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How to get out of this....

J

jamejamesjames1

Peer Supporter
I've recently been diagnosed by a doctor as having fibromyalgia. I also have CPPS/Prostatitis. I also attribute dizziness before the onset of prostatitis as all being TMS. I can't sleep at night, can barely think, and am in chronic pain. I have been trying to treat my CPPS as TMS for over 3 months now. Not only have I not been successful, but the fibromyalgia has developed since then. I journal everyday, meditate, practice mindfullness, try to get in touch with my feelings, as well as standing eat well/try to get enough sleep/exercise. I have also read all the books many times and followed the unlearn your pain and SEP programs.

I am not sure what else I can do at this point. I seem to be getting worse and I do not know why. Any suggestions?
 
ACCORDING TO TMS THEORY, FIBRO IS TMS. The fast track to TMS healing is to see a TMS doctor for an accurate dx for what is really going on and eliminate anything physically serious that should be treated allopathically. This site has the contact info for TMS physicians and practitioners. It would be well worth your while to travel to see one. And READ, READ, READ, LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, and WATCH, WATCH, WATCH TMS info. Look up your symptoms in the TMS literature, most every source I've seen says FIBRO IS TMS. You need to start accepting this before you can be "cured"--Dr. Sarno calls this knowledge therapy penicillin.
 
That is where I am confused. I do accept this all as TMS. It would make no sense for a perfectly health person to have 3 seperate, chronic "wastebasket" diagnostics in the past 6 months. I know for sure it is TMS. I have looked into seeing a TMS therapist in my area but they are all $400+ per session, of which I cannot afford. I'm sure it comes across as complaining, I'm just baffled that I have been accepting of this for awhile, and practice many things to reduce my stress over the symtpoms - yet they are getting worse and not better.
 
James if the TMS therapist is charging $400 per session it must be Freud or Jung--is this in American dollars? I had TMS sessions with Donald Dubin a beloved TMS expert therapist now departed, in Beverly Hills a few years back and it was only $150 a session. Who is charging $400? Are you sure it's not a Trans Cranial Magnetic Therapy (or some gobbledegook that has the same acronym as TMS?)

You've posted here several times, a few months apart and have received good info regarding your symptoms. I suggest you go back and re-read these, they can be easily found by going to your profile and looking up your archived posts. The info given to you then is still valid now.

Before seeing a TMS therapist, the protocol is to get a physical work-up by a TMS trained physician to eliminate any serious structural issues. You said you've been to several docs and they gave you the all-clear--that's GREAT! BUT, you don't believe them because you believe they may have missed something and you say "that happens all the time"--NO, it doesn't, mainly due to malpractice law suits "as seen on TV. " Modern medicine is practiced defensively, by giving every diagnostic test to prevent lawsuits.

James, you can't take a Band-Aid approach to TMS, you need to immerse yourself in it. Stopping by this web-site once a month is not going to cut it. We'll all be just beating around the bush repeating ourselves getting nowhere. TMS is all about exploring the EMOTIONAL causes of psychosomatic pain. Are you looking at your emotional "ISSUES"? If you're not sure what they are google the Rahe-Holmes stress test and see the list of tension causing life changing events that create psychosomatic/TMS dis-ease. Have you experienced any of those events in the last year or so?

G'luck!
 
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Hang in there, I know the feeling of despair. Maybe you need to try and see a tms physician if possible so you can ease your fear and doubt. I have been there and know the pain your feeling.
I believe you can try to heal to quickly or rush through things in tms healing, part of the perfectionidtic personality. Healing is a life long process that never ends.

You have to learn to calm your mind and relax. Everything will be ok, I know this is hard while your in so much pain but you do have what it takes to overcome this. Never doubt how powerful your mind is, perseverance and faith go a long way. It takes some people years to heal so don't be focused on the time, it will happen when it's suppose to.

It seems to me you struggle with a lot of fear. This was the culprit of my tms and I am starting to overcome this part. I recommend you read "Hope and Help for Your Nerves". Fears are nothing more than thoughts and we often cause more fear in ourselves for something that is not true. Not all your thoughts are a reality, try finding the Claire weekes recordings that Herbie posted, they are very helpful. Listen to them over and over til it sinks in. It will take some time to overcome this part but you can control this worry and fear.

I don't know if your a spiritual person, but asking god or whatever your higher power may be for acceptance of where your at is powerful. Try to live in the present and be happy for where your at, this will be difficult but in time you can do it. Living in the past can cause anger and regrets and living in the future causes worry and fear. Find joy in each day no matter how hard.

Wishing you the best of luck and never give up no matter how hard. Its the pain and sorrow that bring people to change their lives for the better. We are what we believe.

Ryan
 
Hi James,

I agree with Tennis Tom. If you have an element of doubt, it will hold up the healing process, you need to believe, commit and have faith that you will be cured. If you start to have doubt it is TMS, it will be counter productive and you will be stuck in a vicious cycle.

As Tom has said, re-read all of the literature and immerse yourself on one of the SEP, its not easy I know and symptoms do get worse, but the more you worry the more you are TMSing - feeding it with fear.

I am going through the journey myself and I understand the only way to overcome this is through knowledge, understanding, cleansing and belief.

Please stay focussed and do not learn to manage the pain, but find out what is hurting you and be at one with it.

God bless.
 
jamejamesjames1 said:
I've recently been diagnosed by a doctor as having fibromyalgia. I also have CPPS/Prostatitis. I also attribute dizziness before the onset of prostatitis as all being TMS. I can't sleep at night, can barely think, and am in chronic pain. I have been trying to treat my CPPS as TMS for over 3 months now. Not only have I not been successful, but the fibromyalgia has developed since then. I journal everyday, meditate, practice mindfullness, try to get in touch with my feelings, as well as standing eat well/try to get enough sleep/exercise. I have also read all the books many times and followed the unlearn your pain and SEP programs.

I am not sure what else I can do at this point. I seem to be getting worse and I do not know why. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
James X 3,
I think most of us can empathize with feeling stuck or even with periods where we feel we are getting worse despite doing everything we can think of to address our TMS. I have been at this for 16 months now, and am still not fully recovered. During that time, and especially during the first 6 months, I had periods where my symptoms were worse. Perhaps the journaling you are doing is stirring things up, so your unconscious is throwing more symptoms at you to distract you. I think taking a break from journaling can be useful from time to time.

I would check out some of the TMS therapists listed on this site. There are also TMS coaches who charge less, as they aren't licensed therapists.

But sometimes it just takes time for things to sink in and to settle. So try to hang in there. And keep reaching out for support on the Forum. We are all here to support one another. This is tough work and it is easy to get discouraged. But healing is possible. You are on the right path.
 
james C 3, I agree with Mike. He gives you great advice and encouragement.
We all have had setbacks but get past them if we keep believing 100 percent that our pain is TMS.

I wouldn't go to any therapist who charged $400 a visit. TMDS healing is free, and it works.
Just stick with it.
 
James,

Back in December, 2013 I was diagnosed with prostatitis. I went to a urologist who put me on 3 weeks of Cipro. 3 weeks later, it was no better and I went to a different urologist. He put me on 6 weeks of Bactrim DS. It's now the end of July, over 7 months since I first came down with the prostatitis symptoms, and I'm still not 100% cured. If you asked me 3 weeks ago how I was doing, I would have said I'm 99% cured. If you asked me 2 weeks ago how I was doing, I would have said I was 30% cured. I relapsed. I took a huge leap backwards. I realized that the closer I came to being 100% cured, the more nervous and scared I was about it coming back. I think it was that fear of it coming back that made it come back.

In reading your initial post in this thread, it's easy to see all of the fear and stress this is causing you. You say you, "can't sleep, can barely think, don't know what to do, are getting worse, etc." As others have said, you're feeding the TMS with fear. After my relapse 2 weeks ago, I made a conscious effort not to let the fear win. I told my brain I knew what it was doing. I told it I was on to it. I went back to the gym, which I had stopped as soon as I relapsed. Whenever I felt a twinge in my bladder of felt like I needed to urinate again 5 minutes after I left the bathroom, I just said to my brain, "screw you, I'm not falling for this. I know there's nothing wrong with me." While this might not work for everyone, I can tell you that in the past 2 weeks, I've gone from feeling 30% cured to 90% cured. I refuse to let TMS win.

My nickname on here is "Tru B Leever" because I totally believe in Dr. Sarno's work. Beginning in the mid 1990's, I had crippling back pain. About 7 years ago, someone at work told me about Dr. Sarno. Just by reading online about Dr. Sarno and his TMS theory and then reading posts in this and the other TMS forum, my back pain completely disappeared. It has never returned. I bought his book, Healing Back Pain, but it was after I was already healed. You can beat this. Keep believing that it's TMS, but know that it can take time for all your symptoms to go away, and relapses happen. Just try to beat that fear.

Good luck!!!
 
Tennis Tom said:
James if the TMS therapist is charging $400 per session it must be Freud or Jung--is this in American dollars? I had TMS sessions with Donald Dubin a beloved TMS expert therapist now departed, in Beverly Hills a few years back and it was only $150 a session. Who is charging $400? Are you sure it's not a Trans Cranial Magnetic Therapy (or some gobbledegook that has the same acronym as TMS?)

You've posted here several times, a few months apart and have received good info regarding your symptoms. I suggest you go back and re-read these, they can be easily found by going to your profile and looking up your archived posts. The info given to you then is still valid now.

Before seeing a TMS therapist, the protocol is to get a physical work-up by a TMS trained physician to eliminate any serious structural issues. You said you've been to several docs and they gave you the all-clear--that's GREAT! BUT, you don't believe them because you believe they may have missed something and you say "that happens all the time"--NO, it doesn't, mainly due to malpractice law suits "as seen on TV. " Modern medicine is practiced defensively, by giving every diagnostic test to prevent lawsuits.

James, you can't take a Band-Aid approach to TMS, you need to immerse yourself in it. Stopping by this web-site once a month is not going to cut it. We'll all be just beating around the bush repeating ourselves getting nowhere. TMS is all about exploring the EMOTIONAL causes of psychosomatic pain. Are you looking at your emotional "ISSUES"? If you're not sure what they are google the Rahe-Holmes stress test and see the list of tension causing life changing events that create psychosomatic/TMS dis-ease. Have you experienced any of those events in the last year or so?

G'luck!
Click to expand...

The ones charging a lot are in the Washingon, DC area. I actually have been visiting this site regularly since I've joined, but I "lurk" rather than posting very often (I guess yesterday I was in an especially severe panic). I do not believe I have any sort of pathology or anything, as I can tell stress intensifies it all and things like showers help relax the muscles and that usually has a temporary benefit. So I really do accept the TMS diagnosis. I think at first I had a fear of accepting it. My thoughts were along the lines of "Yeah, there is a pretty good chance this TMS thing could be the cause of it... but IF it isn't I could be getting worse by not treating it physically." It is/was this fear that is the hardest to get over.


Mike - I agree, I do have a lot of fear. I often times fear that anything I do will make the situation worse. So even something that is intended to help me can increase my anxiety as I'm paranoid that "what if" it backfires and makes it worse.

Tru B Leever - I know how you feel. I don't have as many urinary symptoms anymore, but I used to have strong urges to go which intensified if I changed positions, sometimes spasms to go. Sometimes I would fear that I either wouldn't be able to hold it OR wouldn't be able to go at all (odd how they are exact opposites yet I feared them both, haha). I still do get the occassional feeling of weakness and sometimes agitation in the bladder. For the most part, it is pain in that general region. A few have recommened trigger point release, but they come right back. So thats another reason I lead toward TMS.
 
Hi James,

I don't mean to sound negative when I say this, but perhaps you need to see more Drs before fully immersing yourself into TMS work and rule out any structural causes, if it means doing this each time a symptom occurs then so be it. As long as eventually it sinks into your mind that it is TMS.

Most people who have cured from TMS teachings have explored all avenues to no avail. then entered the MBS healing process wholeheartedly and have accepted the TMS teachings, I don't know if desperation has led them to heightened belief and commitment, but either way they have dedicated themselves to the work.

I cannot stress enough, that if you want knowledge therapy to be activated in your unconscious mind, you must do the work everyday (reading, journaling, meditation, visualisations) the information will then be ingrained so deep into your mind it will create a medicine so strong that it will be able to combat TMS.

Your body is a reflection of your mind, if you abuse it, symptoms will occur. Be gentle to yourself, your mind and your heart and realise the work that you are doing is not only to heal yourself now, but will make you a better individual.

I think the inner child is giving you an element of doubt, I know it sounds daft, but try and engage in self talk and don't ask the question, what if its not TMS, but What if it is TMS, what will I be able to do when I am fully recovered?

Like I have said before, be strong, we are all fighting our inner demons and none of us are bad people, we just struggle with processing our emotions, once you understand how you are feeling, you can then ask the question why am I feeling this way?

My hands are acing as I write this post and I am sorry if I have come across as telling you what to do, but from what I see, this forum is full of wonderful people and none of them deserve to be here. They say, good people suffer most.

Just be strong and know that knowledge is wisdom and this is the key to your healing.
 
James, is the therapist in DC TMS trained? (You can see why the country's in trouble if they're asking $400 for therapy in DC). You can do phone or Skype TMS therapy with practitioners listed at this site such as Steven Ray Ozanich and Nicole Sachs who are both well versed in TMS, you should be able to get their contact info here or google their web sites. You can also get free professional TMS advice at the Ask a TMS Therapist feature of this site.

G.luck!
 
Well said Tom.

James, it may be worth you collecting your medical history aswell so you can present this to which ever TMS physician you see, if you present them with facts they can provide you with a diagnosis which will confirm you have TMS and eliminate any uncertainty you may have. Once its confirmed, its your journey to travel alone, although this group can provide amazing support, unfortunately there is no medicine for this, only knowledge and remember, what starts in the mind also ends in the mind.

Keep fighting my friend.
 
For urinary urgency, I got an rx for Flomax, recommended by a physician friend. It took care of the symptomatic problem. Knowing I have it if it rears it's occasional head has taken care of 90% of the problem. I no longer fear it knowing a quick fix is in my medicine cabinet, pocket or glove box of the car. As we age some urinary urgency is due to the affects of gravity on the sphincters. The anxiety or lack of volume control is the TMS component.
 
Tom, I like that you have the Flomax and keep it handy but don't always use it.
I did that with some Librium some long years ago. I kept it with me when I was away from home
but rarely used it. I called it my "Dumbo's feather." You know, from the Disney movie. Dumbo
kept a "magic" feather in his cap that gave him courage. One day he flew without the feather.
He realized he didn't need it. It was all in his head.
 
Hi James,

There are many wonderful suggestions in this thread, the one that sticks out most to me - of course - is to certainly be in consult with a doctor to rule out issues that may not be TMS.

As to all the work you're doing, might I suggest this:

An avenue of discovery that I'd invite you to explore that may be affecting things for you is the amount of effort your putting into the TMS work. Here's a thought experiment: imagine your ID (a big part of the Sarno literature) as a young version of yourself (say, 3-8 years old). See if you can get a picture of yourself at that age in your minds eye. Now, imagine telling that child that he needs to do all the work (following the programs, journaling, meditating, etc...) that you're doing right now, and that he needs to do it every day, and see how he reacts in your imagination. Perhaps, what he shares with you will be a clue to what may be generated unconsciously by all the work you're doing trying to get better.

Often, how we attack our TMS is part of why we have TMS. Some people benefit from hammering the TMS with psychological work but when that work becomes overwhelming, it can become one more of those "life pressures" that contribute to unconscious reactions. I know, pretty crappy, right? The good news is that, for some of us, we can learn to explore new ways of addressing TMS, new forms of self-talk and new pacing for the work that we do that feels firm in its commitment but also not overwhelming in it's necessity.
 
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