How to be sure I have TMS and nothing else I should be treating?

I am curious how other people who have successfully treated their TMS came to the conclusion that nothing is seriously wrong? Most of what I read states you should have a thorough work up and receive the all clear that nothing is seriously wrong. I have been having pretty persistent pain that waxes and wanes for the past 4 months.

I had an lumbar x-ray 5 years ago that was normal. I received a pelvic MRI to confirm a testicular tumor diagnosis (that was successfully dealt with) which showed no other issues. I have had chest/abdominal CTs that showed nothing significant. Most recently I received a lumbar spine MRI that showed L4-L5 herniation, L5-S1 bulge and some hypertrophic facet disease (basically wear and tear from what my DR said). I was referred to an orthopedist which I was going to follow through with. But I am worried they will want to try other treatments. I really just want to get the all clear that nothing is seriously wrong so I can follow through with trying mind body work with confidence. Unfortunately there are not many TMS doctors near me to go to for an open minded opinion. I also don't want to delay treatment on anything that could be solved simply. This could be my health anxiety causing this issue of distrust. But does anyone have some resources or information to help inform me of where to go next? I suppose I could go out of network and travel to see someone but I don't want to do that if anyone else has some more reasonable ideas. Thank you!

 

I’m sure I have checked everything I need. And it’s TMS. But my one doubt is migraines. Because I see no change. No progress. But good progress with my other problems. I wake with migraine every morning. I haven’t found one person who has fixed chronic migraines. I’m still travelling hopefully.

 

I had migraines for 50 years and they became chronic for several years. I treated them as TMS and they have been gone for about 7 years. Y ou can read my Success Story for migraines and fibromyalgia on my profile page. There are others who have gotten rid of migraines using TMS practices. I have seen success stories on Dr. Schubiner's site and Nicole Sachs has some too. It can be done! You can be migraine free.

 

Thank you. Did you have them every day. They wake me every morning. I have been trying for 20 years. They were only 8/12 a month then. They’ve just got worse. I’m losing faith. I must be missing something.

 

You can consult online with a TMS doc who will have you send your complete medical record to a secure upload site. I did that when I received my RA diagnosis, in order to obtain an opinion from a TMS MD. It was not covered by my insurance.

Not sure what your point is here - this is what everyone wants, and should receive, if there is a clear physical issue with a clear treatment path.

Again, this is what everyone wants. If you have something physically wrong which can be clearly identified with a clear treatment plan, that is what you will get. If the cause of your symptoms is your TMS brain mechanism, you are unlikely to receive either. Most ortho solutions for chronic symptoms come under the heading of "you could try this" which is a red flag. Drug recommendations for chronic symptoms typically involve pain management and/or drugs with an antidepressant component - another red flag. And red flags are a strong indicator that TMS is the real source of your symptoms.

If you're lucky, you will receive a diagnosis of "we can't find anything wrong other than the fact that you seem to suffer unduly from anxiety".

That's the long answer. The short answer is that life experience helps a lot. After a while you can become more skilled at recognizing when a new symptom is likely to be TMS, you will apply your favorite techniques as learned by doing a program, and, 99%of the time, the symptom will disappear.

Finally,

It is not necessary to be 100% on board to start a program, but your TMS brain will try to use this belief as an excuse to not get started.

 

I think the most frequent migraines I had were every other day, but that lasted a few years. I was taking a triptan and overusing it according to my doctor. The migraines took longer for me to get rid of than the fibromyalgia. I think this was because there was a lot of conditioning involved and the rebound effect from the medication overuse. I had to re-train my brain by overriding the conditioning with accurate information every time I had those early signs that a migraine was coming on (tingly scalp, minor visual changes, etc). I had to do this before it became a full on migraine. I was surprised when it began to work and I could successfully stop a headache in its tracks if I intervened early. Eventually I stopped having even those early signs. It was very empowering. Recovery is possible. You can do this.

 

Thank you again. I’m improving with IBS and fms. Even tension heads. But migraines. Zilch. I have no symptoms except pain. And it’s there in full flow when it wakes me. I have to take a frova. They are obsessed with MOH. But understanding neural pathways it’s easy to disprove bin many cases. There is absolutely no proof no test. And I won’t go there. I like Dan Buglio attitude to this. My problem is. How do I deal with them. They only ever come in the night. I’m no way giving up. But disheartened. Nice talking with you

 

Waking up with a migraine doesn't give you a chance to intervene early so you will need to find a creative solution. Perhaps writing out new instructions before you go to sleep will help, or even saying it out loud. I found the "talking to my brain" strategy to be helpful. Something to the effect of "Look brain, there is no reason for you to create a migraine while I sleep tonight. I am willing to look at all my thoughts and emotions honestly and no longer need a distraction from them." The technique sounds silly and I think it is underutilized because of that, but in my experience it does work. We are retraining our brain.

 

@Saffron, I have also employed the "before sleep" self-talk technique with excellent results. Talking out loud, doing a short visualization meditation, or writing it down - these all work for changing your brain while you sleep. "All" it requires is faith that the outcome is achievable. Your TMS fear brain will do its best to rob you of that faith.

 

That's a good question

I bought a copy of "Healing Back Pain" when I was sick and tired of the BS from the pain doctors, the surgeons their fake compassion etc,etc.... It was easy to STOP that process (which always has 'one more test/procedure/therapy). F-em. I was sooo exhausted from being diagnosed and diagnosed and explained and then I read the text of HBP and went "This is me. It makes way more sense than anything I have been told"

...and yet, there was still that little voice. So, I looked up the only doctor on the west coast of the united states even making that diagnosis in '99. I called his office at UCLA and he was on a long vacation or sabbatical. I couldn't see him for three months!

So, I scheduled an appointment, but meanwhile went to work on the stuff I read in the text of HBP. By the time his office called a few months later to confirm my appointment, I was already better and didn't need to see him.

...and ultimately all these people we run to to diagnose and comfort us are just other people. Most pain sufferers I meet are as informed as the people treating them...maybe more so because they are with themselves all day Long (LOL)

...and it's my life and i get to make my own decisions. I remember the joy I had riding my mountain bike down to SCOI in LA and jumping the curb in front of my ex-therapist. I told him all about Sarno and my miraculous healing, but his professionalism couldn't NOT say "well...sounds good, be careful though!".

I am a lot of things over the last pain free 20+ years.Careful is NOT one of them. Sarno and co. Set you free from that BS and all of the other things that made life suck.

..and it is available to everyone.

peace

 

Thank you. I’ve been doing that for a very long time. Every night. No change yet.

 

As a retired hypnotherapist it doesn’t sound silly at all to me. We use the conscious mind to address the sub conscious. I’ve used it a lot. But again. No change. I think I have a learned response. The neural pathways are strong. I’m almost 73. I don’t have the time to keep waiting. I’m progressing well. But still migraine every darn morning. Which also means lack of sleep. Please don’t think me difficult or ungrateful. I’m truly just baffled. Thanks.

 

@Baseball65 Thank you for taking the time to reply. I was doing so good until I got my MRI. I wanted to get it just to make sure there was no serious issues like cancer, but of course it showed a herniated disc, bulge and osteoarthritis of the two facet joints at both discs. My brain is still thinking about these structural issues so I have some work to do. The thing that keeps me going is I had some pretty awful pelvic pain, once that went away my back started to hurt more. And my low back, butt, mid back, neck and sometimes right forearm can hurt. Even my legs sometimes feel sore. The neck, mid back and arm pain have nothing to do with the disc findings, so that is what keeps me going. It appears I have to keep going and doing the work.
I've recently gave up my daily, multiple times a day cannabis habit. It was causing increasingly more anxiety and allowing me to repress my emotions. This was just a week ago, so I am hoping once my brain goes back to normal I can do the important emotional work. I read your story and it is giving me the strength to keep going.

 

I fell from a ladder on a second story window back in '13 or '14?
During the fall I severed my thumb. They had to sew it back on and I was so distraught at facing not being able to play guitar, that I couldn't think of anything else. I actually was bleeding from my legs and head, but not having insurance I had them re-attach my thumb and was on my way.
Then...about a year or so later, I was having digestive issues and they MRI'd me. The doctor came in and told me I had BROKEN My back; the actual vertebrae . They had healed themselves . It almost certainly happened during the fall, But I was so good and distracted, I didn't 'need' the pain! I was actually grateful that I never knew. Anybody familiar with TMS would understand why.

Every now and then I have been checked by an MD for something where they want to x-ray/MRI/etc. something or other. I always tell them I am willing as long as they do NOT tell me what they 'think' when they're done. This whole miraculous healing thing going on here has made me skeptical about virtually 99.4% of the 'structural mythology' as Sarno called it. I feel like all of those diagnostic tools are Nocebo's.

I also had the same experience with Pot you had, though quite awhile ago. Made quitting easy. Wish I had the same experience with other drugs and alcohol (LOL)

 

@Baseball65 Thank you for that example. I bet if you were aware you would be in pain and healed much slower! Yes quitting was much easier this time. The worst panic attacks I have ever felt. I really do not miss it. I just want to be present, work on myself and heal.