1. Our TMS drop-in chat is today (Saturday) from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM DST Eastern U.S. (New York). It's a great way to get quick and interactive peer support. Bonnard is today's host. Click here for more info or just look for the red flag on the menu bar at 3pm Eastern.
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Day 30

Discussion in 'Structured Educational Program' started by Francesca, Jul 31, 2025.

  1. Francesca

    Francesca Peer Supporter

    For several days I had the usual severe lower back pain, which forced me to get 5 injections. After the injections, the pain didn’t go away (further confirmation of TMS), and I started taking pills for 5 days... that helped. A few days later, I had my wisdom tooth removed. Since then, I’ve had intense pain in my neck, shoulders, and again my lower back. I believe it’s still TMS, even though there’s probably a fair amount of normal post-extraction pain. But the shoulder pain comes and goes strongly—even within 5–7 minutes—and I’m quite sure that’s TMS. What do you think?
     
  2. JanAtheCPA

    JanAtheCPA Beloved Grand Eagle

    @Francesca, I was reviewing older posts and noticed this one with no replies. I'm not surprised at that, and I'm certainly not going to answer your question.

    Perhaps you've already figured this out, but for the benefit of any newcomers who might be curious, here's the deal:

    We are willing to help newcomers with their initial self-diagnosis of TMS, based on the information they provide that they have been properly examined by medical professionals - who either can't find anything wrong, or else they don't have any good treatments for whatever might be going on. Those two things tell us that TMS is behind the symptoms.

    That's the starting point, but after that, the goal for each person is to learn to trust that you can tell the difference between new TMS symptoms that invariably come along as you are challenging your fearful brain, versus something that is actually concerning enough to seek new medical care.

    If you are having brand new symptoms that concern you, you can't expect us to tell you it's definitely TMS, because we have no right to do so. If you are so concerned that you seek medical care, and if the answer is once again "we can't find anything wrong /we don't know what to do for you" then you should not be asking us to tell you it's TMS again, because it's going to be the same answer that we gave the first time.

    Those of us with experience, and in various stages of TMS recovery, have learned that the vast majority symptoms that we experience can be given time to see what happens. But this is something we each had to learn for ourselves.

    Coming back to the forum to seek reassurance from others does not lead to recovery! You are ultimately responsible for your own care and your own recovery.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2025
  3. Francesca

    Francesca Peer Supporter

    "...the goal for each person is to learn to trust that you can tell the difference between new TMS symptoms that invariably come along as you are challenging your fearful brain, versus something that is actually concerning enough to seek new medical care"-->So I'm not there yet, because when the symptoms are this strong and have such a big impact on my daily life, I can't stay clear-minded enough to focus on the internal issue rather than the physical one — simply because I’m deeply affected physically and completely drained of energy.

    "...Coming back to the forum to seek reassurance from others does not lead to recovery! You are ultimately responsible for your own care and your own recovery"-->I don’t think I come to the forum seeking reassurance, but rather support from others who might be going through exactly the same thing I am right now… isn’t that what the forum is meant for?
    Please don’t take it the wrong way — you definitely offer valuable guidance and insights, and there have been times when your words truly enlightened me.
    I assure you I’m not looking for answers about my symptoms here, but rather reflections and perspectives to help me manage them better.
    Otherwise, I’d be foolish.
    Grazie di leggere
     
  4. JanAtheCPA

    JanAtheCPA Beloved Grand Eagle

    Dang. I don't often come back and argue against resistance, because it's often unwelcome and thus not worth anyone's time, but I hate to see you at this point after the work you've put in, @Francesca. The thing is, I'm sorry to say that I think your resistant TMS brain has got you fully under its control. In other words, this is your brain on TMS.

    This is straight-up reassurance-seeking. Let's not forget that the forum community had almost three full days (in USA time zones) to respond to your direct question, and no one did. It might be helpful for you to contemplate the possible reasons behind that.

    This question is 100% looking to others for an answer instead of 1) engaging in self examination after a challenging flare, and 2) with your TMS knowledge, trusting your own instincts to answer the question yourself. Those could have resulted in a constructive and proactive update post instead of a reassurance-seeking post full of physical symptoms and treatments.

    Unfortunately, your entire response to my challenge is what I call a "Yes, But..." answer. It is focused primarily on your symptoms and on justifying why you "can't" progress. It's a sign that there could be victimhood at work, which is a serious impediment to recovery.

    In other words, if you see yourself as a victim of your symptoms and/or other circumstances, that will get in the way of an emotionally strong and healthy recovery.

    And now you might also see yourself as a victim of my criticism, which would be natural. It would be another good topic for some kind of writing session. Please let me assure you that I don't do this for fun, and that it takes time and effort which I only expend when I think there's a chance to help break something loose which is blocking recovery. I will let it go at that. Good luck.
     
  5. Francesca

    Francesca Peer Supporter

    Ti rispondo in italiano perché per una volta voglio essere facilitata e non fraintesa. Perché credo che tu abbia frainteso la mia risposta ed è normale quando ogni volta devi copiare una frase, inserirla nel traduttore, leggerla e rispondere in italiano; poi reinserirlo nel traduttore e finalmente copiarlo e incollarlo. Anche questo è difficoltoso, per non parlare dei video: attiva sottotitoli, copia, incolla, traduci. Io credo che tu quel giorno quando hai scritto l'ultimo messaggio fossi piuttosto nervosa e stanca. Io comunque, indipendentemente dal tuo buona fortuna finale, credo che tu ti sia stizzita alla fine per quello che avevo scritto. Errore di traduzione o giornata negativa. Non so. Di sicuro io procedo per la mia strada tranquillamente. Volevo solo chiarirtelo.
     

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