1. 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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Day 1 Day 1 of SEP

Discussion in 'Structured Educational Program' started by Jay24, Sep 3, 2015.

  1. Jay24

    Jay24 New Member

    I have been suffering with low back pain since 2009. It would go away after PT and resurface after few months. It started again this January and in May my pain started to radiate down my left leg. GP, neurologist confirmed disc herniation pinching the sciatic nerve. MRI is scheduled in November. Searching google I came across Healing Back Pain Mind-Body connection by Dr. John Sarno. My pain reduced a lot after reading this book last week. I am convinced I have TMS. I read Day 1 of SEP and joined this forum with a determination to cure myself. Strange thing happened before reading the Day 1. Pain on my left side is getting better however Right side of my back now hurts and I feel my hamstring on the right is tight. I am little scared as this is exactly how pain started on my left side. Is this TMS symptom, how do I stop thinking about this and overcome this fear?
     
  2. JanAtheCPA

    JanAtheCPA Beloved Grand Eagle

    Hi Jay, good job finding this site and starting the SEP right away! And welcome!

    I have great news for you - your brain is unbelievably tricky, and the power of memorized pain pathways is very strong. The fact that your pain has subsided on one side and for no reason whatsoever is starting to give you a hint of trouble on the other side is confirmation that you, like almost every human being ever born, suffer from TMS.

    Don't ever forget that pain is not produced by nerve endings on some body part. This is a scientific fact. Pain is created in the brain and sent to a body part that has signaled that it might be in trouble (like a broken bone). Except, as Dr. Sarno figured out, the brain can also use this ability to create pain for you anyway, to keep you from experiencing "dangerous" negative emotions. It conveniently uses areas that have little things wrong with them, or old healed injuries that still contain pain memory, or it will arbitrarily switch sides just because it can. Often it will create a symptom that no one else you know has ever had. Just to keep you worried and on edge. I have my own theories about why it does this, but really, it's still kind of an evolutionary mystery.

    Check out the Success Stories Subforum and you will read all about pain that comes and goes and moves around and pops up in brand new places. There are also a seemingly infinite number of non-pain symptoms that Dr. Sarno, in his later books, came to call "TMS equivalents". These days we like to say that TMS really stands for "The Mindbody Syndrome" because we know from personal experience that TMS goes way beyond pain in the muscles.

    There are a lot of techniques for dealing with TMS that you'll be learning about as you do the SEP and participate on the forum. Recovery really takes a willingness to completely change your mind about what you are experiencing and about what you can accomplish. You're going to have to recognize the negative messages that are constantly in your head so you can cut them off and change them.

    Finally, depending on your personal emotional situation, it's impossible to say how much time you'll need to do the work needed in order to reveal the negative things that your brain has been repressing. So with that in mind, my best advice is to not watch the calendar, and to let go of any preconceived notions of how long you "should" take to experience recovery. There will be setbacks, but the successes along the way will keep you going. And recovery will be more rewarding when you simply realize one day that it has happened.

    Good luck, and see you around the forum!

    ~Jan
     
  3. Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)

    Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021) Beloved Grand Eagle

    Hi, Jay 24. I echo Jan's good advice. The fact that your pain moved from one side to another is really all the proof you need that it is caused by TMS emotions and is not structural. It's good that your MRI is scheduled for November because if you stick with the SEP, you may be totally healed and not need the MRI. If you take it and it does show something structural that may not be important and its cause could still be from your emotions.

    Don't expect overnight success. It comes at different times for different people.

    You need to believe 100 percent in TMS. Here is just one person's experience that could help convince you.

    Kevin healed 95 % from SEP

    Welcome to the SEP and to the path of recovery. I am on my final two days of the program and I can say with complete confidence that I am a changed man. I started after 6 months of nasty low-back/butt/leg pain, could hardly walk, stand, etc. was in physical therapy, chiropractor, acupuncture, pain medications, etc.. the usual. My MRI showed 3 disk bulges/herniations touching nerves, so that is what I believe it to be....that is until I read Dr. Sarno and found this site.

    I encourage you to really get involved, follow the instructions, do the journaling, take time to read all the suggested readings, and watch the videos. I'd say I'm 95% cured. There is still some very light lingering "annoyance", but I still have some work to do. I've been walking miles with hardly any pain these last few weeks. But even more, if the pain comes on now, it just doesn't bother me like it used to, I sorta just see it, acknowledge it, and go about my business. It took working the program to get to that point, but 6 weeks compared to 6 months is nothing! I made more progress in the first week than I did from two months of PT!!! It's going to challenge you and your "beliefs" in medicine, but you have nothing to lose. We generally wind up here when all else fails.

    So give it a shot, especially before considering anything invasive like surgery. If you put the work in, you will get better. Have you read Dr. Sarno yet? I assume you have since you're here, but in case you haven't, definitely readHealing Back Pain. Again, it will challenge everything you've believed about your pain, and backs in general. You'll be encouraged to resume life as normal, i.e. stop ALL "therapies" (PT, chiro, etc.), stop taking medications, and most importantly, stop thinking STRUCTURAL problems are the cause of your pain and shift to psychological as the reason.....again, this can be difficult and takes some time to sink in, so be patient and kind to yourself.

    It was a process for me. A few of the bigger moves in my case were: I ripped up and threw out my MRI test results (I found myself obsessively reading over them and comparing them to other results I could find on the web and even here on the TMSwiki site...); I got back to the gym and stopped using a weight belt; and I even cancelled an appointment I had made with aTMS doctorbecause it was more than a month away and it was hindering my recovery (that is, my 100% belief in TMS was lagging because I had this pending appointment, but as soon as I cancelled it, my recovery sped up significantly). Everyone's journey is unique to their situation, but I've found that really committing to the program and brining what I learn from it into my daily life has had profound results. Also, sharing along the way here in these forums has been extremely helpful - there's something about knowing that you're not alone in your TMS recovery that really helps. I encourage you to look through my past posts for some insight into my experience with SEP. Like I said, I'm just now finishing, tomorrow is my final day, and I feel like a changed person. It's amazing. And I feel as though it is something that one carries on with, not just like a one time 6 week thing and that's that...it has helped me to get to know myself and taught me tools to "deal" with my emotions. Learning and accepting TMS is a life changer for sure.
     
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