• Alan has completed the new Pain Recovery Program. To read or share it, use this updated link: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/
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New Program Day 1: Introduction

Revisiting this revised new program and see wonderful additions. Have a bad cold and it’s setting off bells and whistles of wanna-be pain in my old trigger areas.
I am being stern but loving: I am going to review all the lessons to help break the trance of pain. It’s like an addiction, I simply must be getting endorphins from this. I know I am always afraid when I become ill. “Just a cold” is a big deal to the dramatic mind.
As I watched the video, I noticed pain come and go, come again and go again. Amazing. Now it’s gone as I proofread my typos, slowly.
Thank you all, thank you, Alan.
 
I am also curious if this is interactive. I didn't see an answer. I too am giving this a try! I have a therapist that does EMDR to get at the old stuff that may need to be dug up. But how necessary is it to dig this stuff up? I guess I will find out, or maybe someone will answer! <3
 
I am excited to be in this forum, praying for relief from severe sciatica and increasing neuropathy in my feet and other odd places in my body. Not sure I can self -diagnose TMS, but from all I have read, I sure do fit the profile! Have others had success on their own with this condition?
 
Ellen Campbell said:
I am excited to be in this forum, praying for relief from severe sciatica and increasing neuropathy in my feet and other odd places in my body. Not sure I can self -diagnose TMS, but from all I have read, I sure do fit the profile! Have others had success on their own with this condition?
Click to expand...

Yes they have, myself included (some sciatica), and multiple others on this forum- take a look at success stories for lots of people who've had back pain and sciatica! Some feel comfortable self-diagnosing...in my case I'd had some imaging and knew I didn't have anything other than herniated discs so I knew I had TMS based on reading Sarno and others. If you don't know enough about what's going on with you medically it's good to get checked by a doctor to rule out anything. If you're near a TMS doctor than that is the best thing!
 
Hi Ellen, You said in your Information:

"I have had sciatic pain and neuropathy in my legs and feet for almost two years and have been nearly bedridden for almost 10 months with this. Doctors don’t know what to do with me. Looking for answers and relief. "

Classic TMS in my opinion,. eventually you will read and hear about Steve Ozanich and his book "The Great Pain deception". I think he was "floor ridden" :). Personally I was "couch ridden", it really annoyed me. :)

I have also recovered from lower back pain here is my success story:
My unusual recovery came the following a weekend of severe deep chronic pain,it was unusual because unconventionally I went for a jog and ran in severe pain, it wasn’t fun, and I would not recommend doing this. Most importantly what took place was the removal of fear that I had something wrong with me. Here is a link with the story.
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7141 (TMSHelp Forum - Success from 2000)

Welcome to self healing
 
MindBodyPT said:
Yes they have, myself included (some sciatica), and multiple others on this forum- take a look at success stories for lots of people who've had back pain and sciatica! Some feel comfortable self-diagnosing...in my case I'd had some imaging and knew I didn't have anything other than herniated discs so I knew I had TMS based on reading Sarno and others. If you don't know enough about what's going on with you medically it's good to get checked by a doctor to rule out anything. If you're near a TMS doctor than that is the best thing!
Click to expand...
Thank you for this! I have had imaging done and know that I have some disc herniation, but four neurologists/neurosurgeons have deemed my issues mild enough to not warrant surgery. To confuse the issue, I have had borderline diagnoses of Lyme disease, but my pain only worsened and spread to other areas in my body. NOTHING has helped....pt, acupuncture, chiropractic care, treatment for Lyme, both antibiotic and herbal.
I can neither stand nor sit for very long, so although there is a TMS practitioner in my area at large, the hour and a half trip to see him is nearly insurmountable. Therefore, my desire to self-diagnose....
 
Ellen Campbell said:
Thank you for this! I have had imaging done and know that I have some disc herniation, but four neurologists/neurosurgeons have deemed my issues mild enough to not warrant surgery. To confuse the issue, I have had borderline diagnoses of Lyme disease, but my pain only worsened and spread to other areas in my body. NOTHING has helped....pt, acupuncture, chiropractic care, treatment for Lyme, both antibiotic and herbal.
I can neither stand nor sit for very long, so although there is a TMS practitioner in my area at large, the hour and a half trip to see him is nearly insurmountable. Therefore, my desire to self-diagnose....
Click to expand...

Sounds safe to self diagnose at this point then! Be confident in your diagnosis and good luck with Alan’s program, it’s great. Let me know if you have any questions!
 
The neural pathway idea is so fascinating. Initially this started as a knee problem, which became sciatica. Those two things healed and the shit really hit the fan when..

I jumped up on a pull-up bar and flexed my entire back as hard as I could (shoulder blades down and back) and did a set of 7 pull ups. When I finished I dropped from the bar but my back remain flexed. That was 1.5 years ago and it has not let go of that contracted state since.

This program should be the end of the goosechase.
 
I'm back to do the program again! I've been pain free for almost a year. I've decided to do a 10km race and yep it's back - TMS! It's the other knee and calf this time around. I stopped half way through my last two runs and limped home. I've been searching for knee pain causes and cures, planning on getting a support bandage or a sports massage and then I remembered TMS. How funny that I forgot about it during my pain free time. So, I guess it's a relapse and I could do with a refresher course. I'm excited to do the revamped course now.
 
Paulita said:
I'm back to do the program again! I've been pain free for almost a year. I've decided to do a 10km race and yep it's back - TMS! It's the other knee and calf this time around. I stopped half way through my last two runs and limped home. I've been searching for knee pain causes and cures, planning on getting a support bandage or a sports massage and then I remembered TMS. How funny that I forgot about it during my pain free time. So, I guess it's a relapse and I could do with a refresher course. I'm excited to do the revamped course now.
Click to expand...
Woohoo! Did you use a program to get pain free the first time??
 
LindenSwole said:
Woohoo! Did you use a program to get pain free the first time??
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I used this program LindenSwole and the SEP and read all of Dr Sarno's books (and more besides). So it definitely works. It works so well that I forgot about pain and TMS. This is just a relapse and a good opportunity to refresh myself and re-do this great program
 
I'm so happy to have found all this great stuff! I first heard about TMS just one week ago, after a year of back and sciatic pain. I have read Dr Sarno's books and on the strength of what I have read I have cancelled my CT scan and my appointment with a surgeon. This feels right.
 
Thank you for sharing this program! This is exactly what I've been looking for after doing quite a bit of reading about TMS/MBS and mindfulness. I needed a more guided approach and think this just might be it!
 
Alan Gordon LCSW said:
Day 1: Introduction

As the director of a pain center in Los Angeles, I've worked with thousands of pain patients and collaborated with specialists throughout the country, but long before that I was a chronic pain sufferer.

During my second year of graduate school, I developed severe lower back pain. Even something as simple as sitting and watching a movie became a two-hour long nightmare.

I saw three of the leading back specialists in Southern California, and they had three different opinions about the cause of my pain: one of them said it was a disc herniation; one of them said it was disc degeneration; one of them said I was just too tall.

I couldn't make myself shorter, but tried every other treatment imaginable: physical therapy, biofeedback, medication, acupuncture, acupressure; nothing helped. After six months, I got an epidural injection. It didn't eliminate my pain, but it cut it in half. Life was once again bearable...for about eight days, when I suddenly and inexplicably got the worst headache I'd ever had.

And it stayed.

Chronic daily headache, the internet told me, had no known cause and no known cure. Terrific.

Over the next several years, I developed the following additional symptoms:

upper back pain
neck pain
shoulder pain
knee pain
hand pain
heel pain
tongue pain (who gets tongue pain?)
eye pain
tooth pain
toe pain (three different toes!)
hip pain
stomach pain
wrist pain
leg pain
heartburn
TMJ
tinnitus
itching
fatigue
fibromyalgia symptoms

In sum, I was a mess. Doctors were scared of me.

I had plenty of diagnoses to go along with these symptoms: bulging discs, partially torn rotator cuff, high cerebral spinal fluid pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.

One day my mother presented me with a book. She said her friend's son read it and it helped him get rid of his back pain. I did what any rational chronic pain sufferer would do. I threw it across the room.

"A book isn't going to help me, mom. The pain isn't in my head. I have a bunch of diagnoses from doctors."

She shrugged and left the room. You don't argue with someone in chronic pain.

A year later I read the book. I spoke with my mom's friend's son. I educated myself about the pain center of the brain and the function of neural pathways. I found a physician who specialized in this approach, and after several years, I eliminated 22 different symptoms.

I still have bulging discs. I still have disc degeneration. I probably still have a partially torn rotator cuff and high cerebral spinal fluid pressure. But I don't have any pain.

More and more studies are showing that many forms of chronic pain are not caused by physical problems in the body, but rather learned neural pathways in the brain.

For an introduction to neural pathways, why they develop, and how they can lead to chronic pain, watch the following clip:


Just as neural pathway pain can be learned, it can be unlearned. And over the next three weeks, I'll give you specific techniques to help you break the pain cycle and overcome your symptoms. Along the way, there'll be sample audio sessions, a few video clips, and some poignant insights from Winnie the Pooh.

Plus, to help make the process as enjoyable as possible, my very talented friend Paul is going add in pictures along the way. Like this:

image1.jpg

​
And this:

image2.jpg

​
Now, I know that many of you have been through the hope-disappointment cycle so many times, that starting something new can be scary.

So I won't ask you to be hopeful, all I ask is that you be open. The next few weeks will cover everything I've learned in my time as a therapist, and I'm optimistic that you'll find it helpful in your recovery. Plus, I'll be answering as many questions as I can along the way.

So enjoy the rest of your day, get a good nights sleep, and I'll see you in the morning.

[​IMG]​
Click to expand...
Thank you. Started working on myself about 12 years ago after reading 2 of Dr Sarno books. Life and my unconscious mind distracted me and I got back into my pain cycle after about a 20% initial drop in pain (which was preceded by a big jump in pain right after I read Dr Sarno's books. That big jump was a clue that I was on the right track.
Now I'm back at it, but this time I will succeed!
Thank you so much for making this available!
 
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