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Day 8, my first post

C

Cheri

New Member
Hi There,

I am on day 8 of the structured program. (FYI - the video link posted for this day does not work) About 4 weeks ago I learned about Dr. Sarno + TMS and researched as much as I could on-line while I waited for the book to arrive. I instantly connected with everything I read and highly suspected that this was my issue. I almost immediately noticed a decrease in pain. Since then I have read Healing Back Pain and been diagnosed with TMS by a local physician which has confirmed my beliefs in TMS. Once I read the book, the horrible back pain I was experiencing when I tried to sleep was gone in a few days. The improvements have been astonishing and very encouraging. I keep doing the work and focusing on my emotions. The pain that has not really changed at all is the severe sciatica in my left leg that prevents me from walking and standing more than a few minutes. Since I have started the online program there have been no improvements at all. I am trying to stay positive, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated by this. Since my back pain improved so quickly I was hoping the leg pain would do the same, since this is the pain that prevents me from doing so many things. I know I'm just being impatient and things will get better.
 
Welcome, Cheri!

It sounds like you are doing really well! It can take time to be completely pain free, but it sounds like you are on your way.

~ Veronica
 
Hi Cheri and Welcome to the Wiki,

It is great to hear that your back pain was able to go away in a matter of days, but I do understand that it can be frustrating to still have other symptoms. Sometimes one symptoms will take longer to heal because we worry about more or think of it more serious. You mentioned that your severe sciatica prevents you from walking, which makes me think that you focus on it more and worry it about more.

I can relate to having severe leg pain. I had severe knee pain which also prevented me from walking more then a couple minutes, but now I am fully recovered. Have you been reading the sciatica success stories. Reading stories from other people have been really helpful to a lot of people. One thing that I noticed that helped my leg pain more then anything else was to be active. I started to push myself and took up playing broomball. At first, I was a little nervous but I just reminded myself that I had TMS and I did not have to limit my activity. My symptoms didn't get worse. Sometimes I didn't even have pain when I was playing. It just sort of faded away. Nothing helps the TMS message sink into our unconscious then being active. It may be helpful for you to start walking a little bit each day. You can start off small, by just walking around the block and gradually build up from there.

Lastly, keep postin updates here. There is a lot of great information on this forum and on the main website. I found a lot of benefit from posting on forums and reading about what worked for other people, so I encourage other people to do the same.

Best,

Forest
 
Hi Cheri:

Just to let you know this is what happened to me. My lower back pain and some new shoulder pain were both about 80% gone the day after I finished my first Sarno book last fall (Sept. 2011) and it wasn't long for them both to be totally gone. But the dizziness and neck pain stuck around. I realized that I had to address my anxiety, which was greatly helped by reading a book by Claire Weekes - Hope & Help For Your Nerves. I also started the Structured Ed Program, and discovered things from my past that I didn't realize were still stuck in my psyche. Even tiny, small events, once I let go and wrote about them, were very revealing. I can't exactly remember how many weeks later it was, and I wasn't through the Program, but one day I realized it had been several days since I'd felt dizzy. I decided about then that I was done with having a stiff neck, and started doing things that in the past I was afraid to do because they would make my neck hurt. And my neck didn't hurt!

I've had many other varying symptoms over the years that I won't even list here - some never came back, others come back when I'm stressed. And there are relapses. I'm having a relapse right now, in fact, with the dizziness/lightheadedness, so I have to go back, finish the Ed Program, and figure out what it is about my current stresses (and there are many of them) that is triggering deep emotions, and also figure out what those emotions are.

Many of Dr. Sarno's success stories tell about people who experience the "book cure". We don't see those people on this forum - or should I say, we don't see them until they relapse, or start experiencing a new symptom that's harder to eliminate! I think what we need to accept is that our basic personality traits, the ones that Dr. Sarno identified so well, are the traits that make this a life-long journey. And I used to use the word "struggle" but that just doesn't feel right anymore, because it really is a journey of discovery.

Keep working on it - and above all, be totally honest with yourself (no one else is watching) as you're doing the work. That's essential. And it's also the hardest thing to do, because your brain is dedicated to preventing it.

Jan

PS - you're right about the video, which is a bummer - I got to watch it last fall. We would love to figure out how to archive some of these outside links on the wiki, but it's probably copyrighted material :( Peg's story is still on the old wiki profile page here: http://tmswiki.wetpaint.com/account/Peghanson but this site is not being updated or monitored, I don't think so, anyway. I'll discuss this with the admin team.
 
Thanks for your responses everyone! Sorry I just noticed these today. Forest, thanks for recommending to read sciatica success stories, I will check those out. I do go for walks every day at the park near my house. If the pain gets too severe I just stop and rest on the bench. I have tried pushing through the pain when it comes on but it always become excruciating and I need to sit. I think I do a good job at staying positive and not taking the pain too seriously, but I have yet to figure out the trick to not focusing on it at all. Since walking is so integral to our lives, its a constant reminder. Jen, thanks for your kind words and I will check out that book by Claire Weekes.
 
Hi Cheri. Not all issues resolve quickly. I suddenly one day had sharp pain in my butt and went to the ER where I was diagnosed with sciatica. After that it was herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, etc. Fortunately I learned of TMS around that time, and did Dr. Sarno's program. The pain took a few weeks to go away so I could sit without pain, then walk and stand longer. But it did go away.

It takes as long as it takes. It's important to keep reading the information, and I found joruaning to be key as well. Dr. Sarno says to read this information daily for at least a month so it sinks into our brains.
 
Hi Cheri - and welcome to the forum:

I had lower back pain for over 10 years. I started the program and for awhile it moved into my neck. But then it moved back into my lower back. Frustration is kind of part of the journey - so know you aren't alone. Greet each day with positive resolve and one day you'll "get there" as they say.

I remain upbeat and positive that this is going to go away for me. I hope you won't get too frustrated that this journey has no timeline. We're all different and from different back grounds. Simply do the best you can each day and ask many questions here on the forum. Everyone is in different stages of recovery.

Hope that pain goes away and stays away very soon. Sounds like you're off to a great start

BG
 
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