Do you have weakness?

I have been very weak for years, in spite of trying to strengthen myself. Of course, I've had many "injuries" that have set me back. Still, I'm surprised that I am so weak (disabled) after so long. I've heard that it should take about a year to go from EXTREMELY weak (i.e., hardly able to walk) to being fully functional. I wonder if the TMS is causing me to gain strength very slowly. I've read that stress impacts muscle gain. I wonder if the same can be said for TMS. Any thoughts? thanks.

 

I have sciatica/piriformis syndrome on the right. When I stand, it feels like a lot of my strength drains away. Several times a day my right leg buckles under me for a second or less. I feel like the TMS has made the muscles very tight and cuts off a lot of circulation but I have yet to find lasting relief.

 

Hmm. Both of you. You both say "the TMS is..." in a way which gives TMS all the power, like it's a virus or something.

TMS is a manifestation of pain that originates in your brain. It is caused by a primitive mechanism that is designed to distract you with a physical symptom so that you stay on the alert for danger, rather than being bogged down with emotional distress and rage. The emotional distress is repressed by your subconscious brain, stuffed deep down where you supposedly can't find it.

One reason that TMS symptoms often get worse after someone starts doing the psychological work (doing the SEP, Alan Gordon's Recovery Program, Dr. Schubiner's Unlearn Your Pain, etc) is because the brain is fighting back against the danger that you will access those repressed emotions.

So one small suggestion is that if you truly believe you have TMS (and honestly, we all do have it, to some extent - it's a normal brain mechanism) you might consider saying, instead, that "my primitive brain is influencing me to believe that..."

If you want to know more about the physiological long-term effects of emotional repression, I would recommend "When The Body Says No" by Dr. Gabor Mate, MD. Some think this is a frightening book, but I found it inspiring. However, he is very convincing about the fact that you CAN hurt yourself due to long-term stress. And we're not talking about life stress - he specifically refers to the stress of emotional repression. He is incredibly compelling, compassionate and a wonderful writer.

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are both suspected to be TMS equivalents - I don't think it's too radical to say that they are probably very intense and long-term forms of TMS. I seem to recall that both conditions exhibit weakness as one of the symptoms . I was never diagnosed as having any particular condition, but in 2011, weak, shaky legs was one of my symptoms and I was in danger of becoming housebound.

In any case, TMS recovery, whether TMS is the source of all your issues, or contributes to your issues, can only be achieved with a 180-degree shift in the way you look at your ability to control your thoughts and thus change your experience. You also have to really do the psychological work if reading and talking alone ain't doin' it.

~Jan

 

I agree with Jan.
Been there myself. Feeling weak, having little energy, shaky legs with uber-tight muscles in it that kept me from walking and exercising, spent most of my day lying on either a sofa or a bed, sleeping most of the day.
You see, it is a vicious cycle kept alive by.... FEAR!! You are basically spending your days in survivalmode.
Fear constricts your ability to recuperate after physical and mental exercise. Recuperation is something that is done in a mode of relaxation, not in a mode of survival. So, yes, TMS can keep you from gaining muscle, it is simply not on the menu when you are TMS'ing, because the primitive brain feels it is not important for survival in the short run. I call it exercise-intolerance. Even the slightest of exercise will result in days of misery.
The good news is, I managed to turn it around and I believe others can too. My advise is to keep trying, tell your brain to, excusez-le-mot, F@CK OFF and not interfere with what you are trying to do. In my case I slowly gained more confidence and lost more and more fear about my symptoms. Allow yourself also to be weak and tired, but don't let it stop you from trying again and again. Maybe certain emotions keep you from making progress, in that case work on it using the many tools Alan Gordon speaks about in his new program.

 

I've read Gabor Mate's book and watched a bunch of his videos. He's got a lot of experience and agree he is a great source of information.

I do believe my (primitive) brain is squeezing my muscles tight and pinching my sciatic nerve. I believe my body is fine and the pain is fake. (Real pain, no injury) I stretch and move and loosen a bit, get tired, rest and it all binds up again.

I did finally get some CBD oil to help me sleep. it's only been two days but I am sleeping better. This will be a wait and see, but decent sleep can only help. Also, walking is painful and feels dangerous because my leg often goes out. I am looking into joining a community center where I can swim and use a hot tub too.

 

I highly recommend this. My healing really gathered pace once I joined a local leisure centre. I love to swim but mostly I love being a Jacuzzi hog. The jets were cleaned recently and are now dazzlingly effective at hitting those hurty sweet spots. I find gifting my body with such deep relaxation and release incredibly powerful. It creates a tangible, physical state of how-good-my-body-can-feel.

I'm an off peak member and go when it's quiet. At that time of day the pool comprises a fair number of 'walking wounded' who diligently gently exercise their 'problem' areas (mostly hips and knees). Some of them wear headphones and walk to the music. There are also quite a few disabled people and autistic kids, all of whom greatly benefit from simply being in the water. It is very soothing.

Remember that water represents the unconscious mind and our emotions and by being in the water we are do more than move our body, we shift our emotions too. Over time the effect can be transformative. I used it as a journaling substitute for a long time. I also find I can work out knotty problems while I'm swimming in the same way as a good walk can clear your head.

The other practice I recommend is Yin Yoga. It is excellent for tension relief and loosening the body in ways that are very very gentle. There's a link at the end of My Story to the teacher I follow.

Through a combination of swimming and Yin Yoga I have made dramatic gains in the last 2 years. I now find any emotional inner work much more effective.

Plum x

 

Lol, some years back I took a Yoga class from this center with a lady from my MS group. It was the silver sneakers class for older ladies, but it was good for stretching. I walked fine back then. I bet they do have a number of classes available. Here in MN, we are the Land of Lakes so I grew up swimming every summer, not sure why I don't anymore, there are a lot of things I don't do anymore.

Seriously, I think a good massage therapist could work out many of the knots and tightness, especially the sciatica which is actually what's crippling me. But my insurance won't pay for that. They'll pay for injections and a $80k spinal stimulator tho. Time to craft my own care plan I guess, the one am in now is 1 hour away and is exhausting me.

I noticed on another thread someone mentioned Irene Lyon's work, it looks interesting and struck a chord with me, but that's another thread.

 

Hi music,

Yes its hard to get back from immobility but its possible. I did it : It took time and effort but also patience'
Setting a time frame sounds familiiar but its better not to focus too much on that : Slowly move forward and build from the progress. Fully functional ' after a long long time is a goal (i have that goal still too) but being just a lot better is also a realy good thing. Don't rush! Before i went for my tiny walks in the beginning i had my tv o and a guy named dr. Ho was on selling stuff : His slogan is : ' motion is lotion' and that became my slogan too! Cause its true. It took a long time before i enjoyed it buts its getting there !

Cbd oil for sleep : I can agree on that
Streching for piriformis i very much disagree!! In fact is was one of the worst things i tried
Once i stopped that (pt will tell you its a good idea though... things improved !
In fact on the website painsience.com you can read that streching muscle that are strained by nots is a bad idea ! I totallly agree. Better to move, use massage and heat on the muscle.
So : Motion = lotion
And patience is important
You can do this too !!

 

You know? Stretching never helped my piriformis. It always seems to tighten right back up and painfully so. Lol, my PT says 'motion is lotion too.

 

Yes i am confinced you make it worse streching it! Perhaps not if there was no 'problem. But when that muscle is so tight try loosen it and not torture it more. In facf its so logical , yet i learned the hard way too. Head pack : Cheap and does wonders

 

Just hit youtube to see why this is so, the PT guy made sense saying in certain circumstances, you can put too much pressure on your back and make it worse. He said in the comments that it's better to lay on your stomach. I would also add a slight arch back.

 

Ironically enough it was a 'gentle yoga class' that buggered my lower back. I only went to accompany my partner. Oddly I don't fare well with any other style of yoga bar Yin so I completely understand.

I'm absolutely certain that massage would benefit everyone here. My partner has perfected a brief but effective massage on my sacrum which totally sorts out those grinches. Having suffered himself he knows exactly how to hit the spot. Lots of patience and relaxation may be the way to go for now.

 

Totally agree Plum ! If every person on the planet could end each day having a massage the world would be better off

 

Plum
I took note and went to a couple of the sites you recommended on your story page. The first was the Yin Yoga or as she indicated in the video this is sometimes called Serenity Yoga. I had been a practitioner of Hatha Yoga for many years, probably 16 or more. As I became more debilitated I could not do many of the poses so I eventually stopped. I have difficulty getting up and down from the floor, However, the Yin Yoga appears to be more gentle, with stretches/asanas held for longer periods of time. This may be a way for me to get back into a practice. Slowly doing poses, held for longer timeframes sounds good to me.

The other site was Rick Hanson's site. What a gem. Thanks for this information. I will return to his site frequently.

Water exercise was crucial in me regaining strength when I first was having difficulty walking, bending, and standing. I did PT for a period of time when first diagnosed and was introduced to some good pool exercises. I went at least 2x per week for about three years and did increase my ability to move, stand, etc. TMS then showed its angry head and I stopped going to the pool....thus, losing my strength. I have started going again. While doing some of the gentle exercises I found the pain stopped. I noted it. My emotions had evidently been shifted... The pain did return, but it was GONE for a while.

So...thanks for all of the support you give to those of us in need. You are a gem among gems.

Lainey

 

Just made my first massage appt. and will probably buy their 10 pack - out of pocket, but I can't stand it anymore. Now to contact the community center. My insurance will give me a small rebate if I go 12X a month.

Cool to see different experiences.

 

I pray your masseur possesses strong yet gentle hands and heart. Keep us in the loop sweetheart. xxx

 

Such a beautiful, warm message to greet me this morning. Bless your kind heart for that Lainey.

I hope you like Yin Yoga. I shake it up once a month or so with vinyasa flow but my body isn't quite up to it yet so I usually retreat back to yin with that cosy feeling of returning home. It makes me feel earthed and grounded like nothing else can, and shavasana is an absolute joy.

I'm missing the pool at the moment as my visits have been down to once a week for a while (himself has been in intensive therapy ~ all good). I'm hoping to return to twice weekly asap. I'm happy to report that not only am I healing, my arms and shoulders are started to look nice. By the God's, I'd forgotten what it felt like to feel vaguely attractive, the healing booms work their mysterious magic .

Rick Hanson is a darling. I recommend exploring his offerings on YouTube too. There are some first class talks on gorgeous subjects such as "joy" and "happiness".

Wishing you much joy, happiness and healing my love. xxx

 

Mouser
I have been going for 2x monthly massages since last December. Having been to different masseuses in the past I find that this one is a gem. She works with me rather than having her own agenda of what it is I need. She gives me her thoughts/suggestions on where we should focus and I make the final decision on what it is I need that day. She weaves in a delicious blend of massage, trigger point, cranial sacral and Chi Nei Tsang (focusing on ancestral/past issues our bodies may be holding). All is a delight. I hope you can find someone as skilled and caring.
Good luck with your new agenda. Let us know how it goes.
Lainey

 

Plum

Like the possibility of having my "arms and shoulders" looking nice again!

Lainey

 

The clinic has a 5 star rating with 20 reviews. They have 5 massage therapists so I will have to find the right fit.

I am feeling a bit optimistic again even tho I am still annoyed and disappointed in my current clinic. So Thanks everyone.