Gut illnesses

riv44

riv44

Well known member
I haven't been here in a terribly long time which is good. My pain disorder converted to GI disorders. I did go for the called-for allopathic work-ups, and believe strongly that GERD and IBS are mind-body disorders. I do have medications which is antithetical to the MBS theory perhaps, but without diet and medications I was subject to GERD attacks so severe that I was vomiting. I am pretty sure I will get it under control eventually, but there will be something else after that...there alway
 
“Gut Illness” -that really explains your deep belief that you are somehow not well.
I had GERD and severe gagging a year ago. I used medications twice, but 100% knew it was anxiety and panic. I reminded myself medication can be a very useful tool but was cautious it did not become a crutch. Listening to Claire Weekes helped me work on recognizing the anxiety with compassion, and provided some life long skills to address it as it arises.
 
Yes, cactus flower, I have wonderful specialists but the treatments have definitely reinforced the thinking that something is wrong with me. Endoscopies and colonoscopies, and new diagnoses...even though the docs all espouse mindfulness, at least lipservice. That's a fundamental psychological fact with me, and the aging process really gives it a twist. Since I was hospitalized with COVID early in the pandemic, I, and I think all of us, have been terrified about the body. Every sniffle requires a rapid test. I had Omicron, then rebound, then my bloodwork is done and I'm told this and that...Keeping up with healthcare appointments like a good patient rather reinforces Mind-Body symptoms, esp having grown up with parents who had a lot of physical symptoms for a long time. As I passed age 65 it got worse, and I really do wonder how older members of this group are dealing with actual structural deterioration and SUBJECTIVE pain. I believe the pain response is the TMS conversion, ("The Body Keeps the Score") . The worst regression is finding myself checking WEB MD. DO NOT EVER GO THERE, my friends! I'm going back to the beginning and re-reading Sarno and telling my mind to stop using my brain to deceive me. It gets harder as one ages...Speaking of, is Walt still around? He was an active older member here a number of years ago.
I have friends telling me how wonderful their knee replacements are---I just don't want to go there. I beat this before, and I can do it again. Thank you for listening.
 
I am going to do Alan Gordon's pain program. The pandemic brought me back to fear and inactivity. Last time around I did get rid of chronic back pain. Now there is a new set of concerns- aging, watching friends die or suffer with degenerative illnesses like Parkinson's or ALS. A pretty bleak picture, and I think it is not a failure to need a reboot. When friends see me hobbling home on a path that I used to walk with ease and speed, I wonder what's happened. I almost think it is counter-therapeutic to go to an annual physical, though I do need to check on basic things like my thyroid replacement hormone, stuff like that. But hearing "pre-pre diabetes" does nothing for my mind!
 
Catching up late, @riv44 - it was good to see you again on the chat after all this time, but of course so sorry to hear that you're struggling. It's been bad for everyone the last three (three!) years, on top of four years that were already distressful for so many of us and yes, when you add aging into the mix, it's not easy to see an upside. I totally get it, it was at the core of my TMS crisis in 2011 when I turned 60, and it's still there at 71.

I responded to the pandemic with sudden-onset, late-in-life RA, which I attribute solely to stress, but which I am required to take seriously (taking the medication), per Dr Schecter, who I consulted when I got the diagnosis. RA is considered to be "not TMS" but it's fascinating to me how many people with RA also have fibro and other conditions we define as TMS. Dr Schecter says he's seen remissions, which is my goal, although so far I'm reasonably content maintaining at a low level of the first-line med, and achieving far fewer and much milder flares this November vs a year ago, which was much better than the first November in 2020. There's something about this time of year, as we slide into the short dark wet days up here. Very much looking forward to the solstice, as always, which I did not appreciate nearly as much when I lived down in San Francisco!

Anyways, I am always surprised by the efficacy of deep breathing to help relieve any GI distress, including heartburn and reflux. Therapeutic breathing is just plain good at any time, with no downside. But when we're all clenched up, breathing shallowly, it's too easy to forget about it. And also weirdly easy to be unaware of its effectiveness shortly after doing it!

See you around,

~Jan
 
There is very little in life that is not mind-body. However my mother had cancer during the "enlightened" years of the 60s and 70s when "healers" like Dr Andrew Weil gave the message that cancer resulted from repressed anger. That kind of blame-the-patient- enlightenment kept me away from anything that smacked of "it's all your emotions" kind of thinking. Particularly around cancer- one has to look at the carcinogens all around us. Today, our allopathic healers are more aware of the role of mental state and stress. I think that stopping to chat is helping me to reset. Jan, you have been a great support to me each time I have participated here, which I appreciate. I think it is in my nature to periodically struggle and have to re-learn to heal myself... which is OK.
 
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