Could my husband have TMS?

[tpatel2226]

A little background:

My husband had two herniated discs. He got a spinal fusion about 10 months ago and recovery has been very tough. He's now worse than before the surgery. His pain level has gone up. We had a MRI done just this month that shows the fusion looks great and no evidence of disk problems. Dr's cant figure out his pain nor care to help anymore. We've tried everything injections, pills, acunputure. He walks with a cane currently ( he's on 37!) only because he says he's even more pain without the cane. He also gets these weekly flare ups which he is so scared of since pain level goes even higher. He's been saying he's just given up now and accepts that this is his life now and how he ruined both our lives with this surgery. I really think he has TMS. His fear and stress is causing this muscles in his back I think to not heal probably.

I came across Dr. Sarno few days across. I ordered his book after reading the glorious reviews on Amazon. (Should be here today!) I had him read some reviews and watch some youtube videos to show him Dr. Sarno's theory. Yesterday I made him do everything without the cane and he did. He said he still feels the pain but overall he felt better and is trying to stay positive. I am trying to teach him to think his back is strong and is healed its his mind thats causing the pain. I see him trying to believe that but I dont think he's fully convinced yet. I am hoping after he reads the book he will absorb the info better. I am grateful for this board and wondering if this sounds like a case of TMS. We are an young active couple and just looking to get our life back.

Thanks for your help!

 

[IrishSceptic]

''His pain level has gone up. We had a MRI done just this month that shows the fusion looks great and no evidence of disk problems. Dr's cant figure out his pain nor care to help anymore''

My advice is to show him Dr David Hanscoms videos...he is a spinal surgeon and can explain better than anyone..or show him Dr Sarnos work. David's work is inspired by Sarno so its more or less the same. good luck

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Yesterday I made him do everything without the cane and he did. He said he still feels the pain but overall he felt better and is trying to stay positive.

This is a great start!

TP, that's great advice from Irish - Dr. Hanscom is awesome, and he is a highly-regarded back surgeon at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. A back surgeon who is really happy every time a patient goes through his "Back In Control" program and decides not to have surgery! And I know that he sees plenty of people who've previously had surgeries that did not resolve their pain.

What I hear is that your husband is beating himself up for having the surgery. But believe me, he is not alone. We hear this ALL the time. As any practitioner or patient of mind-body medicine knows, the traditional western model of medicine is all about "them" fixing "us", and that attitude is a deeply ingrained one in our society. 30+ years of that conditioning is not easy to overcome in an instant. But it can be done.

You are absolutely right when you say that you think your husband can heal himself with a different outlook. This forum is a great place to learn about a TON of different ways for him to achieve that new outlook - and to gain hope. Hope is a very powerful healer on its own. So are self-acceptance and love - the first step toward which is forgiving oneself. Your husband must first and foremost forgive himself, so that he knows in his heart that he deserves to heal.

All of this requires a pretty radical mind-shift, and it's not necessarily easy to keep that up, given our strong conditioning. There will be successes, often followed by setbacks, and then more work to stay on track. We recommend, after reading Dr. Sarno, that people starting doing the free Structured Educational Program on the TMS Wiki, and that they participate on this forum to receive feedback and support, and to start supporting others. The mechanism of what Dr. Sarno calls TMS is actually part of the human psyche, which means we're all in this together!

So welcome to the forum, thank you for posting, and we'll look forward to welcoming your husband when he's ready! Not that we'll know who he is, unless he feels like telling us :^) (He's free to choose an anonymous screen name).

~Jan

PS: here's the profile page for Dr. Hanscom's "Back In Control" blog - just click on the Postings tab to find all of his articles.

 

[tpatel2226]

Thank you so much for the advice and encouraging words. I know we are in the right place with the right people around us!

 

[Scott.Cameron]

Well done for findng your way here! A few things that I would say are.

Although my condition does not sound as bad as your husband I am sure that if I had not found TMS I too would be virtually crippled in 10 years time. (I'm 29 now) had chronic back pain last 10 years.

-Research research research.
Read Sarnos books, but don't just take his word, look at the other doctors who advocate this, then make your own mind up.

If you look into what these medical terms like sciatica, herniated or tendinitis actually mean you will see that they are mearly descriptions of conditions. Not threatening diseases or the like.

-Try and get your husband to pay attention to when the onset of severe pain starts and find any clues that show that the pain is not due to physical activity

For me, in my head, the worst thing I could possibly do was open my garage door. After reading Sarno I noticed my back started to hurt more as I made the approach, It started hurting more before I even touched the door!! Obvious sign to me that my pain was psychologically enduced. I built a rack in my garage and had to open that door a dozen times that day. Guess what, my back was no worse.

One particular quote from Sarno I liked was

"The human back has been fine for the last 200,000 years, and your telling me it suddenly decides to give up in the last 40 years?"

I think of women in 3rd world countries walking 20miles a day with 2 kids strapped to them and 20kilos on their head and think well how come they don't complain of back ache!

I've come to realise how easily the mind picks a symptom that it knows you will accept. And how easily the mind is conditioned to accept these illness' by seeing advertising and medical literature.

For example. I once read a leaflet about back pain in a hospital, it stated that "people do get back pain" also " there is no cure for back pain" but we can do stuff to help your symptoms. I strongly believe reading this stuff contributed to my condition getting worse.

I am still at the very beginning of my new "prescription" but I am 100% sure that my body is fine now and TMS IS REAL. my symptoms have become less frequent and less severe already! (2 weeks now)

Good luck to you and your husband.

 

[tpatel2226]

Thank you Scott! I read him your story. He is saying the last two days he feels 10% better. I think we are on the right track!

 

[Scott.Cameron]

Well that's good. Make sure he reads Sarnos healing back pain, the most important thing is to believe and prove yourself that there is no structural defect causing your pain despite what doctors or Mri scans have shown. TMS will take any doubt you have, and believe me it knows if you have doubt and it will play on it. When I managed to turn my pain off temporarily with a thought it was like a miracle this moment proved to me beyond any doubt my pains cause was psychological. Although I am not 100% cured yet I feel well on my way and I'm understanding it's nature more everyday and I am liberated by knowledge that I can now stop worrying about work and activities.