Do I have TMS?

Hi! I've been suffering from pain in the lower back, the left side of my butt and my left leg since 2013. There have been times when I suffered from a lot of pain, even started to limp for a while.

Actually the pain started as pelvic pain in my left side and the doctor told me that I had psoas tendonitis (after check that it wasnt related to any problem with my uterus or ovaries). So I started to take pain killers and physical therapy, but the pain dind't decrease. I went to a chiropracter and he helped a little, but didn't resolve my problem. At this point the pain was all over my left side, in special my left leg and foot. My shoulder and upper back also hurt. Then, another doctor told me that I dind't had anything wrong with my psoas (my pelvis had stopped hurt). So I started a new physical therapy for my lower back pain.

Many years passed and I couldn't find a cure, till the end of 2015, when another doctor send me to get a MRI and found that I have a herniated disc (L5-S1). It was not a big extrusion, but he told me it was enough to caused me all that pain. He gave me pain killers and told me to do excersise and try to avoid stress.

At the beginning, working out at the gym stopped the pain for a while. Since 2016, the pain comes and goes. Some days it hurt a lot, and I feel numbness in my left leg and foot. Sometimes I feel pain in my left knee also. And I feel my leg really cold.

I read Dr. Sarno's book a couple of months ago and it really changes my view about my pain. Since then the periods with pain have been shorter, but they still appear many times, and for many days. I'm really tired of this.

I also have other TMS conditions as IBS, anxiety and mild depression...

I've notice that when I'm travelling, I almost have any pain, even when I challenge myself by being seated for many hours or walking long distances, or carrying my luggage. But when I'm not on vacations, the pain visits me regularly. It hurts a lot, in special when I'm seated.

I really like to go to the gym. I want to gain some muscle, I like to feel strong (I'm very skinny and for many years I've felt really weak because of the pain and the stress that it causes me). I have started a new training program that requieres to lift some weights (not too many). When I work out, the pain disappears (some times I feel some discomfort in my lower back). But sometimes it starts again some hours after my training or at the next day.

I've also tried with yoga, but sometimes it also makes the pain to start again, I think it happens when I do lunges.

I really want to continue working out, and completing my goal of gain some muscles, but I'm afraid of being wrong and injuring more my back. How can I confirm that I have TMS? I believe that I have it, it makes sense, but when I feel pain after working out or doing yoga or doing a bad movement... I doubt it...

Sometimes I help myself with Chinese patches for pain... with those the pain goes away more quickly... I don't want to go to physical therapy again... can you give some advices about how to help with my recovering?

I'm sorry for my mistakes writing this text, English is not my mother language. Thanks a lot for your answers!

 

We always recommend people to go to see their doctors first and get cleared of all physical posibilities before starting a TMS program. We also recommend that you see a TMS doctor that can properly diagnose if it is TMS. We can give an experienced opinion, but no one here can clearly tell you if it is TMS or not, for liability reasons and because most of us are not doctors, but a support group. Now, I can give you my opinion as a tms sufferer of the back and legs and other parts of the body, that you seem to have tms symptoms. Mainly because you mentioned that when you do x or y thing( like taking vacations ) the pain goes away not mattering what position you put yourself into. So, if you notice that your pain changes when you do or think certain things, or when you get rid of stress then there is a big possibility that you have TMS. An structural problem in any part of the body wont go away because you think about something, or because you go on vacation. Most structural problems have a time for healing( a bone takes x time to heal, a muscle x time, etc). So if what you think is a structural pain can be controlled by what you think or feel, then most probably that is a psychosomatic symptom. I would suggest that you bring all your past studies to a TMS doctor and get a complete diagnosis. That will take your fear away, and will lessen your pain IF it is TMS. Could you tell us which is your other language?

 

Thanks a lot for your answer! I'm from Peru, I speak Spanish. I did some research and I haven't found a TMS doctor here... if someone knows where can I find one in Peru please share it with me.