Advice on seeing my GP

Hi everyone,

I have been having some good success from doing the Recovery Program and feel that some of my symptoms have been reducing and when things have been bad I have benefitted form saying to myself, 'this is my day and I am going to enjoy it and I am not going to spend it preoccupied with my symptoms or with my mind scaring myself'. On and off though I have been getting very tired and feel out of breath and also irritable and a bit dizzy if I stand up after being on my knees doing something.

I am in a dilemma as to what to do. I am so fed up of these feelings especially as I am an active person (45 year old man) and currently renovating a house. Today I hardly managed anything and after lugging a few loads of rubbish downstairs a couple of times I felt weak and out of breath. This triggered the start of a panic attack (I have a fear of not being able to breathe after nearly drowning when I was little) which I managed to get under control but it has made me feel so down I wanted to cry. I felt like the fear ruled my life today. I have had health anxiety in the past and today I ended up consulting 'Dr Google' which only made me feel worse and so I started to panic again and had to come home.

I am seeing my GP tomorrow about something unrelated and don't know whether to mention all this or am I just feeding my anxiety like I have done in the past and giving strength to my unconscious mind which is trying to scare me and consume my thoughts with symptoms and fear? I know anxiety can really affect the way your body feels and perceives sensations so perhaps all of this is in my mind.

 

Hi, Jamo. You're still a young man (I'm 86) and it's important to stay active. Just take breaks when you feel you are doing too much. I suggest you talk to your GP about TMS and the Recovery Program. See if he knows about TMS and believes in it. But try not to consult "Dr. Google." That can mislead you into believing you have health problems you don't really have. If you need help in dealing with anxiety and panic, this web site has a lot of good help, and you can find videos on Youtube in how to deal with panic attacks. You're absolutely right... all of this is in your head.

 

Hi Walt,

I really appreciate the reply and the link, thank you. I get the impression that here in the UK TMS isn't widely known and although we have a fantastic health service who will look after you they are still under pressure from budgets and time and so tablets and medicines are the easiest option for them. There is one good side to our doctors though, often if you go in with some ailment or other the GP will say come back in 2 weeks if it is no better. For a lot of things it does get better maybe because the mind moves on to another part of the body or because the stress diminishes for a while.

I didn't mention about my weakness and breathlessness to the GP for fear of getting into the whole health anxiety thing again and guess what, it went away of its own accord and I started getting acid reflux again. I think because I wasn't worrying about it my mind needed a new focus and acid reflux has always been a really big distraction for me. The way the symptoms move around and come and go is really confirming to me that all of this is in my head. My mind can run amok sometimes and after finding out on Google that I could possibly have thyroid disease, lung cancer, TB, heart disease, etc all I did was stoke the fire of anxiety even more so I won't be doing that again I hope.

I have just bought 'The Great Pain Deception' which is a fantastic book. It has been so reassuring to read some of the symptoms that Steven had which I have also had like the scintillating scotoma and the tinnitus and various other things. I started the recovery programme but have had a week's break due to other commitments but hope to start again tomorrow.

Thanks again, you always have some wise words and 'live in the present moment and make it a happy moment' has helped me through on a number of occasions recently.

 

Hi, Jamo. I appreciate your thanks. You have a real good handle on TMS and are making fine progress. Good luck with your GP.

 

United Kingdom

Practitioner Liz DydeLiz Dyde, BACP (Therapist)
Lifeways Complementary Health Centre

Available via Phone
30 Albany Road
Stratford upon Avon
Warwickshire
CV37 6PG
Tel: 01789 295890
liz@lizdyde.com
Survey Response / Website / Profile Page




Practitioner Louise LevyLouise Levy (Therapist)
Louise has a Master's degree in Guidance Counseling and diplomas in both Clinical Advanced Hypnotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Hypno-Psychotherapy (Hypno-CBT). Louise was one of the first practitioners to go through the SIRPA Practitioner Training Programme with Georgie Oldfield, MCSP, and became an Advanced Specialist of Chronic Pain in 2011. She says, “Working as a therapist means I am consulted on a range of conditions affecting the mind and the body. I am particularly passionate about supporting people with TMS and chronic pain as I myself suffered from severe TMS back pain for 12 years.” Louise offers both face to face and telephone consultations.

Available via Phone
Lily House
11/12 The Shrubberies
George Lane
South Woodford
London E18 1BD
Tel: 020 8530 8888
Tel: 07984 011429
Fax: 020 8530 5566
info@louiselevy.co.uk
TMS Wiki Profile / Survey Response / Website / Lily House Website
Main Wiki Page About Louise Levy
Insurance Accepted: NHS Complementary Health Registered Therapist (Funding through PCT)



Toireasa McCann, CABP (Therapist)
Integrative Body Psychotherapist
Clinics in London SW2 and NW6
07789 267171
voxnova1@yahoo.co.uk



Practitioner Georgie OldfieldGeorgina Oldfield, MCSP (Physiotherapist)
Georgie Oldfield is a physiotherapist based in the UK. She is the founder of SIRPA (The Stress Illness Recovery Practitioners Association), an organization dedicated to educating and training practitioners and other professionals in TMS treatment. Georgie is the organizer of SIRPA's inaugural conference, “Chronic Pain: to suppress, manage, or cure?”.

Georgie is the author of the 2014 TMS book Chronic Pain: Your Key to Recovery, which includes information about TMS as well as worksheets and exercises and stories from people who successfully overcame their TMS. She has also developed an online recovery program as well as a recovery CD, and runs monthly clinics in London.

In her survey response, Georgie writes:

“Despite being a Physiotherapist, Dr Sarno's concept and approach was not a surprise to me. For many years prior to coming across this work in 2007 I had been looking for the answer to the many inconsistencies I had been observing with my own patients. I had also already begun to realise that pain often did not appear to be related to the structural problems patients had been diagnosed with. Coming across TMS was an epiphany moment for me and has completely changed my whole understanding and therefore how I work. Having seen the remarkable and often life changing recoveries in my own patients, I am passionate about working with people with TMS/PPD and 100% of my time over the past few years has been developing this work and raising the profile in the UK.
“Since developing SIRPA I continue to work in a clinical role working with people who suffer from TMS/PPD. Although based in Yorkshire I also run regular assessment clinics in London and Bristol. Through SIRPA I also run training courses for other regulated Health Professionals in order to help them integrate this approach into their own work. Our aim is to raise the profile of this work by increasing the awareness of stress illness to the public and Practitioners as well as the Medical world.”
(Source)
A physiotherapist is very similar to a doctor, in that they can make diagnoses and order medical tests. A physiotherapist in the UK is very similar to a Physical Therapist in the United States.

Available via Phone and Skype
19 Longley Lane
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK
01484 452500
Survey Response / Website / Q&A Answers / Forum Profile / DVD and CD
Main Wiki Page About Georgie Oldfield
Miracles of Mindbody Medicine article
Why You Need to Stop Trying so Hard to Get Better
Insurance Accepted: Any plan that covers Physiotherapy costs, except BUPA.


Testimonials

Lettuce Dance said, "I eventually went to see Georgie Oldfield in Huddersfield in Yorkshire. It was a bit of a slog getting there, but it was well worth it. (Even filling out the pre-appointment assessment on my family, background and past illnesses was very revealing.)

I visited her in February, and felt an immediate improvement. For me, the fact that she comes from a physiotherapy background, and thoroughly understands the mechanics of one's body, was very helpful.

I chose to do her programme, which I followed in a fairly informal fashion, as I was bogged down with a big work project at the time. The programme included a series of follow-up appointments, which we did via Skype: these were really good. She went to great lengths to help me. I found her sympathetic and professional."



Practitioner Jane ParkinsonJane Parkinson, UKCP (Therapist)
Jane Parkinson is a registered psychoanalytic psychotherapist in the United Kingdom. She trained at the Bowlby Centre and has over twenty years of clinical experience, 7 of those years has involved patients with TMS. In October of 2012, she attended the PPDA Conference: When Stress Causes Pain, where she developed relationships with other TMS practitioners. Parkinson uses an Attachment-based form of psychotherapy that has at its core an understanding of the importance of relationships to human growth and development throughout life. In addition, she works with TMS physician Nick Straiton, and does conduct therapy sessions using Skype.(Source)

Available via Phone and Skype
Brighton, United Kingdom, BN1 3RR
Tel: 01273 739281
Website / Survey Response
Insurance Accepted: Bupa


Additional UK Practitioner
Rachel Stevens


Nicholas Straiton, MBBS (Physician)
Dr. Straiton is an English doctor based in Brighton. He writes: “I am a medical practitioner and registered osteopath who works in the NHS but also has a private practice where I treat patients suffering from musculo-skeletal disorders. For the last ten years I have been working in the NHS for the Back Pain Service at the local hospital. I have always been interested in psychosomatic medicine and a few years ago a psychotherapist colleague introduced me to Dr Sarno's books. His description of the frustration of working in a hospital environment where high tech investigations and treatment strategies fail to alleviate many people suffering from back pain mirrored exactly my own experience . I became fascinated by his approach and eventually went out to New York to sit in at his clinics at the Rusk institute in order to learn first hand the process that he uses to diagnose and treat patients with TMS. This experience was truly valuable and enriching to the degree that I would say that my practice has changed significantly since that time. I believe that many, but not all, of patients suffering with chronic back pain are manifesting emotional distress through a physical symptom and for any long lasting relief to be achieved the factors relevant to this distress need to be recognised and addressed.” (Source)

Dr. Straiton also works at the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine. This is an NHS hospital, which means that patients can be referred him for TMS treatment at the hospital without having to pay.

Available via Phone
1, Glover's Yard, 121, Havelock Road
Brighton, East Sussex BN1 6GN
01273 540303
Survey Response / Website
Insurance Accepted: Most major providers


Additional UK Practitioner
Honora Totman

 

Thank you Tom for the list of UK practitioners. I hadn't noticed the link on the TMS Wiki home page before.