Help needed - new symptoms

[Bernard]

Hello
I've been a tmser for 20 plus yrs
Dr Sarno and this forum helped me move past long term backpain in my 20s
Since then it's been a long list of substitute symptoms
Leg, shoulder, elbow etc
I've been treating them all as TMS and seem to have navigated most of them with some success

But 6 years ago I started to develop Raynaulds symptoms - circulatory and nerve weirdness in my hands and feet largely brought on with temp changes

I was sent to my local rheumatology department who did loads of bloods , ruled out auto immune ('for now' was the worst big about their summary) issues and I have annual check ups.... in case it develops into an auto immune issue - which raynaulds can be a early signal of

I recently had a major life change (leaving work and moving abroad and abord a v old sailboat with the family) as its been stressful....

My symptons have got lots worse almost as soon as we made these life changes ....and now I'm in a total panic that I'm developing some grim auto immune disease...

I have raynaulds - my fingers and toes go while on any temp drop
Numbness and tingling in my fingers and toes and some joint pain

I'm really really struggling to move on and put this under the same brain pain category as my former musculoskeletal issues
I'm struggling hugely emotionally with it at the moment

Obsessed with it... which to me does help in some ways point to TMS as i was the same with my back pain before! Ha !

Any help and advise would be great

Also ..... is there a way to 'ask a TMS Therapist' on the dorum ? I don't have the appropriate forum privileges apparently so I assume there is a process around that ?

Thank you !

 

[Cactusflower]

The ask a therapist is no longer working.
Question: after many years and many tms symptoms, why would you need to ask a specialist?
Did you Dr.Google?
Have you had it checked out?
No matter what the symptoms or issues are, TMS-ing over them will just ramp up your nervous system.
What do you do to slow your mind, to take stock of worry, emotions and anxiety on a regular basis? TMS work never ends! Self care and understanding your inner workings is life long. My suggestion is to go back to your tms success methods because they work for you. If you have been self diagnosing, stop and get yourself checked out. Recognize your pattern of reacting to stress and realize that’s probably all it is.

 

[Bernard]

Thanks cactusflower
Yes I've been checked out but the issue has been that the rheumatologist just says I'm OK with simple raynaulds but that might develop given my age and profile .... so keep coming back for more tests and watch out for developing symptoms
So it's hard to get closure and move on and it's been red rag to a bull really

Good points you raise - re integrating tms approach to life and to go back to what helped before
And de stressing - I'm struggling with that atm

Thank you

 

[rand]

Bernard, your story is the same as mine. I had neck pain throughout my 20s, followed by foot, hip, knee etc. I started noticing mild Raynauds about 5 yrs ago, which has exploded on me this year. My official diagnosis is secondary Raynauds (secondary to what, we don't know yet), though I have a lot of trouble with heat too and suspect erythromelalgia as well. Its all the same mechanism imo. When my hands started changing colors I immediately suspected this was yet another TMS manifestation. Sarno mentions Raynauds in his books as a TMS equivalent, there are many people on this site who claim their Raynauds went away with TMS work. I also found some pretty good studies about a psychogenic explanation for Raynauds. Interestingly most of these studies seem to be from pre-1960, which is when psychosomatic medicine was abandoned by mainstream medicine and a more pharmacological/structural approach took over. Thus todays traditional medicine has no real explanation for Raynauds, but those old psychosomatic studies were on to something I believe. Read this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2140158/ ([Idiopathic and secondary Raynaud's phenomenon. A comparative psychosomatic approach] - PubMed).

I'm like you in that I'm worried my symptoms are secondary to a structural issue, I won't go into detail about structural stuff since that could be counterproductive for both you and me. That study I linked seems to suggest that secondary Raynauds more so than primary has a psychosomatic origin, possibly because patients with secondary possess the personality type (which is the TMS personality) conducive to autoimmune disorders. Theres some controversy re: TMS and autoimmune disease, personally it gives me hope thinking that TMS can do nearly anything it wants to your body. Anyway, you're not the only one with this problem.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Great response @rand, thank you!

Theres some controversy re: TMS and autoimmune disease, personally it gives me hope thinking that TMS can do nearly anything it wants to your body.

I was diagnosed in the spring of 2020 (that's significant) with sudden onset RA. I've posted in greater detail elsewhere, but suffice it to say that I am 100% convinced that it's stress-based. Certainly the medical community can't provide me with another explanation. Unfortunately the physiological process requires that I protect my joints and heart by being a good patient and taking the meds. This was confirmed by a consult with Dr Schecter. He has seen remissions, and urged me to continue TMS work with this in mind (and referred me to my TMS coach) - but he also said I have to take the medication.

A recent x-ray of my right hand (for a cyst) revealed very minor arthritis in the joint near the cyst, but the ortho said the rest of my joints look great, and I'm still on a low dose of the most basic RA med. I took steps to reduce stress (avoiding the news is one, along with full retirement and making changes to my volunteerism) and in spite of extreme sensitivity to world dysfunction, I do believe that continuing to maintain mindfulness about my inner negative messaging is key to maintaining my health. Which is increasingly more important as an official senior

~Jan

PS: Dr Gabor Mate agrees with you. The third book that turned my life around was When The Body Says No.

 

[Xara]

in spite of extreme sensitivity to world dysfunction"
I really feel I am also very sensitive to what is going on in planet and in the world.

Did I understand it correctly? It is rare that someone says something like that, even though many feel it.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

@Xara, I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make, so correct me if I misinterpret. Are you saying that people don't openly express their distress over the horrible state of the world? I tend to agree, because I've been watching tons of people here on the forum, describing how poorly they have been doing recently, in spite of success over symptoms in the past. Hardly anyone expresses distress over the state of the world, they only sometimes talk about job and relationship stresses, but mostly about anxiety and depression.

The connection is not being made. The result is seriously repressed emotions having to do with the inability to control our basic need for security.

How do you feel about that? And how do you feel about me bringing it up?

 

[Xara]

Are you saying that people don't openly express their distress over the horrible state of the world?

Yes, I am saying exactly this. Whenever I am trying to discuss with someone how insecure I feel because of the social problems ( unemployment, violence coming from everywhere, poor health services etc), people tend to avoid it and make me feel I am the fussy, grouchy, nagger, fault finder ( I searched the word in translate, as I hadn't used it before). In addition, when someone is a parent things tend to be worse, as, in my opinion, every mammal seeks a safe place for the "kids".
Few people see the whole picture, most tend to focus on their privacy, job, kids, body etc.
I am very happy you express it, yet with clarity.
Also, I am impressed by the fact that, despite the fact we live in quite different countries, there are so many things that resonate with me ( I learned this expression in this forum!)