Hi everyone,
I am just looking for some advice/support with trying to heal after having back surgery. Here is my story:
I was 19 when I experienced back pain. I had never experienced back pain before then all of a sudden when running ( btw I was a huge runner and would run up to 7 miles a day) , my back "went out" and had shooting pain all the way down to my leg. Immediately, the right side of my foot was numb to sensation. The first day, I was in a lot of pain and stayed in bed the rest of the day. Other than that, I was never bed ridden. I was in pain, but could do all my normal activities besides working out. I was able to drive, sit for long periods, go to work 40 hours a week, hang out with friends and family, etc. However, after a month of the pain down the backside of my life and numbness in foot, I got an MRI and it showed two herniated discs L4-L5 and L5-S1 with compression of S1 nerve root. My symptoms were always consistent and matched exactly with what the MRI showed. My dad works on an orthopedic floor in a hospital and has a good friend who is an orthopedic surgeon. so he went around got 3 different opinions and all agreed surgery was the move. So I went through with it and I had an amazing recovery. I was walking 2 days after with ZERO pain and within a week I was walking miles and miles and shortly after I was back in the gym. The only thing that stuck around post-surgery was the numbness on the side of my foot. For the past three years, I have been absolutely pain free until about three months ago. I started a new job as a medical assistant in a soft tissue and chiropractic office and everyday I see people in chronic pain. So of course, after two months working there, I started to develop pain on the left side of my lower back. I IMMEDIATELY panicked because this would be only the second time I experienced back pain and the first time I experienced it I had surgery. So I was stressed out of mind and was afraid I was going to be like the patients who come into the office and are in so much pain OR I would need another surgery. After a few weeks of mild back pain, I was waiting and waiting for the sciatica occur because again, I never experienced back pain before without leg pain. So a few weeks later, it of course came.
My boyfriend gave my John Sarno's book before I went into surgery and I totally disregarded it as I couldn't believe any of it was true. I had real pain and real numbness and thought he was telling me it was all in my head. Thankfully this time around, he encouraged me to give it another try. I was WAY more open and decided to dive myself into the TMS healing. I read all of Sarno's books and began the SEP. After 2 months of on and off pain, everything has moved from my left leg to the right leg (OG symptom leg pre-surgery).
I have every reason to think this is TMS as the pain constantly moves and is sometimes there, sometimes not. However, I am struggling with believing that I can heal since I now have real structural abnormalities in my back from the surgery.
If anyone has any advice on how to heal despite having a surgery, I would very much so appreciate it.
Thanks for listening to my story!
I am just looking for some advice/support with trying to heal after having back surgery. Here is my story:
I was 19 when I experienced back pain. I had never experienced back pain before then all of a sudden when running ( btw I was a huge runner and would run up to 7 miles a day) , my back "went out" and had shooting pain all the way down to my leg. Immediately, the right side of my foot was numb to sensation. The first day, I was in a lot of pain and stayed in bed the rest of the day. Other than that, I was never bed ridden. I was in pain, but could do all my normal activities besides working out. I was able to drive, sit for long periods, go to work 40 hours a week, hang out with friends and family, etc. However, after a month of the pain down the backside of my life and numbness in foot, I got an MRI and it showed two herniated discs L4-L5 and L5-S1 with compression of S1 nerve root. My symptoms were always consistent and matched exactly with what the MRI showed. My dad works on an orthopedic floor in a hospital and has a good friend who is an orthopedic surgeon. so he went around got 3 different opinions and all agreed surgery was the move. So I went through with it and I had an amazing recovery. I was walking 2 days after with ZERO pain and within a week I was walking miles and miles and shortly after I was back in the gym. The only thing that stuck around post-surgery was the numbness on the side of my foot. For the past three years, I have been absolutely pain free until about three months ago. I started a new job as a medical assistant in a soft tissue and chiropractic office and everyday I see people in chronic pain. So of course, after two months working there, I started to develop pain on the left side of my lower back. I IMMEDIATELY panicked because this would be only the second time I experienced back pain and the first time I experienced it I had surgery. So I was stressed out of mind and was afraid I was going to be like the patients who come into the office and are in so much pain OR I would need another surgery. After a few weeks of mild back pain, I was waiting and waiting for the sciatica occur because again, I never experienced back pain before without leg pain. So a few weeks later, it of course came.
My boyfriend gave my John Sarno's book before I went into surgery and I totally disregarded it as I couldn't believe any of it was true. I had real pain and real numbness and thought he was telling me it was all in my head. Thankfully this time around, he encouraged me to give it another try. I was WAY more open and decided to dive myself into the TMS healing. I read all of Sarno's books and began the SEP. After 2 months of on and off pain, everything has moved from my left leg to the right leg (OG symptom leg pre-surgery).
I have every reason to think this is TMS as the pain constantly moves and is sometimes there, sometimes not. However, I am struggling with believing that I can heal since I now have real structural abnormalities in my back from the surgery.
If anyone has any advice on how to heal despite having a surgery, I would very much so appreciate it.
Thanks for listening to my story!
