Hello from Waterloo, ON!

[wapolo]

Hello everyone!
Well, I just signed up for the TMS forum, and am hoping to find an encouraging word or two from others that have been having similar experiences with pain similar to my own.
First, a little back story; I've been dealing with upper back pain on my left side as well as wrist tendinitis in my left hand for almost 15 years. I've tried acupuncture, chiropractic, physio, and massage with very little in the way of results.
The most recent chiropractor I've been to basically told me there's no need to come in to see him any longer; simply continue with a healthy diet, proper sleep, exercise, and stretching, and I eventually will get better, all supported by scientific evidence, of course. After five months of rehab, I felt discouraged that I hadn't made a breakthrough regarding alleviating and eliminating the pain that I have on a daily basis.

I've had to cut back my guitar playing significantly, which is difficult because it is my lifelong passion, and I would like to able to teach students on a regular basis without worrying about hurting myself.
I believe that since I've been suffering with chronic pain for this amount of time, that it must be TMS. I do hope that reading Dr. Sarno's books will be of help with my pain issues, and that I will finally find myself on the road to recovery. If not, I really don't know what else to try...

 

[healingfromchronicpain]

Hi and welcome. I'm pretty new to the forum, too, but found relief starting back in 2006 through Sarno's books and other mindbody books and techniques. Definitely start reading the books! Its way cheaper and less invasive than anything your doctor will prescribe, and identifying and addressing emotions behind your pain can actually eliminate the pain! And if reading one book doesn't do it, keep reading other related ones.

For some people it clicks right away, for others it takes more time. I've reduced my pain by reading Sarno's Mindbody Prescription and The Divided Mind, Ozanich's The Great Pain Deception, and Brady's Pain Free for Life. I also just recently read Nicole Sachs's book which I really liked, too.

There are many people who can tell you about their quick recoveries. For me, I also had to dig deeper into my emotions and traumas to get further pain relief when my pain didn't fully go away from just readings the books and from journaling. Other books, like Peter Levine's Waking the Tiger and John Barnes's Healing Ancient Wounds, were also critical to my understanding of what was happening in my body and mind. Since just reading and journaling didn't fully work for me, I also had bodywork done--John Barnes's mindbody-based myofascial release, which helped me identify deeply buried emotions that I then was able to release, which resulted in significant pain reduction.

While I know my pain is psychogenic, I've used more than just Sarno's approach to address my emotions and thus my pain. It's just the path I happened to have taken, but it doesn't mean Sarno's approach alone isn't enough.

Good luck!! (If you want to know more about my story, all the treatments I've tried, and the books and other resources that I've found useful, I've put it all on my website: http://www.healingfromchronicpain.com/ (Healing from Chronic Myofascial Pain--Support for chronic pain sufferers: Defying Gravity--An Athlete's Journey of Healing from Chronic Myofascial Pain)).