Does TMS Discriminate with Age?

Hello, My name is Jeremy and I'm 19 years old. This is my first post and I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing so I'll just jump right in. I suppose that the reason I'm writing this is to ask If it's possible for younger people to develop TMS. I've read all of Dr. Sarno's books and I recall maybe one or two cases where he mentions teens but for the most part, he doesn't say whether it's common in teens (or at least I don't remember him saying that). My symptoms started developing as soon as I turned 16 and have gotten progressively worse ever since. I'm now in a state of dull, achy, chronic pain.

As far as the books go, I saw myself on every page. I've experienced almost everything that Dr. Sarno states is characteristic of TMS. I really believed that I was suffering from TMS since all my x-rays, MRI's and other medical tests came back "clean" and the multiple doctors that I've gone to have been perplexed as to where the pain is coming from. So the only logical conclusion would be TMS then, right? I'm just not so sure anymore. I've been practicing Dr. Sarno's methods of educating one's self on the theory and I'm really trying everything I can to get rid of this awful syndrome but I'm not seeing results.

I guess the major questions I have are: A) Can TMS manifest in teens and B) How long can it really take to see results or improvement in symptoms.
Thank you.

 

Hey bud. I am currently 21 years old and I too developed tms at 16 after a " hit" in hockey. From 16-18 it was a dull achy pain daily and from 18-21 it's been severe full blown tms. Back pain both sides, frozen neck, frozen shoulder, arm pain, wrist pain, rashes, heart arythmia, knee pain... You name it I have had it. It is 100% tms for from ages 1-16 I was the healthiest human being you could come across.. Doing anything you could think of. I was always playing sports. I grew up in an abusive household and experienced a lot of horrible things through out my life so I can see how my repressed emotions from my childhood paved the way for my tms pain.

 

Thank you so much for sharing that. At least now I know that I'm not crazy and teens can develop TMS. You've really helped me out here. Thanks again!

 

hey Jeremy..TMS can definitely happen in teenage years. Mine manifested at 15 when back pain exploded! I don't even remember how? But being old school 1970's, no one would imagine the mind was involved, so I lived majority of my life with only the thought of physical reasoning. When I discovered/read Sarno's MindBody Prescription in the 1990's I was almost instantly 100% better. Unfortunately I relapsed and forgot the teachings years later so in lieu of more surgery I'm here to reclaim and kick some TMS ass! ...good luck to you.

 

Thanks for the encouragement! And good luck to you too!

 

Hi Jeremy, and welcome to the forum!

I'm 65 now, and 60 when I discovered Dr. Sarno, but when I started this work and looked back at my life, it was obvious that I had TMS symptoms all my life, starting with episodes of OCD when I was really young (the two really distinct periods of OCD that I can remember were age 6 and age 9). I remember having digestive issues at 18, just before graduating high school - which our family doctor assured me were due to anxiety. Numerous symptoms came and went over the years, but I was fortunate in that whenever a particular symptom became so concerning that I finally went to the doctor, I was told that I seemed to be suffering from stress and/or anxiety. In other words, I was never subjected to a barrage of worrying tests or to pointless medications. I was just advised to relax. I engaged in years of chiropractic and physical therapy which always helped temporarily, but the pain symptoms would return, or other types of symptoms (what Dr. Sarno calls "TMS equivalents") would crop up at various times.

At age 60 I hit a crisis point, which is when, quite by chance, I came across The Divided Mind by Dr. Sarno. That's what finally pulled it all together for me and, with the help of this community and its resources, I got my life back.

Stick around here, and be sure to read the posts on our Success Stories subforum to get an idea of what has worked for other members. Everyone is different, so what works for you will be a unique combination of practices, techniques, and advice, including two free self-study programs that we have at tmswiki.org. In fact, it's possible to do this work without spending anything. I borrowed all of my favorite books from the library before deciding to buy any of them. There are a ton of free resources, which are posted and reposted all over the forum.

The #1 thing that is required (which also costs nothing) is a complete mind shift - which might be easier said than done. Although it might be easier to do at 19! This community is here to help you make that shift, to find the combination of things to get you there, and to give you plenty of support while you do it.

Above all, give yourself a HUGE amount of credit for being here! And know that what you learn by doing this work will improve every aspect of your life, now and in the future. It's amazing stuff.

Jan

 

Thank you so much for the advice. I'm really going to commit to shifting my state of mind and getting control of my life again! Thanks!

 

Jeremy
If you don't mind me asking what are your symptoms?

 

So I developed a small backache one day after football practice when I was 16. I didn't think much of it at the time but it has gotten worse and worse ever since. It's now a dull pain in my lower back which literally never goes away. It isn't excruciating by any means but it has made my life very unpleasant. Over the three years since developing it, I tried everything to get rid of it. Finally, I was recommended to have surgery which I agreed to. The Doctor said he didn't see much but he thought that the pain "must" be coming from a small herniation in L4-L5. I had the surgery and received absolutely no relief.

The only thing that really made me think that it must be TMS is that I will very rarely have the pain spread. Once in a blue moon, I will get an intense pain in my shoulders and down my left arm. I suppose this is the TMS moving that Dr. Sarno talks about. When it does move, I feel virtually no pain in my back at that time. These moments typically only last a few minutes though and then it's back to business as normal with the back pain. Like I said though, this happens very rarely. I know you only asked for the symptoms but I wanted to give you the full picture.

 

You explained my story. Thanks for being honest dude. I was also 16 when hit in hockey and for 3 years had a very dull achy pain and then at 18-19 it became very intense to the point of almost total disability and I don't say this to scare you. You do have TMS and that's 100% the truth. I wish I learned of it before my sumptoms got so engrained in my head everything I do now is around my back. The pain also goes to my shoulder and neck and arm and spreads here and there for a short time I won't have back pain but the pain will be on my shoulder/neck and arm then it will go back to the original spot. Hang in there dude it's nice to see someone with my similar diagnosis and history. I also have a "l4-l5 s1" herniation that's "causing" my pain. We can do this dude.

 

Thanks for taking the time to help me come to grips with this. I was very skeptical but I'm buying into it now. I think maybe I haven't seen results yet because I didn't totally buy into the diagnosis - but now I do! I'm going to put in the work and take control of my life back. Thanks for everything!

 

Stay in touch with your progress bud.

 

Will do. Thanks!!

 

Looking back on it now, I started with TMS when I was about 15- I had chronic allergies and a cough that would not respond to treatment. Then it abruptly disappeared after a few years, beginning the long string of symptom imperatives that would continue up until nowadays. When I was 18 I got chronic prostatitis out of nowhere which lasted for months, etc. Of course I was always miserable and angry but I never made the connection.

I had posted a chronic pain lecture from Dr. Clauw on here awhile back- it was interesting because one of the things they ask chronic pain patients to do is make a mark on a picture of a body of all places where you've ever had chronic pain. If you're middle aged its usually red marks all over the place. What research has shown is that for people with debilitating chronic pain later in life, you usually see early signs of it even back into the teens and 20's.

You guys are lucky to have discovered this stuff at such a young age! If I could have just one wish it would be to go back in time about 15 years ago and hand my younger self The Mindbody Prescription.

 

Most of my skepticism in the diagnosis came from the fact that it started so young in me. Now that I have everyone telling me that it definitely can manifest at a young age, it really helps. I feel extremely lucky that I came across this diagnosis when I did. Thanks for affirming my suspicion of TMS and I hope that everything is going well for you!

 

Hi, Jeremy. If I were you, a teenager, I would consider myself lucky to have learned about TMS at an early age. I am 86 and developed severe back pain four years ago. I learned that it was not caused by lifting something heavy but by repressed emotions going back to when I was seven and my parents divorced. TMS healed me and has made me a healthier and happier person.
It can do the same for you.

I suggest you start the Sructured Educational Program, free in the subforum of this web site. It will help you to heal by, among other things, learning about emotions that cause pain.

Your pain is not a setback. It's a giant step forward into being healthy.

 

Thank you for the advice! I actually did start the program (Today was Day 5 for me) and I'm excited to see the results. I know it could take a while so I'll have to make sure I don't get discouraged but since I full-heartedly believe in this diagnosis, I know that it's only a matter of time. Maybe a couple of weeks or maybe a couple of months but I will get there. Thanks again!

 

Dr. Sarno was a rehab doctor, so he probably didn't treat that many kids, if he were a pediatrician we'd probably be seeing a lot more about kids. See the RAHE-HOLMES LIST OF LIFE STRESSORS, there's a separate list for teens. In non-Western cultures, by the time you're 12 or 13 you're considered an adult. It's only in the Western world that "aging" is a pejorative, and in Kalifornia it's against the law to grow-up.

 

Hello my man,

I'm almost your age (23, almost 24..). I believe I had TMS my whole life. It started with very frequent tonsilitis and other frequent respiratory infections. Then when I was 13 I started to develop TMS shoulder pain (started without reason), then physically hurt myself when fall on my shoulder and partially torn my labrum. Was good for a while then at age of 17 problems started again, had a surgery at age 19 where surgeon didnt find any reason for my pain.

I feel like if you had very bad experiences early in your life, like abusive household or something along those lines it will manifest somehow. For most people it takes about 30 years to take that much shit in life to develop mindbody symptoms.

 

I agree with what you said. I felt like I hadn't experienced enough stress or major traumatic events in my life so far to develop TMS. I honestly believe that my symptoms were brought about simply because of my personality traits. I'm both a perfectionist and a people pleaser. When I step back and look at it from that angle, it becomes clear why my TMS symptoms started.