MellieV

About 10 years ago, after I left my job in finance to be a stay at home mom to my youngest who is autistic, I got really sick with a flu like virus. After I started to feel better from that, I had excruciating pain in my back & leg joints. I don't remember too many details, other than the fact that I was in pain for close to a year before my symptoms subsided. After that, I always had lingering "flare-ups" that bothered me from time to time.
Fast forward to this past summer (2015), the pains were coming back with a vengeance. I was finding it hard to walk long distances, stand, etc. I also began having severe anxiety which led to full blown panic attacks. I basically became a shut in, only leaving the house if I absolutely had to. In September, after many nights of waking up in a panic, I woke up with pins and needles in both of my feet that wouldn't go away. I could barely walk for more than 5 minutes because of lower back and leg pain. My knees ached so bad, I thought I would never have a normal life again.
Over the next few months of fall 2015, I saw EVERY doctor - foot, orthopedic knee & back, went on pain killers, did 6 weeks of physical therapy, had X-rays, MRI's and physicals. I got the common diagnosis - Herniated L4 & L5 disks, thinning of these disks, acute spinal stenosis, and meniscus damage, etc. All of the normal aging diagnosis' Dr. Sarno lists for a normal active adult.
Pain management became my last hope. I had two spinal steroid epidural injections. After those, I declared enough was enough. Literally, while laying in bed recovering from my spinal procedure, I found Dr. Sarno's lecture on YouTube. I saw myself on every single slide of his presentation. I ordered every one of his books that very day and started this journey. That was in the beginning of January 2016.