Day 1

[Quincy]

I have had a hard time getting started working thru this. I was told a few weeks ago in the Sat. p.m. forum I am a procrastinator. I cannot disagree with that at all, but my reasoning has been I want whatever I submit to be "right", which stems from what I call being mildly OCD and a bit of a perfectionist. I have decided to just jump in and get started. I'm not certain how long it will take me to make my Day 2 post, but at least I've started. I am 68 (still working full time) and have suffered lower back pain for at least 30 years if not longer. Otherwise I am in excellent health. The pain has always seemed to be muscular and usually worse when I get out of bed or when driving a car different than mine. Some of my diagnoses are in my profile. Over the years I have tried chiropractic, acupuncture (somewhat successful) and physical therapy (3 times per week for 8 weeks) with absolutely no change. So far, no long term relief. A co-worker loaned me his copy of Dr. Sarno's "Healing Back Pain". Like many, I was skeptical, but after reading it I seemed to feel better, for a few days anyway, and that was from only reading it. Then I discovered this website and have tried to absorb as much as possible. John Stossel's report has been especially helpful in my overcoming my skepticism. Some of my personality traits talked about in Dr. Sarno's book include the OCD as noted, low self-esteem and repressed emotions. For a lot of my adult life I lived in the shadow (self imposed I'm sure) of my very personable, successful father and now I have some "baggage" I must live with. My repressed emotions have been with me since early adolescence. I have a great wife and two wonderful kids and a couple equally wonderful grand kids. My pain comes and goes, and so far I do not "fear" it. I have learned how to work around it to accomplish certain tasks. My life without TMS would mean no longer dreading getting out of bed in the morning and being able to do all that I please with my grand kids. So far I have been able to "play thru" the pain but it seems to be getting worse. I truly appreciate the feed back I received in the Sat. afternoon forum and will do my best to continue working the program. I just read someone else's post that noted "just writing this has been cathartic" and I have to agree.

 

[Ines]

Hi Quincy, welcome to the SEP portion of the forum. It's a great place and can help through good times and bad.

 

[Gigi]

Welcome, Quincy! I'm so glad you found your way here to the wiki and the SEP. The nice thing about the program is you do it at your own pace, so if you want to spend a week on Day 1, so be it!
I recovered from back pain in the '90s just by reading Healing Back Pain. But when I had a two year bout of foot pain a few years ago, the SEP is what got me up and walking again.
Blessings on your journey.