attitude. Of course, better said than done, but sometimes, sometimes it works for me.
I do understand how you become anxious about getting enough rest, so I journal about it, I write how angry I feel at myself for doing this to me, I try to feel this anger and just bear it. It has relieved me from pain, though my symptoms have changed to another part of my body, so TMS has a grip on me as well.
I wish you become better and if you do, write it down, the times you feel better, it is a powerful reminder and softens the conditioning.
Hoping you can enjoy yourself wherever you are.

 

Kris, it doesn't help to get to sleep if you'er angry that you can't fall asleep. That isn't world-beating smarts, but it may be something worth thinking about. Most things I've read about anger is, take some deep breaths and count to 10. Sleep Aid helps me, as does deep breathing and counting backwards from 100 to 1. It takes our mind off what is keeping us from falling asleep.

There are many good videos on Youtube to watch one or two of them before bedtime.

If I think about something too much and it keeps me awake, I tell myself I will think or worry about it in the morning, after I get up.