AllianceMike

I am a soon to be 53 year old male with a myriad of physical/emotional symptoms that have been present for quite some time and I am wondering if it could be tms or something physical that the doctor's have missed.

My symptoms started years ago, but have progressively gotten much more severe. Physically, my body trembles/shakes 24/7. My head never feels right (hard to explain the feeling....always feels full and lightheaded). I break into clammy sweats. I have digestive issues and am always very tender/sore in my muscles from mid-chest/back up.

I have had several tests performed including upper gi endoscopy, colonoscopy, abdominal ultrasound, complete thyroid workup along with other blood work, ekg, a sleep study etc. I do have mild sleep apnea, Barret’s Esophagus and a fatty liver. Other than that, the tests have come back normal.

Emotionally, I am on that “Fight or Flight” edge every second of the day. I’m always anxious, nervous, scared that I’m dying, etc. I feel down a lot of the time and detached from the world.

With all of the physical symptoms that I experience daily, it’s very hard to not believe there is something horribly wrong physically.

Any advice/guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated as I am at the end of my rope.

 

If your docs have eliminated something serious, you have little to lose by trying the TMS approach. The brain is powerful and tricky; it can create any symptom it can chooses.

Of course, not everything is TMS. I know some people associate the cognitive symptoms you describe ( I call it "brain fog") with gluten intolerance.

 

I thought I had read many times on here that gluten intolerance/sensitivity is just another form of TMS

Thinking that my dizziness might be a food intolerance really gets me stressed and doubting my current path trying to calm down the fearful thoughts I have

I wish I hadn't read that!

 

Don't worry. Your reaction to this is just more evidence of TMS. Remember that TMS is the mind's reaction or preoccupation with symptoms. There is nothing wrong with your body. It is the mind you need to soothe.

Many people spend a lot of time fretting about food. The truth is the Enteric Nervous Ststem is a classic place for TMS to manifest.

Have a look at this post:

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/ibs-gastritis-sibo-and-other-digestive-issues.17966/#post-95372 (IBS, Gastritis, Sibo and other digestive issues)

By all means find a way of eating that suits you but try to recognise when you are tms'ing and letting your mind run away with you. If you eat a certain way out of fear, then it is nothing more than fear grabbing you by the short hairs again. Without fear there can be no TMS.

 

Just had to remind myself that when I first read about gluten intolerance there were lots of people talking about headaches and dizziness, I had both so it was relevant.
Since doing TMS work, headaches are pretty much gone, and dizziness remains.

That tells me this - SOMETHING IS CHANGING because I am treating this as TMS/stress/tension etc. I have not changed my diet at all.

My brain nearly had me then!!! It loves to look for any possible reason doesn't it?!

 

Yes, it really does. This is a quite an interesting phase of healing whereby you get to liberate yourself by challenging assumptions and beliefs that would have previously given TMS the upper hand. More signs of progress...

(Don't be surprised if something like this crops up again. This is why I call TMS a slippery little fish, it tends to flip-flap around once you get it on dry land).

 

I do believe this could be my 'extinction burst' period.

Earlier this week I had the utmost belief in TMS, more than ever and BAM the symptoms are just getting worse.

There is no other rational explanation for this, than TMS giving me it's worst.

I have fallen into the trap of being afraid a few times, including this morning. But I'm not giving up.

 

Good on you. Hold your course. Be sure to engage any and all self-care and self-soothing remedies that help you feel good and relaxed about your life. It is these self-soothers that will render TMS ultimately redundant. It is only trying to protect you and once you learn to deeply care for yourself (in a very real way, TMS teaches us to reparent ourselves), it will chivilrously step aside. It's really quite beautiful to observe from a distance.

Any change in pain frequency, intensity, patterning or habit is a clear sign you are breaking the cycle. Try to be as relaxed as you can about it. Some people sail quickly through this, others (like myself) take longer. The key is to be ok with whatever happens because you are re-orienting to a new way of being. TMS is annoyingly brilliant at nudging you when you slip. With time you'll develop a more friendly relationship with it but for now stay true and let those fears wash over you. Calmer waters await.