Day 3 Great Swim and question re pregnancy

[Jill Pensom]

Dear all,
Thanks for your wise words regarding my day 1 post. It all makes complete sense.
This morning (day 3) I went for a swim. I've swam a little over the past few years but nothing like I used to. I had always totally avoided breaststroke (my favourite stroke) as I was told by various 'professionals how bad it was for someone with a back problem. I hated swimming backstroke (supposedly best) as it didn't feel like me.
Anyway today I swam for thirty minutes and did forty lengths of pure breaststroke and it felt great! I had an occasional twinge but kept saying to myself 'it's tension'.
One question I have is that I've just found out I'm pregnant! I'm worried that this may hinder my success regarding exercising vigorously. If I don't push myself with regards to exercise (because of pregnancy) will this spoil my TMS recovery? I'm torn.
Also, can TMS be applied to pregnancy back ache in that you expect your pain to worsen because you are told that it will?
Jill

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Wow, Jill - double congratulations to you! Here is a timely (recent) conversation about pregnancy which may or may not answer your last question, but you will see that it's a good question to ask:
http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/pregnancy-and-tms-symptoms.1649/#post-8570

Here's the thing about exercise: the most important thing about TMS recovery is to envision living your life without symptoms - and to live it that way. For many TMSers, this means getting back to exercising and conditioning your whole body the way you used to do, or the way you would like to do, rather than focusing on the areas that have symptoms. I do think that TMSers in general tend to exercise (perfectionists that we are) but if you weren't a vigorous exerciser before TMS, there's no reason to become one just because you have TMS. There are other challenges that people with TMS face (people with RSI, for example, need to challenge themselves by keyboarding, people with IBS need to start adding different foods back into their diets, etc.)

In other words, I believe that whatever level of general exercise and conditioning makes sense during your pregnancy is what you should do. But do explore that question about pregnancy symptoms and TMS theory, and read what others said on that post!

Keep up the good work - because your child will be lucky to have a mom who understands this stuff right from the start!

Jan

 

[yb44]

Hi Jill,

Congratulations from me X 3, one for the great swim, one for the news you are expecting and three for finding this supportive forum. Like Lori says at the end of the post Jan linked you to, I wish I knew about TMS when I was expecting my first child, not to mention the second! I had a terrific amount of back pain in pregnancy. When I asked a doctor if I could see a physiotherapist, he told me there was no point. I had to put up with the pain because it was all due to the pregnancy and would most likely diminish when the baby was born. He said if I needed to see someone after this, he would refer me then. As luck would have it I attended a birthing class at the hospital shortly after this. The teacher was a physiotherapist. I asked her what I could do about my back pain. She gave me a suggestion that did help to reduce the pain considerably but one that I know now was a complete placebo.

Following the birth I was to have years and years of osteopath treatment where it was drilled into me that I had a mid-back problem (this was the site of the pain during the pregnancy) that was causing all of my lower back problems that I now had as well as my neck, shoulder and ultimately migraine pain. That was pretty disheartening for me.

What no one had ever considered asking me was how I was feeling emotionally. What was going on at this time? Not only did I have the usual anticipatory concerns about the birth and raising a child, I was a new immigrant, unhappy career-wise, just married, not liking my new extended family and feeling totally isolated from my own friends and family who all lived abroad. So I was one big breeding ground (pardon the pun) for TMS!

So again, well done you for finding your way here so you can learn, grow, heal and enjoy your pregnancy, the birth, the new little person you are bringing into the world and your life as a whole.

 

[Jill Pensom]

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it.

I alsoI read the other thread and found the part about "it doesn't matter if your symptoms are TMS or pregnancy related, as either can be eliminated' very reassuring.

My back pain started four years ago, when I was in the middle of our first and successful IVF cycle. Looking back now I realise it was a very stressful time and I think in retrospect I linked pain with pregnancy and all that it brings. I found it difficult to distinguish the two and blamed the whole pregnancy 'thing' for my pain.

Once my son was born all my anxieties were focused on my back and leg pain and again with hindsight I realise this served to divert my attention from normal motherhood anxieties. It seems so strange that I haven't realise this until now......

Jill