Diagnosis: Structural Abnormality AND TMS

[welvie]

In 2005, I traveled out of state to LA to see a prominent TMS doctor because three other doctors wanted to fuse part of my spine. I have a scoliosis S curve and other anomalies, with 41 and 36 degree curves-now I am 68 yrs old. I wanted to know from him if I should have the surgery, or study TMS. He did a nerve conduction test and found that the L4-5 nerve was indeed causing the pain, and suggested that I go ahead with surgery. He also gave me a diagnosis of TMS.

I did not have the surgery. I had prolotherapy instead and that worked. It is hard to ignore that it physically feels strange to have such a curved spine. However, I am not having severe spine pain right now.

I'm starting to study TMS for the third time in two decades. I have trouble believing that some of my spine issues ARE NOT truly physical.

But I also have other extreme TMS symptoms due to psychological reasons. I have been seeing an EMDR therapist for a year and a half now. I totally understand and deeply believe that my rage, fear, anxiety etc... causes many of my other physical symptoms.

So my question is: Is there anyone else who has visited a TMS doctor and received both a TMS and a physical diagnosis? What should I do? I'd like to resume activities and passions again without fear of injury.

 

[Cactusflower]

I now have structural diagnoses that might cause pain at times. But so does my increasingly challenging workouts. I’m a little younger than you and part of my own TMS recovery is being completely honest with myself in that maybe I won’t be able to do everything I want: I have been instructed how to move more carefully and with intention…but I’m also not ruling out that I might eventually be able to do those things. It’s dealing with uncertainty which, if you examine all the personality traits Sarno lays out that we are often using as TMS-ers, then you can understand everyone of them at least in part is to cope with uncertainty - to attempt to control.
Your knowledge of TMS and the emotional work you are doing is fantastic. Not many are willing to get deep down and face all the psychological work. What tactics did you employ to face the hard things in therapy?
thoughts like:
-this might temporarily be very hard
-Sometimes things in life “feel” - emotional or physical
-I need to be ok with being uncomfortable to get through this
-Let me try, and I’ll see what happens
-If I don’t like it I can quit, or postpone it until I’m ready
-I can stop anytime


These are all the ways I fight my fear of symptoms all the while knowing that maybe the outcome will be amazing, and maybe I’m not feel great. The joy is not just in the doing but the road to get there. I get a lot of satisfaction in both trying new (or old) things and/or firmly choosing not to do them right now. This is what I can control.

I also balance these things that might challenge old beliefs with nervous system work like passive meditation, movement meditation like tai chi or qui gong, mindfulness of working up to doing things not done in a long time and a practice similar to somatic tracking where I briefly scan my area of concern while doing the activity but then quickly also scan a non-concerning area - pairing the “unsafe” sensation place with that of neutral sensation. My brain just needs to learn “safe” and pairing is a behavioral way to do this. You might find other techniques that work best for you.
Clair Weekes Hope And Help For Your Nerves is also an excellent help because in these situations fear is a form of or comes with anxiety.

 

[BloodMoon]

I too think baby steps make a lot of sense here. I think it won't be sensible to jump straight into, e.g. swinging a golf club or running long distances (or whatever it might be that you'd like to return to doing) but you could test out small, gentle movements and see how your body responds.

I understand that spine specialists and PTs often advise building up physical strength to support the spine—especially with scoliosis and an L4–5 nerve issue. Targeted core and back exercises can help stabilize the spine and may reduce the need for surgery, while small, gradual experiments with movement let you test your limits without fear.

Perhaps you could see a mind/body-aware PT—someone who understands TMS and can guide you through strength-building and graded activity while also being sensitive to the fear and anxiety side of things. That way, you can respect the physical diagnosis while slowly aiming to resume the activities and passions you’ve missed.

 

[Adam Coloretti (coach)]

In 2005, I traveled out of state to LA to see a prominent TMS doctor because three other doctors wanted to fuse part of my spine. I have a scoliosis S curve and other anomalies, with 41 and 36 degree curves-now I am 68 yrs old. I wanted to know from him if I should have the surgery, or study TMS. He did a nerve conduction test and found that the L4-5 nerve was indeed causing the pain, and suggested that I go ahead with surgery. He also gave me a diagnosis of TMS.

I did not have the surgery. I had prolotherapy instead and that worked. It is hard to ignore that it physically feels strange to have such a curved spine. However, I am not having severe spine pain right now.

Hi!

Are you able to confirm the other findings? What was the prolotherapy actually treating? Most people with scoliosis are asymptomatic, so I wouldn't be attributing much to that (at least on its own without it pinching any nerves for example).

I also find it a bit odd that you were given a diagnosis of TMS but then told that you need to have surgery. If that was the cause of the pain then do you have TMS? Seems like a hedging of bets so to speak and would have confused me even more.

 

[BloodMoon]

What was the prolotherapy actually treating? Most people with scoliosis are asymptomatic, so I wouldn't be attributing much to that.

That's very interesting that most are asymptomatic. It figures though; my late father had a very visibly bent down and forward neck due rheumatoid arthritis changes to his spine, but it never caused him any pain.

And, just as an aside, many years ago (long before I started doing mind-body work) I almost had prolotherapy injections to tighten the ligaments around my right sacro-iliac to support the joint, but chickened out because I was concerned there might be an overreaction and the ligaments might tighten too much.

 

[Adam Coloretti (coach)]

That's very interesting that most are asymptomatic. It figures though; my late father had a very visibly bent down and forward neck due rheumatoid arthritis changes to his spine, but it never caused him any pain.

And, just as an aside, many years ago (long before I started doing mind-body work) I almost had prolotherapy injections to tighten the ligaments around my right sacro-iliac to support the joint, but chickened out because I was concerned there might be an overreaction and the ligaments might tighten too much.

I did make a slight change above to clarify in that I meant I wouldn't attribute much to it on its own - whether it's impacting other structures or processes by all means