Day 4 Disheartening things a doctor has said

[movingcloud]

Immediately I am thinking of a consultant I was referred to, potentially to do surgery of some kind - fusing vertebrae?? - I try to forget these hideous things, and I've seen 2 other consultants. Yes, I wrote it down afterwards:
He said, after examining my MRI scan:
"It may not be fixable, of course". "The thing I need to answer, very simply, is would an operation on your back help, and nothing I can see on that latest scan fills me with enthusiasm to do an operation on your back". "The scan always shows us something, but scans are never normal - unless you were about twenty in which case you sometimes see them". "This is the scan of your back...and things I look for are the quality of the bone. The disks are slightly worn in the lower lumber spine - which is a fairly common finding in someone born in 19.. , there is no sign of disease there, there is no sign of infection or of cancer that needs to be treated". Me - "fantastic!" Him - "OK? There are 9 areas of wear and tear type changes, which in some people give a lot of pain, and in other people give no pain, unfortunately you are in the first group. .... Sorry about that. One of the great problems about back problems is its not obvious what it is. I think it will change in time, it isn't a life sentence. I don't think we're going to get very far today". I remember coming out of this interview feeling he MUST have missed something, and I was angry that a Consultant had nothing further up his sleeve. No hint of any way forward. I was both delighted and terribly frustrated! This was 2 years ago, and I have been working on all sorts of things to get the pain down - and I am in a better place, but still have pain all the time. Today - re-visiting this, makes me realise that TMS is what he didn't tell me about. It helps me to be more certain that I really can be OK again.

 

[Forest]

As the doctor pointed out, some people have a wear and tear on their spine with absolutley no pain and other have extruciating pain. The difference between the two is not any structural issue, but that the latter group has TMS. I had a doctor say something similar: that there is nothing he could do for me and that I should probably give up my dream of becoming a computer programmer.

The good news is that these doctors just weren't aware of TMS. This is what is commonly referred to as Medicine's Blind Spot. There are a lot of people in similar situations as your self, who had an abnomrality show up on a MRI, but were able to fully recover. Despite whatever the doctor told you, you can fully recover and be pain free.

 

[movingcloud]

Thanks for your response, Forest! Its good to hear what you say - are you pain free and are you a programmer? It's been quite hard for me in the last 2 years to accept that I am how I am, and that medics may not be able to help beyond pain management classes and meds. But, having got that far - accepting it - has been good. I am WAY happier nowadays.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

re-visiting this, makes me realise that TMS is what he didn't tell me about.

I love this line, MC! It reminds me of my life, and I'm 61 now. Doctors told me from the time I was a teen that whatever my symptom was, it was probably due to stress. This always made me relieved, because I did NOT want them to find something wrong, but no one ever told me what to do about the stress. Not really. Standard relaxation techniques really don't work until you get to the root emotional causes of repression.

So you're right that medics can't help. But YOU can help yourself, and you CAN recover.

You're on Day 4 - keep going, and visualize yourself pain-free - it will happen!

Jan

 

[movingcloud]

Thank you so much! I just want to say that the TMS wiki feels like a lifeline right now, and I want to thank you and all the administrators for all the work you put in here. That and a big (virtual) hug!

 

[Forest]

Yeah I am pain free. At one point my symptoms prevented me from typing or working on the computer for any length of time. Now, I can type all day long with absolutely no pain. The best part is that I don't even think about if my hands are hurting or not. I primarily do programming on the side in my spare time, since it is not part of my work. I still spend 5 hours + on the computer a day, without absolutely no symptoms. For more check out my profile page, thank you dr. sarno post, and/or my video success story.

RSI, Carpal Tunnell, and Fibromyalgia are really prevalent with programmers and there is the common thought that all of these conditions are due to overuse or poor posture. The funny thing is that you never heard of people in the 60s/70s complain of RSI due to typing on a typewriter all day. These conditions started up as a way to distract us, and doctors had to find something to attribute them to, so they chose (incorrectly) computers. This idea was fed on by pharmacuetical companies and makers of ergonomic devices to make people think they have to have perfect posture so they won't hurt themselves. I tried pretty much every ergonomic device and none of them provided me with relief. I took breaks and limited my time on the computer and the only thing it did was make my symptoms worse and make me belief that I was damaged. Of course I wasn't damaged, I just had TMS. Now I type all day, use no ergonomic devices, have terrible posture, and have absolutely no pain.

So you're right that medics can't help. But YOU can help yourself, and you CAN recover.

I love this line, and this is the attitude you need to have to recover. You can't look outside yourself to recover. You have to decide to change your thoughts and do the work yourself.