Crossroads - Considering Nerve Ablation - Seeking Testimonials

[Lynn S]

Thanks Lynn - for the supportive words. I say I could have done better because I always think that way, and it's part of my perfectionism, and of course what subsequently powers my TMS. Anyone can say that - after hitting 60 home runs, Babe Ruth probably went to bed at night kicking himself for not hitting 61. Where is the line between good old fashioned 'grit' or ambition and perfectionism that grinds away at your soul & causes pain & disease? Here's my point - I'm through trying to figure it out. I'm very good at identifying the sources of my 'repressed rage' and all of the reasons why my brain works the way that it does. I guess I'm just getting frustrated with the percentage of my time spent on 'health care'. All of the doctor's appointments, insurance garbage, tests, etc. - it's more than a part time job... and I'm still at square one. I know there are some treatments & equipment that would definitely help me - but because of all of this, my ability to earn money has been severely diminished. So I get annoyed at my inability to earn more, and beat myself up for it, rinse and repeat. I'm trying to focus on what I have control over, but accepting limitations brings me right back to perfectionism vs. grit.

Hi eightball776. I'll start by thanking you for sharing your experience with us. So much help has been provided in this tread that you've started. I've read the links, reread the comments, and circled back to my own thoughts and experience.
I no longer relate to Babe Ruth. I quickly dismiss the could've should've shuffle when the thoughts arise. The pain we inflict on ourselves mentally and emotionally can be more severe than our physical pain. I'm mentioning this because you said you know you've done the best you could. I think it may be you hanging on to nagging at yourself out of habit not so much that you're a perfectionist. What I get from all of this help here is what we do with the information. I love that everyone is in the solution, including you. I'm sure you have experiences you can look at and wonder how you made it through. It can happen with this as well. Don't worry that you don't see how at the moment. Everything is working for your good no matter what it looks like.

 

[Lizzy]

"As a distraction from repressed rage, it doesn't work. I just have the pain and the rage. "

If your pain is strictly caused by the theory Sarno described, then actually, it does work. You're feeling rage about the pain, but not your repressed rage. It isn't about not feeling rage, it's about burying what ever is causing rage. You probably don't have to identify the source. Just follow the process he taught.

However, if you're sensitized, you need to soothe your nerves and this takes time to pass. Alan Gordon and Claire Weekes type protocols would be great to follow.

I think you could benefit from soothing your system even if your pain is repressed rage, because either way we need outcome independance, and when we are feeling a lot of pain we are so worked up. That's where I get stuck, it is so hard to calm myself when the pain is overwhelming me.

I hope you are able to feel better soon, but first I hope you are feeling calmer. It will help until you're well and will help you decide if you need surgery.

Lizzy

 

[BruceMC]

I know a Vietnam vet - a Navy Captain in fact - who has suffered for years with lower back pain in Wisconsin. Last week, he went down to the VA and had a nerve ablation procedure to ease his LBP. Result? None whatsoever, which is to say that it didn't help one bit. Therefore, based on a limited trial sample of one, I'd be very cautious before going that route. Of course, the docs gave him some jive that he'd have to wait a long while and see if there were going to be an positive results. But he hasn't seen any yet and it's been 6 weeks. Caution seems in order.

 

[EileenS]

I'm dangerously anemic, have elevated CO2 in my blood, and have testosterone levels lower than I've ever seen. Now it makes sense why I'm so low-energy & have had so much trouble maintaining an exercise program.

I agree you have more than TMS. In this post you say yourself you have actual other medical verified things going on. You also mention you have suffered from Crohns for years. I suffered from anemia a few times before I went into menopause so I know how being anemic feels and it includes a lowered immune system and higher sensitivity to pain. Given you mention a low testosterone level, I'm assuming you are a male, so I'm also assuming the anemia is caused by the Crohns. There is therefore a very high likelihood that your electrolytes are out of balance because of Crohns. Specifically these are sodium, potassium, and magnesium. If any of there three are lower than they should be your muscles will be unable to relax and your symptoms are one of the low electrolyte symptoms. Even if, for example, magnesium is still in the acceptable level but low in the acceptable range, it might not be high enough. Magnesium itself is very hard to test because 90% of it is stored in the bones not the blood. If you find you have to take supplements to get any of your levels of these three up, don't just go buy the cheapest thing at the drug store because body absorption of the cheap supplements is low and the oxide form of magnesium can give bowel issues. Get guidance from a naturopath or dietitian.

Why is your testosterone so low? Has that been thoroughly explored by doctors? The reason could also be related to your nerve issues.

Muscle tension/oxygen-deprivation is definitely part of it, but whether this is psychologically induced or inflammatory/Crohn's-related, sitting at a computer for 20 years, or what - I'm much more concerned with what to do about it now, because more books & psychoanalysis isn't going to cut it.

Because of what I have advised above, I agree that more books and psychoanalysis isn't going to cut it completely, HOWEVER, given you have suffered from Crohns disease for a long time, there is more psychoanalysis to be done. If you haven't found a psychologist you really click with, then try another one. Your Crohns indicates you have had a strong mind body link of repressed feelings going on for a very long time. I just finished reading Dr Gabor Maté's book, "When the Body Says No". It's excellent. If you read it, I suggest reading the last chapter first, then start at chapter 1. As mentioned by JanCPA in another post, it can be a difficult book to read (from the standpoint that the subconscious mind and body start complaining about what it digs up).

Good luck. I know well what that nerve sensation feels like because I had it for over three years in my shoulders, neck, and face. I don't have Crohns (my sister and her oldest son do), but I had bad ibs-d when the nerve pain hit me that last a few years. My deepest sympathies are with you for what you are going through. Thankfully, I feel great now.