Help needed after a lumbar puncture.

A

alexmedkex

Newcomer
Hi all,

I'll introduce myself. I'm a 25 year old male and I found this forum after a lot of searching the internet for possible answers regarding chronic pain. It's not about me however, it's about my girlfriend (24 years old) who had a lumbar puncture done about 10 months ago. After the procedure she has had terrible back pain which just wont go away. Every day now she tries to manage her life, but she feels pain pretty much constantly and it is difficult for her to stand up or sit down for too long. As you all probably know, chronic pain can really drain someones willpower and joy and I can't accept the fact that she has to live with this forever.

The reason I'm posting here is to ask the TMS community if you think it is possible that approaching the issue in the "TMS way" could be beneficial for her? What I really want is to hear similar stories, hopefully from people who got better eventually. Does anyone know of any cases where chronic pain started after some sort of back surgery, and then was successfully treated using the TMS method? She has had numerous physical exams and an MRI, and the doctors are not very clear on what the issue is. They have pretty much been useless. The only thing that relieved the pain was when she went to a chiropractor who cracked her back, but that was very temporary.

Basically, I'm desperate here. I just want her to get well so she can live normally again. If anyone has any advice or insight I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you stranger for reading.
 
Hi Alex,

Welcome to the forums, I'm sorry to hear what your girlfriend is going through. This is an extremely common story that many of us have been through! Though my back pain did not start with a procedure or surgery many people's did. Myself and many of us on here were able to fully heal and become pain free through TMS methods only.

Lumbar punctures are safe procedures and if any serious complications had arisen i'm sure the doctors would have discovered them. Sounds like your girlfriend has been thoroughly examined, so you can safely conclude her pain is TMS caused. Many others on here and people I have worked with as a PT had back pain start with a surgery or other procedure...and those people can heal just as effectively from TMS methods as anyone else!

Have you read or suggested for her to read Sarno's books? I'd start there, then look at our Structured Education Program on here, plus Alan Gordon's recovery program and his new one being put out now. Education is the first step to healing. Let me know if you have any questions!
 
Also search the Success Stories sub-forum. You will find many stories of people who had back surgery, their pain started or got worse afterward, and they recovered using the TMS approach.
 
Thanks for the answers,

The doctors don't believe that there have been any damage caused by the procedure, however I don't really trust in their abilities.

I read about this https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/arachnoiditis (Arachnoiditis), and I fear that she might have it. At least the symptoms are pretty much spot on and they do mention lumbar puncture as a cause. I'm not really sure, it's easy to get lost in all the medical terms and the numerous diseases that it could be or could not be... it really gets to me and I feel lost because no one we've met have been able to help. I'm scared that she might get worse. I'm scared that maybe she needs some specific treatment fast for something she has, or else she can't heal.

I'm wondering, is TMS a specific syndrome that you need to have in order to be able to get relief from the TMS programme? If I understand it correctly, this method focuses on stopping the pain signals that your nerves sends to your brain. So, even if the pain comes from real trauma, can this method help? I'm just not sure what kind of treatment would be best for her. I have to reach out to message boards like this because the doctors here won't help....
 
TMS can begin with surgery or an actual injury. Mine did.
There is nothing they can do for Arachnoiditis, so she has nothing to lose from trying a TMS approach. TMS healing works for most people willing to try it.
 
alexmedkex said:
Thanks for the answers,

The doctors don't believe that there have been any damage caused by the procedure, however I don't really trust in their abilities.

I read about this https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/arachnoiditis (Arachnoiditis), and I fear that she might have it. At least the symptoms are pretty much spot on and they do mention lumbar puncture as a cause. I'm not really sure, it's easy to get lost in all the medical terms and the numerous diseases that it could be or could not be... it really gets to me and I feel lost because no one we've met have been able to help. I'm scared that she might get worse. I'm scared that maybe she needs some specific treatment fast for something she has, or else she can't heal.

I'm wondering, is TMS a specific syndrome that you need to have in order to be able to get relief from the TMS programme? If I understand it correctly, this method focuses on stopping the pain signals that your nerves sends to your brain. So, even if the pain comes from real trauma, can this method help? I'm just not sure what kind of treatment would be best for her. I have to reach out to message boards like this because the doctors here won't help....
Click to expand...

So from what I know, arachnoiditis is highly unlikely from just one lumbar puncture. She doesn't seem to be having any severe neurological damage (incontience or loss of strength and sensation in her feet or legs). Also, the pain was eased by a chiropractor temporarily...this would not occur if it was arachnoiditis.

TMS is so many things, it is not just one syndrome. It is universal, everyone experiences it sometimes. It is, in a nutshell, the idea that neural pathways can cause or perpetuate symptoms and pain anywhere in the body in the absence of tissue damage. It is also the idea that all of us are full of "normal abnormalities" like arthritis and herniated discs that are not the source of our chronic pain. Bodies heal. This pain from neural pathways occurs due to repressed and negative emotions.

I highly recommended reading Healing Back Pain by Sarno for a better understanding of all this, it changed my life and many of our lives on here. Read it, come back here and try the Structured Education Program to keep learning. There are lots of great TMS books out there we can recommend if you want to keep reading!

One more thing- it could be worth considering an evaluation by a TMS doctor for your girlfriend. But I'd do the reading and education first
 
MindBodyPT said:
So from what I know, arachnoiditis is highly unlikely from just one lumbar puncture. She doesn't seem to be having any severe neurological damage (incontience or loss of strength and sensation in her feet or legs). Also, the pain was eased by a chiropractor temporarily...this would not occur if it was arachnoiditis.

TMS is so many things, it is not just one syndrome. It is universal, everyone experiences it sometimes. It is, in a nutshell, the idea that neural pathways can cause or perpetuate symptoms and pain anywhere in the body in the absence of tissue damage. It is also the idea that all of us are full of "normal abnormalities" like arthritis and herniated discs that are not the source of our chronic pain. Bodies heal. This pain from neural pathways occurs due to repressed and negative emotions.

I highly recommended reading Healing Back Pain by Sarno for a better understanding of all this, it changed my life and many of our lives on here. Read it, come back here and try the Structured Education Program to keep learning. There are lots of great TMS books out there we can recommend if you want to keep reading!

One more thing- it could be worth considering an evaluation by a TMS doctor for your girlfriend. But I'd do the reading and education first
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your answer. This is great advice. I want her to read about TMS, hoping it might help, but I'm not sure she is willing to do it. I bought her the book a while ago but she hasn't really read it yet. I'll try to discuss it more with her, and make her take it seriously. I don't blame her though, reading a book to get rid of your chronic pain does sound a bit "too good to be true"! I can't ignore all the praise I've read from the members of this community however...
 
alexmedkex said:
Thanks a lot for your answer. This is great advice. I want her to read about TMS, hoping it might help, but I'm not sure she is willing to do it. I bought her the book a while ago but she hasn't really read it yet. I'll try to discuss it more with her, and make her take it seriously. I don't blame her though, reading a book to get rid of your chronic pain does sound a bit "too good to be true"! I can't ignore all the praise I've read from the members of this community however...
Click to expand...
Sometimes people are more open initially to watching a video than reading a book, as it requires less an investment of time and energy. I suggest searching YouTube, Google, or this Forum for video success stories. There are many. They may stimulate her interest and then she'll be open to reading a book.
 
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