getting a check up before I can begin accepting this is TMS

[heleng]

Hello all

I joined yesterday and was really grateful for all the help and advice and kindness I received. I want to face up to the fear and start to get better. I know I need to get checked out first but I am scared. I am scared of two things, firstly they will find something terribly wrong with me and secondly that I will come across as very neurotic and not be listened to.

I am not sure what tests to ask for. Can a simple check up be enough to determine if anything bad is happening? I find it really hard to describe my pain as it changes so much and moves around so much. Yesterday I had lots of upper back shoulder pain, today that is almost non existent but I have some lower back pain, 3 days ago I was completely pain free and had been for a while. It is just so frustrating. I have checked out fibromyalgia sites and looked at the tender points but I only really have a couple of these and fatigue isnt really a problem for me I seem to be energetic.

Do i need to have lots of x rays done, blood tests? Can anybody help me with this as I just feel a bit confused about what to ask for as I rarely go to my GP. Last time I went was after I split up with my long term partner and I was depressed and started to get the pains. I was told it was stress and was examined and told my muscles were very tight. I was encouraged to get a message and given antidepressants. I tried the meds, disliked them and stopped. I has the massage and was told by the therapist I was holding my body in a very tight way, the massage stopped the pain for a couple of weeks but it returned.

I just don't want to come across as a total idiot and not be taken seriously by my doctor.

Thanks

Helen

 

[Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)]

Hi, Helen. I'm leary about doctors because most of them only think pain is caused structurally and not psychologically,
so they prescribe medication and that rarely does any good or lasts for long, and leaves patients with side effects.

You worry that the doctor will recommend X-rays and other tests, but even if structural problems are found,
they might not really cause your pain.

Fear seems to be your main reason for having pain. Stop living in the future. Stop thinking the worst (catastrophyzing).
Live in the present and tune out the pain by putting your mind on things that make you happy. Be positive.
Practice deep breathing. Slowly, inhale through the nose, hold the breath a few moments, exhale through the mouth
while telling yourself you're fine and have nothing to worry about.

 

[chickenbone]

Hi Helen,

I agree with Walt, your symptoms sound a lot like TMS. TMS symptoms often respond to our mental state by coming and going, moving around a lot. However, you should probably get a general physical check-up by your GP, if for no other reason than you are worried about the pain. Getting checked out physically is really necessary for a TMS diagnosis, but this can be a double edged sword. On the one hand, finding out that you are physically ok, no major physical problems, can take some of the fear and worry away. On the other hand, some doctors can scare you by telling you that there is possibly a reason for your physical pain, when your pain and the abnormalities they discover are not actually related. Often, mild abnormalities mean nothing at all. So try to find a reasonable doctor who will reassure you instead of frightening you. Perhaps you can tell the doctor about your emotional worry and stress and how you think it might be affecting you.