Day 23

Do you think you are avoiding any part of this treatment? What emotions or past events do you think you might be repressing?

Thinking emotionally is very hard for me to do because when the pain starts (as soon as I sit or there's any pressure) I am thinking about my pain not my emotions. I am emotioned out, I don't know what other emotions could be contributing to my pain. My pain is constant so it's not like I can investigate what's going on like in the example that was mentioned. Before I used to get back pain and in that situation I understood that stress caused my back pain but when it comes to nerve pain (neuropathy/ central sensitization) I don't feel as though it applies to the same rules because the pain is constant; it does not go away. Whether I am having a stressful day or not the pain is always there; the longer I sit the intensity of the pain increases.

 

Hi, Alyssa5. Have you had a doctor look at your pain? I am no doctor but it seems to me that TMS can causes most any pain, including nerve pain. You need to believe in TMS causing your pain 100 percent. You have doubts and they are keeping you from healing. Even if a doctor diagnoses you with something structural, it could be caused by emotions. I know it's hard to believe totally in TMS, but I hope you will keep trying.

The only part you may be avoiding in the SEProgram is not believing it totally.

Here is a pep talk on believing in the SEP. Kevin later reported that he healed 100 percent.

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.

 

Walt,

I have seen several doctors (gastro, colon rectal, general surgeons, pelvic pain specialists, spine specialist, neurologist, pelvic PT's) and have had blood tests, colonoscopy, stool samples, MRI and nothing was found other than tight pelvic floor muscles once the muscles were injected with Botox and I still had pain it was determined that the tight muscles were not the source of my pain. Instead it was neuropathy (brain sending messages to the painful area which is the pelvis). The doctor described it like fibromyalgia, or vulvodynia.

 

My pain is always there when I sit... Not constant all day long. I have a good day when I stand all day long but if I sit my butt cheeks, thighs start hurting.

My pain areas also do not follow any nerve distribution so my pt said that it didn't make sense for me to have so much pain. I knew then it was TMS!

 

Also the pain started in an area that had a pain memory (hemeroidectomy 6 years prior to the onset of my pain) I have no doubt that it is TMS. It is very smart and conniving!

 

It's funny how one person's suffering is another's desire.... I have the polar opposite - pain when standing & walking, both of which I LOVE TO DO. I can sit all damn day long and be fine.... but getting up and walking, that's when it comes on.

But we're all in this together and it will pass, just have to focus on the psychological, which takes time and practice.

Best,

Kev

 

I am a case manager so most of my day consists of sitting (driving to clients homes, sitting in traffic, meetings, sitting on my computer). It's hard to stay focused while talking to my clients when it hurts to sit.