Could these be TMS symptoms? (sorry for the long list)

Hello Everyone,

My question is in regards to some chronic symptoms I've been having for the last 5 years. I've seen many doctors as well as alternative/holistic doctors and been "diagnosed" with a number of different ailments. I had severe back pain in college and was able to cure it through reading "Healing Back Pain" and "The Mindbody Prescription". I even had surgery before I read Sarno's work and that only provided temporary pain relief. I did not experience total cessation of pain until I read his books and accepted the TMS diagnosis.

My question is if all these other current, chronic health issues could also be TMS (symptom imperative)? I've had absolutely no success with a variety of different treatments so I suspect they could be TMS. However, I don't see many people who have experienced these symptoms on the forums. It's mostly people who are experiencing back, elbow, shoulder, knee pain, etc. My main concern that if these symptoms are indeed TMS, they seem very extreme compared to my back pain. It just seems unlikely to me that the brain would choose to cause all of these other symptoms rather than just create pain in another part of my body (knee, elbow, shoulder, etc.) I'm just so frustrated that nobody can tell me what is wrong with me and nothing has helped. I'm feeling pretty hopeless because overcoming these symptoms seems unlikely. I guess I don't see how this could be TMS. Below is a list of conditions/symptoms I have experienced and am currently experiencing.

Symptoms I have experienced since I was diagnosed with Crohns in 2004 (no longer experiencing):

Have had Crohn’s disease since 2004. Complications include:

• Anal Fissure
• Anal Fistula

Rosacea was very bad for 2 – 3 years. It has since cleared up. I did not take any medicine for this.

I have experienced arthritis in my joints as well as swelling in both of my knees. My knees would swell up with fluid and need to be drained. It's been over 7 years since I experienced these types of symptoms.

Erythema nodosum on lower part of legs. This was attributed to Crohns.

Pyoderma gangrenosum on forearms (have scars).This was attributed to Crohns.

Symptoms I have been experiencing the past 3 – 5 years that are getting progressively worse (believe they could be symptoms of TMS but not sure which are/aren't):

- Brain fog / Neurological symptoms

• Short term memory is very bad
• Very hard to focus and concentrate on my work. Need to re-read sentences many times to understand them.
• Have noticed a slight difficulty in speaking. Sometimes I mix up my words or struggle with what word to say. I used to have a very strong vocabulary.

- Chronic Fatigue - I'm wiped by the end of the day. I have a desk job.

- Can’t recover from workouts or build muscle (if I have enough energy to work out). I get extremely sore after workouts. Sometimes I become feverish/have the chills the day after a workout. These are short workouts focused on strength training (squat, deadlift, bench, etc.).

- Insomnia – I can fall asleep but my sleep is very restless. I never feel fully rested and getting up in the morning is extremely difficult. I feel like a zombie (not sure if this is what causes the brain fog).

- Very low body temperature / Feeling cold – especially hands, feet, tip of nose.

- Tingling in my hands. Feels like little prickles wrapping my entire hand like a glove.

- Anhedonia – No pleasure, excitement, passion, motivation, vitality, romance, happiness, sadness, compassion. These are feelings I used to experience all the time and in a very profound way. Now, my feelings are very muted but I don’t feel sad or depressed. I feel nothing. This is my most frustrating symptom. It's as if I don't know how to feel anything anymore. I feel like a robot. Could this be some type of repression? How do I start to feel anything again?

- Have been anemic/iron deficient for years. Iron infusions don’t help to improve my symptoms. Iron levels/ferritin is brought to optimal levels but falls back down to below the bottom of the range in 6 - 8 months.

- Hypothyroid symptoms – Have had thyroid checked but blood tests show normal thyroid function.

- Low libido.

- Left ear sometimes feels like there is pressure/water in it.

- Mild restless leg syndrome at night

Treatments I’ve tried without any relief in symptoms:

- Adrenal fatigue/hypothyroid (dessicated thyroid, pregnenolone, dhea,).

- Low T therapy – Clomid brought my Testosterone back to normal (from 200 to 800) but I felt no change in libido, motivation or energy.

- Change to a whole food diet and experimented with supplementing every vitamin, mineral, herb, probiotic, etc.

- Suspecting mercury poisoning, I have had my mercury fillings removed and done 7 months of chelation but have experienced no relief in symptoms.

- Fungal/Mold/Yeast protocol given to me by a naturopathic doctor. I was taking probiotics and anti-fungal herbs. Did this for a few months and did not notice any difference in symptoms.

 

I personally believe it can all be TMS, but I am far from qualified. I would see a real medical doctor to talk about your iron deficiency, because many other issues can be the direct result of a serious deficiency. However a mild deficiency, although I have no prove of it, can be the result of digestive (absorption) problems due to stress. I find it odd that you see no shift in symptoms when they are brought to optimal levels, which really points to TMS imho. Again, a doctor should give his judgment about this.

You might also post your question about Anhedonia in the 'ask a tms therapist' section. I assume it is not the result of anti-depression/anxiety or some other medication?? Repression can cause a whole array of symptoms and I personally believe that you can enter a state of mind that you describe. Again, it might be better to have that confirmed by a psychologist or similar and a medical doctor.

 

Hi Gigalos - Thanks so much for the reply. I just read your story on your profile page and noticed you suffered from a variety of symptoms that aren't as common as back/neck/shoulder pain etc. That makes me feel a bit better knowing others have experienced similar symptoms as I have.

I agree regarding the iron... the fact that the infusions don't improve symptoms make me think my issues are TMS. The same thing happened when I had low testosterone. I brought it from 200 to 800 and I literally felt no change in my energy, motivation, libido, etc.

I posted this question on the "Ask a TMS Therapist" section. Hopefully I'll get a response. I'm not sure how to solve this Anhedonia. I'm trying so hard to feel anything but it's all so numbed and muted.

 

TMS have given me some of the symptoms you mentioned, but I would clear out first with a doctor. Also you should check your testosterone levels, which could give you depression if they are low. It might be a combination of tms and other physical symptoms. I would avoid any vaccines like the flu vaccine if you are getting brain fogs, because most of them contain dangerous amounts of aluminum or thimerosal, which are neurotoxins. Injected aluminum stays in the brain. Also, when you do chelation therapy, the metals get to move around your body and sometimes just get deposited in some other part of your body, so maybe your chelation is not complete and you need a better chelation or absorption agent to move the metals out of your body.

 

"If it ends with "itis" or "algia" or "syndrome" and doctors can't figure out what causes it, then it might be TMS."

Dave @ TMS Help

...there are so many things little and big that are tms, I wouldn't have time to write about all of them":
Told to icelikeaninja by Dr. Sarno

Read one of Dr. Sarno's more recent books and/or Steven Ray Ozanich's TMS textbook TMS tome THE GREAT PAIN DECEPTION.

 

Eh... I don't see it frankly...

 

Anhedonia!
A numbing of the anxiety. Surely.
I get it. Had it for a long while. As the TMS recovery takes hold, interest in life returns.
Am on here today because of chills and weird body temperature - extremes - the past few days.
Never have seen an endocrinologist. Hm.
Probably TMS. I’m so creative!!
Years ago when suffering from that dead anhedonic thing I made of list of ten things I would do with unlimited time, money and energy. Then did one. It changed everything. For me, that was horseback riding.
I love being outside. Moving with my horse. Grooming. Walking. Galloping sometimes. It’s wild. But it started with the list!
Make one.
Tell someone. Tell us. Ten things. One will surely be within reach.
Best wishes!