Correlated Structural Issues in Spine

Hi, I am at the beginning stages of the TMS lifestyle. I have read 2 of Dr. Sarno's books, and am at the beginning of Steven Ozanich's book The Great Pain Deception. I want desperately to be fully convinced and confident about the emotional causes of my pain. I've had low back pain issues for over 20 years. I had a L5-S1 fusion 3 years ago, and although it did help considerably, my chronic pain continued afterward.

However, I began experiencing a new, consistent and persistent pain about 5 months ago. When I'm asleep in bed at night, I wake up EVERY NIGHT at about 3am with a shooting pain from my low back out to my upper pelvic area. It is very painful and makes sleeping thereafter very difficult. Usually when I get out of bed in the morning it goes away quickly, although some days it morphs into pain in other areas of my back and give me trouble all day. So I had an MRI before becoming committed to the TMS approach. It shows a disc fissure, bone spurs, and a herniation in the exact area where my pain is, right side only. So the challenge I'm having now is that every morning when I have the pain, I automatically associate it with the structural issues. It's very tough for me to to abandon that knowledge that I have a physical issue where my pain is.

I realize that TMS uses structural issues to "hide" in, to make it seem more believable. But I guess I want to hear if others have had similar experiences, and how you dealt with it. I am also curious if a TMS Dr. or psychologist would help give me confidence that this is truly TMS despite the structural correlation.

Thank you for taking the time!
Drew

 

Hi Drew, and welcome.

You're definitely going to want to work one of our free programs - I recommend the SEP - the Structured Educational Program at tmswiki.org. It incorporates some of the readings and audios from the other program, which is Alan Gordon's Pain Recovery Program - if you like those, you can go on to do Alan's full program later.

To answer your specific request, many members have the same one: everyone needs assurance from an outside source that they have TMS, by finding someone who has their same set of symptoms. This is a function of 1) your inherent perfectionism (which you know is a prime TMS trait) and 2) a way for your brain to keep you right where you're at, stuck in fear, instead of moving forward.

I suggest that you start reading Success Stories where you will find people describing similar conditions along with what worked for them to stop the negative voices in their brains, and to start thinking psychologically rather than physically.

It takes a major brain shift!

~Jan

 

Thanks for the response and encouragement Jan! I will take your suggestions to heart.

-Drew

 

By the way, Drew, I like your term "the TMS lifestyle". The TMS mechanism is built in to our brains, but it goes haywire in those of us who are subject to perfectionism, goodism, and anxiety. Learning to accept and tame the symptoms, and to stop living in fear, are the goals, and when they become automatic, it becomes a lifestyle, indeed!

 

Hey Jan, you hit the nail on the head with fear. It is such a guiding factor. Also, earlier when you said everyone needs outside confirmation that they have TMS... this seems so telling about the TMS personality. At some point we gave up control to the world around us, doctors, other people, our pain, etc. It seems that TMS recovery is about taking the control back... control of our thoughts and emotions, and the way we react to others and our pain. I have decided that I don't want to be controlled by these things anymore, but they're habits now!! So the work is in front of me. Thanks for the insight.