Day 1: My Own Story

My first bout with chronic pain was in high school, in my knees. The diagnosis was Patellar Femoral Syndrome. My knees would hurt four hours after bicycling, but not running, which confounded my doctor and physiotherapist, since running tends to be harder on the knees then running. I don't know that this was TMS, but the pain persisted for a couple years, until it just stopped in University.

My second encounter with chronic pain began in my third year of University. The diagnosis was tendinitis in both forearms, and it lasted about 2 years. For this problem I saw a medical doctor, sports doctor, massage therapists, chiropractor and physiologist. I am a programmer by trade, which means I spend a lot of time typing at a computer, and for the final 6 months of my tendinitis I had abandoned my keyboard altogether. Instead I made do with a mouse and the on-screen keyboard. During this 6 month hiatus my pain slowly faded away, and when I resumed keyboarding I switched to a special ergonomic model. I can use it pain free, but using a standard keyboard will still bring the old pain back within minutes.

My third, and current, bout with chronic pain is in my low back. I've had many different diagnoses, but none have been linked to a structural abnormality, so they've all been quite vague. I've been dealing with this pain for over a year and a half, and it's been getting steadily worse. Before my back pain I was active, and exercised regularly at the gym. I skated, swam, cycled, jogged, and practiced judo. As the months wore on, and the pain persisted, I slowly abandoned each of these hobbies. Then I began icing and heating my back for 45 minutes each day, and spent less time outdoors and correspondingly more time at home, in bed reading or watching tv. Even a 10 minute walk around the mall was an ordeal I'd follow up with 45 minutes of rest.

Just before Christmas I borrowed Dr Sarno's book from a friend, and I read it over the break. I'd already heard of the link between emotions and pain before reading it, and I'd been pretty skeptical, because the explanations I'd heard had been very vague. I remember reading an account of a patient with TMS who became bedridden--more disabled than a paraplegic--just by fear of bringing on a new attack, and knowing that is where I was headed. It was Christmas day, and I was so horrified I put the book aside for a day.

As cliche as it is, I saw myself on every page of the chapter on people who get TMS, and the chapter on the physiology of TMS allayed my skepticism. With a couple hours of reflection, I realized that I'd been preoccupied with personal issues starting a couple months before my back pain started. After the back pain started (but before reading the book) I'd thought on a couple different occasions that the silver lining to my back pain is that I hadn't thought, or worried, about my personal issue pretty much since it started.

Since reading Dr Sarno's book, I've been feeling significantly better, and have cautiously resumed some of my old hobbies. My rate of improvement plateaued a week ago, however, and I decided to follow this program as a means of getting it back on track.

I live in Ottawa, Canada, and if anyone knows of a TMS-trained physician in the area, please let me know.

Richard

 

Welcome, Richard!

This page has a list of TMS doctors and therapists: http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Find_a_TMS_Doctor_or_Therapist

If there isn't anyone near you (there seem to just be two listed in Canada) you can ask one of your other doctors if it is OK for you to try a more conservative mind/body approach.

There's so much great stuff on the wiki and very helpful people here on the forum. Hope to see you around !

Veronica

 

Glad you are here Richard. It is an amazing program. Sandy

 

Welcome Aboard ! Be ready to heal and enjoy wellness * hugs

 

I know this is an older post. How are you doing? I am also in Ottawa.

 

Wow, that was almost 2 years ago. My back pain went away sometime in 2013. It was followed in short order by shoulder pain that I dealt with until October of 2014, according to my notes. But I've been essentially pain free since then--just a few isolated incidents which were obviously TMS and not related to any structural abnormality.

If you're wondering, I never did find a Doctor in Ottawa trained in TMS.

How are you doing? Did you just find this place recently?

Richard

 

Thanks Richard I just recently this summer started with back pain ,butt pain and sciatica.I am now walking longer. Like you I was walking very short distances. I am a little better. I am on day 27 of the SEP program. I have read Sarno in the last 6 weeks. Working on it.Thanks for the update and Merry Xmas. Keep in touch.

 

You will do great Intense. As Richard said just keep working the program. I am about 6 years out of the program.

I have program today. I still work it. My phone is set to remind me every evening to journal. I may journal 5 minutes or 30 minutes about anger I can't express, guilt, fear of rejection, not feeling good enough, and other TMS traits.

When experiencing these emotions I feel tightness coming on which is a warning bell. I try to exercise every day. Meditation has helped me immensely with looking inside my body and becoming aware of the tension in my body.

This is an amazing program and you will succeed.

 

Hi, everyone. Richard, welcome to the TMS community. Knowledge of TMS and the SEProgram techniques will end your back pain. It ended mine.

I prefer to journal in the morning or afternoon, and at night focus on doing pleasant things. Deep breathing and relaxation. I like watching the Youtube video "Guided Meditation for Detachment from Over-Thinking." Michael Sealey's voice is so soothing, it lulls me to sleep.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

 

Intense, I'm thrilled to know that you're searching the forum and finding inspiration from old posts. There's a lot of incredible information here thanks to this great community.

Richard! This is wonderful news! It would be terrific if you could share your success in our Success Stories sub-forum! Every story is different which means that every story will help someone. And I love the technology which made it possible for Intense to reach out to you and for you to respond after two years. We couldn't do this without each other

 

Hi, Jan. Your suggestion to Richard is great. His story belongs in the success stories subforum, to share with everyone.

I hope you are enjoying a warm and fuzzy Christmas with loved ones.