Hello

Hi,

I'm not sure exactly how this will help, but my mom is convinced I have TMS. I am 22, and I have had chronic back pain for 7 years...it has moved from my back, to neck..shoulders..hip...it feels like it's everywhere. I just started reading "healing back pain". I have yet to go through and read the whole thing. My history is this:

While I was in highschool (11th grade) I played soccer. I was the goal keeper and during one game I went for a ball and hit my head. I blacked out for a minute then came back and was sore. The next morning when I woke up I had a stiff neck, and a sever headache. I spent most of my time sleeping for the next couple of weeks. My mom suggested I go to her chiropractor, so I went. He told me I had scoliosis. I had to quit soccer (luckily I hurt myself at the end of the season). So the chiropractor told me I had scoliosis so I quit basketball and the next soccer season I wasn't able to play soccer. So at 12th grade all my physician activity slowed down. I wasn't playing competitive sports which I loved, and was told I couldn't run on the street due to the impact.


Fast forward to college. I didn't try out for any sports because "I couldn't do them with scoliosis". I wanted to be a physical therapist and while I was in college and ready to start the PT program (I had done my "shadowing at a PT office) I had my final meeting with the program and felt like I should discuss my health and if it was something I could do. They told me since I had chronic Back pain and some days could barely get out of bed...I shouldn't go to school for PT. I was crushed, but obviously I couldn't be a PT. if I couldn't even go for a mile walk without being in pain how could I have a job where I'm on my feet all day? So I decided to just use my credits and graduated with a general studies associates degree.

I've been going to my chiropractor for 7 years...and the pain just keeps getting worse and worse. So just two weeks ago I decided to stop going to him, I went to a primary doctor and they led me to a physical therapist (everything comes full circle lol). I'm in my second week of PT and I'm sad. I really like my Pt, she's working hard and trying to figure out what's wrong with me. But my primary and PT both say my scoliosis isn't really bad, and it shouldn't be causing me this much pain. But I'm always in pain. I'm always sad. I'm always discouraged.

This is not who I want to be, I've always viewed myself as being a strong independent woman but I feel that slowly changing. I'm happy, I am blessed with a wonderful family and things could be so much worse. But the pain is crippling. I miss out on social events with my friends, I spend most of my time indoors playing video games or watching sports because I can't move with out shooting pain. Even just sitting down I'm in pain. I feel like the pain is defining me. I can't work, I can't exercise, I can't have quality of life. And I'm tired of the "cants" in my life. I've never posted on forums like this, but I would be great to talk to people who can relate.

Trust me, I am not a sad negative person...but I'm at my wits end. I'm 22 and I just wish I could get to the point where I can move and be active again. I just recently got engaged and I'm worried my wedding will come and I want be able to move and enjoy my wedding. I just consistently doubt myself and I feel like my body is getting worse and worse.

 

Most people here can identify and I think you've come to the right place!

if you've had all the checks and tests done then TMS seems to be the kicker. I would recommend Howard Schubiner who is based in Michigan but you can take his online course. Read a few of the books first though, you may be one of the lucky book cures. good luck

 

Hi Melissa,

Welcome to this forum. You have come to the right place, as Irish says. You can start the SEP program for free at the Wiki. And Alan Gordon's recovery program there too, for free. Long term pain, with no real cause (like your PT and primary say) is the evidence you need to start engaging Dr. Sarno's work.

I have been diagnosed with scoliosis and used to use back rests and pillows after a long-term severe "whiplash" pain. After using Dr. Sarno's method to relieve foot pain, I almost never use a pillow any more. The work here is the real deal. Keep working at this approach, and you are very likely to get your wonderful life back. Be patient. Don't give up. Each person finds their own way.

I wish you much success!

Andy B.

 

In my opinion chiropractor should be spelled chiro-QUACK-tor. They owe their almost whole existence to TMS. Real doctors can't fix, nor understand chronic TMS/psychosomatic pain, so they refer to chiro-q's. What did he do for your for seven years except take your money, a little twisting, some feigned huffing and puffing, and a little buzzing with the magic ? I've been to several of them and they probably believe they are doing something and aren't all bad people, but...

Read the Good Doctor's books, the success stories here and get Steve Ozaniche's great TMS book "THE GREAT PAIN DECEPTION", he comes from an athletic perspective and his is a great TMS story as well as a great how to book of applied psychology.

You've been handed a shit-load of NOCEBOS, which is the opposite of the placebo. You've been persistent and don't want to be in pain for the rest of your life, those are the type of people who find this TMS place.

G'luck!
tt

 

Thank you for responding! I appreciate the encouragement and will definitely get that book you reccomended.

 

Thank you so much for the encouragement and responding. It's nice hearing from people who understand the pain and frustration. I'm hoping to get my life back. I'm happy for you, that is AWESOME you don't need the pillow any more. I wish you the best!

 

Unfortunately I'm starting to agree with you. While my Chiropractoe definitely did help in the beginning...I feel like it hindered me and made me change my life plans. Which I hate that I allowed it to do, but I was in such sever pain I took him at his word. Maybe I just wasn't the right patient for him, maybe I didn't follow him exactly, I don't know. All I know is he's a nice guy but it didn't work for me. I'm really interested in learning more about TMS, and hopefully get my life back on track. Thank you for responding and I hope you have a wonderful week.

 

Top tip : don't become discouraged. you may make enormous progress at the beginning but fall back or even get worse. Steve Ozanich explains this well in his book, but I'd leave reading that for last resort.

''made me change my life plans.''

This is the hardest part to overcome, getting used to the idea that life can go on again and to create a positive expectation will help immensely.

 

Hi, Melissa. I also urge
Kevin healed 95 % from SEP

Welcome to the SEP and to the path of recovery. I am on my final two days of the program and I can say with complete confidence that I am a changed man. I started after 6 months of nasty low-back/butt/leg pain, could hardly walk, stand, etc. was in physical therapy, chiropractor, acupuncture, pain medications, etc.. the usual. My MRI showed 3 disk bulges/herniations touching nerves, so that is what I believe it to be....that is until I read Dr. Sarno and found this site.

I encourage you to really get involved, follow the instructions, do the journaling, take time to read all the suggested readings, and watch the videos. I'd say I'm 95% cured. There is still some very light lingering "annoyance", but I still have some work to do. I've been walking miles with hardly any pain these last few weeks. But even more, if the pain comes on now, it just doesn't bother me like it used to, I sorta just see it, acknowledge it, and go about my business. It took working the program to get to that point, but 6 weeks compared to 6 months is nothing! I made more progress in the first week than I did from two months of PT!!! It's going to challenge you and your "beliefs" in medicine, but you have nothing to lose. We generally wind up here when all else fails.

So give it a shot, especially before considering anything invasive like surgery. If you put the work in, you will get better. Have you read Dr. Sarno yet? I assume you have since you're here, but in case you haven't, definitely readHealing Back Pain. Again, it will challenge everything you've believed about your pain, and backs in general. You'll be encouraged to resume life as normal, i.e. stop ALL "therapies" (PT, chiro, etc.), stop taking medications, and most importantly, stop thinking STRUCTURAL problems are the cause of your pain and shift to psychological as the reason.....again, this can be difficult and takes some time to sink in, so be patient and kind to yourself.

It was a process for me. A few of the bigger moves in my case were: I ripped up and threw out my MRI test results (I found myself obsessively reading over them and comparing them to other results I could find on the web and even here on the TMSwiki site...); I got back to the gym and stopped using a weight belt; and I even cancelled an appointment I had made with aTMS doctorbecause it was more than a month away and it was hindering my recovery (that is, my 100% belief in TMS was lagging because I had this pending appointment, but as soon as I cancelled it, my recovery sped up significantly). Everyone's journey is unique to their situation, but I've found that really committing to the program and brining what I learn from it into my daily life has had profound results. Also, sharing along the way here in these forums has been extremely helpful - there's something about knowing that you're not alone in your TMS recovery that really helps. I encourage you to look through my past posts for some insight into my experience with SEP. Like I said, I'm just now finishing, tomorrow is my final day, and I feel like a changed person. It's amazing. And I feel as though it is something that one carries on with, not just like a one time 6 week thing and that's that...it has helped me to get to know myself and taught me tools to "deal" with my emotions. Learning and accepting TMS is a life changer for sure.


you to start the Structured Educational Program. It helped me and has many others. You learn to discover the emotions that cause TMS pain. One member of the TMS community, Kevin, expressed it well when he posted his success story that he had healed 95 percent with the SEP. A few days later he posted that he was 100 percent pain free.