Can't Commit Fully

[street]

Well i had a migraine yesterday. I get them every few years nothing to bad it knocks me out for the day with head pain and nausea. Anyway i had very little back pain while i had the migraine. Once the migraine had passed the back pain returned, are the two connected? Or was my brain only capable of concentrating on one pain?!

 

[miffybunny]

Your brain was diverted to the migraine. When that passed the tms started up again in the back. This is very typical.

 

[street]

Your brain was diverted to the migraine. When that passed the tms started up again in the back. This is very typical.

Would structural pain do that as well?

 

[miffybunny]

Would structural pain do that as well?

Yes sure. The brain cannot distinguish between real or imagined danger. Anything can cause preoccupation. It's up to us to use our conscious mind to see things accurately and respond accordingly.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Would structural pain do that as well?

All pain signals are generated by the brain. The way it evolved is that cells at the site of a real injury or illness send a danger message to the brain to please send back a sensation so that the human being will pay attention and take appropriate action.

However, in mindbody syndromes, the brain will generate pain and other unpleasant sensations without that request from a physical location - for reasons other than physical danger. One of those reasons is distraction from terrifying emotions. Another reason is simply to keep you worried about possible danger - so that you are constantly on the alert, thinking negatively, scanning the horizon, anxious about everything. Some of us have nervous systems that are addicted to this high state of alert.

Our brains were clearly designed to create pain and other sensations to keep us safe, but the mechanism can go haywire, and medical and psychological history is full of examples, but it feels like it has gone into overdrive in our incredibly complex and stressful modern world. Particularly at about the same time that Dr. Sarno started recognizing back pain symptoms that just didn't make sense from a structural point of view...

It's essential to keep this in mind as you do this work. The fact that the brain can do this on its own is a fact, most easily illustrated by the phenomenon of phantom limb pain, now widely accepted as a serious condition by the the medical and scientific community. It is 100% brain-based, not structural - since there is no limb in existence.

 

[miffybunny]

Would structural pain do that as well?

I think I may have misunderstood your question. If you are referring to your back pain as structural, then no that is not structural. The brain can be equally distracted by pain that is structural or psychogenic though. Hope that clarifies ! @JanAtheCPA answered it better and more in depth.

 

[street]

I think I may have misunderstood your question. If you are referring to our back pain as structural, then no that is not structural. The brain can be equally distracted by pain that is structural or psychogenic though. Hope that clarifies ! @JanAtheCPA answered it better and more in depth.

Thank you makes sense.

 

[Balsa11]

Here is my original post back in October 2018. https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/help-lower-back-pain.19604/ (Help - Lower back pain)

I am still suffering with lower back pain. Here is a message i sent dr. schubiner recently

I will take you back to the beginning. September 2017 i left my job on the evening as usual, i had developed an awful stomach that really had me worried. I had experienced similar once before in my teens (im now 40) and this resulted in testicular torsion. So you could see why i was worried/scared. I got no sleep that night due to pain so the next day i went to a walk in centre and was eventually told i had protastitis given cipro and sent on my way. I took cipro for 3 days (it was a ten day course). The pain left so stopped the drugs and went back to my life and didn't give it all a second thought work and life were very busy so it was easy to move on.

Looking back i believe this was stress and anxiety caused by my job at the time. 6 months later my left arm started to twitch 24/7 which was annoying and worrying. I nearly had a nervous breakdown over the worry of a nasty neuro disease. All tests came back normal, so after 4 months of this annoying twitch i started to put it to the back of my mind. Research of the drug cipro had me worried and wondering if this was the cause of the twitch?! It eventully stopped after 15 months.


Then the back pain came which for me a fit and athletic 40 year was something i had never experienced before. It is a constant in my lower back with sometimes sciatica down my leg on occasion which to this day (18 months and counting) has not resolved. All tests, mri’s etc show no damage. A perfect spine im told, no diagnosis has been given to me, doctors have no idea.

Doctors have no clue what is causing the pain and aching. It is always lower back sometimes in the middle or on the sides(pain changes from aches to sharp pains to feeling like muscle strains to feeling tight and stiff, it moves around my lower back alot but no where else. Also i have sore spots on my spine which come and go like the bone is bruised and the odd joint may join the party for a day or two.

It doesn't stop me doing anything or even sleeping (sleep very well no sign of pain when asleep). On a pain scale its a constant 4-5. I am very anxious and depressed over it.

I have returned to the gym and it hasn't made it better or worse. I believe in tms and see it all around me. But i have one foot in the tms camp and one in damage by the cipro camp. I have read some nasty side effects of this drug and i am scared it has caused permanent damage to my back in the way of nerves or ligaments/tendons for some reason. I know its impossible to say but could it be tms? I have some of the personality traits, perfectionist, dont take criticism well and worry that i may have offended someone. I am obsessed over the pain and finding a cure its all i think about.

I am lost in the medical system with no clue as what is wrong with me. I have read sarno etc and totally buy into it but maybe not for me? I cant seem to commit.

The doc's reply

This is TMS!
The whole worry about cipro causing all symptoms under the sun, years later, after a few doses is way overblown!
Get both feet into the TMS camp and you'll get better!!
Best, Howard

I know i need to convince myself and not rely on others, but because the pain has been every minute of every day for 18 months i doubt TMS. I go back and forth.

Any advice would be helpful, i think i have read most tms books on the market. journaling doesn't seem to work for me.

Definitely TMS

 

[street]

Hi all, just a quick update. I am still in pain, it may be slightly better in my back but has been worse in my pelvic region recently. i have come to a realisation that this may be it for me and learning to cope with the pain is my best way of moving forward.
You see i am stuck in a loop for over 4 years believing tms and then doubting it. A member on here has been so helpful to me listening to my rants!
I have moments(2-3 hours) of no pain and they are bliss but are they because i took a tramadol that day who knows. Yes i did finally after 3.5 years ask for some pain relief and it helps sometimes other times it just helped my mood which then just helps you cope better. (Opiods is not the answer).
I am a massive believer in TMS and i still i hope i will get better one day whatever is wrong with me. Having spoke with an expert in the toxicity of this drug he told me i have it! But who knows there is no test and was diagnosed over the phone due to covid.

anyway sorry i just wanted to update this post as who knows it may help someone one day.

i came addicted to browsing this forum and that is not helpful so i shall try and not revisit too often in future . Happy healing to all.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

I don't see any indication that you ever actually made a commitment to do the emotional work, got through a program, or accepted the recommendation of therapy. Your fearful brain has you right where it wants you to be. After all the advice, and the successes and proof of TMS that you experienced, it's sad.

 

[street]

I don't see any indication that you ever actually made a commitment to do the emotional work, got through a program, or accepted the recommendation of therapy. Your fearful brain has you right where it wants you to be. After all the advice, and the successes and proof of TMS that you experienced, it's sad.

I hear you Jan, i have really worked on this too much i feel. Not given up but i think i need to take it up a level and get some help as doing this on my own isn’t working. I will keep you updated and lets hope i get my success story real soon. Thank you for telling me how it is!