Increased Pain a Sign of Improvement?

I attended a “virtual” TMS lecture with Dr. Rashbaum the other day. The morning after, I woke up with pain in my neck, upper-back, and even a little in the lower-right side of my back. All of this on top of the same old persistent pain in the lower left & down my leg that I’ve been struggling with for many years now. For those of you not familiar with my extensive rantings on this forum, Dr. Sarno helped me eliminate my low back pain many years ago, but this time around, I'm really stuck. I stayed in bed too long, and definitely slept in a weird position, but I am hoping all of this is an indication that I have the TMS on the run.

I’d like very much to hear about some others who experienced a period of increased pain and/or new symptoms following any kind of renewed commitment or break-through while on the way to recovery.

I’m also really struggling with the ‘just do it’ philosophy that Dr. Sarno promoted. I am trying to walk a little further each day, but the leg/hip eventually gets so painful I’m just forced to stop. If I were to just try and resume ‘normal’ activity at this point, there’s no doubt I would hurt myself. I’m not worried about worsening any chronic injury, I just know that the pain will stop me. Being unable to participate in activities I enjoy is a major source of stress, without question. How do I break through that barrier?

 

Dr. Sarno called those outbursts of new pain "extinction bursts". They are very typical. I had some very bizarre ones in some unexpected places. They all eventually went away, mainly because I was made aware of this phenomenon by Dr. Sarno and did not give them attention I would have otherwise given them. Once I understood what they were, I moved on.

 

If that caused pain I would be in pain every day of my life... I have discussed this with a lot of my TMS cured friends and there is no 'right' way to sleep(confirmed by Sarno). Granted, if you sleep too long you might be a little stiff, but not in pain.

Well, remember Sarno said not to push yourself if your new and the diagnosis hasn't sunk in lest fear trigger a new attack.... But in your case, seeing as you understand the drill, that might not necessarily apply.

When I was recovering I used my daily activity to do 'Refutation work'. I would go for a walk, run, cycle alone with no distractions and when the pain came (it did at first) I would use that for those self talk times ... like I was talking to the TMS itself. I continue to do that still when any new stuff is trying to sneak in.

"Bullshit... I don't believe you... you are conditioned BS and I am going to jog no matter what so you might as well shut up... F U" My neighbors must think I have tourettes, BUT I am pain free.

I focus on money problems, relationship problems and how angry and frustrated I may be. When I am NOT doing that and if I catch a thought like the one I quoted, I usually blurt out 'Bullshit' just to attack the thought of expecting pain.

Since you have had this come back/ongoing, is there any issues that you have left unresolved, un-dealt with? Marriage? Career? Family of origin anger? Have you tried going the therapy route?

I caught an attempted 'sneak in' last week.... felt my knee tightening up. I sat down and wrote about work issues (huge pressure project I am on) My GF moving in (ouch) My discontent about playing time on my baseball team (childish) and it was amazing how much stuff had snuck in under the radar. If you had asked me I would have told you "I am OK"..... but I wasn't. I was starting a new resentment farm. I had to root them out before they sprouted. My knee is fine, but me? Maybe not so much

peace

 

I've been walking every day, but the distance I can go has been pretty significantly reduced during this latest setback. I know that if I just started to jog or go past that point where the pain gets severe enough to where my leg just 'shuts off', I won't get very far. I'm not worried about doing permanent damage or anything, but I'm just living so close to the point where the pain is totally unbearable, the "just do it" mentality just isn't possible. It's hard to really describe. When I say I slept funny, it's just when I wake up in a weird position, but there's not all that much space between stiffness & pain. I don't really have pain free days anymore, and there's no shifting of the pain. When I get more rest, I do feel better, but really the only thing that has a significant effect on my pain these days is Prednisone. I do believe the source is TMS, and things have snowballed now to a point where my poor body mechanics, weakness and inflexibility have made things worse. I really need to get some blood work done and start charting my pain levels along with the inflammatory markers. It may really make sense to get back on a drug like Humira & stay on it. I may not even be a surgical candidate anymore, but there is definitely a group of patients with symptoms like mine who see their pain dramatically reduced or even completely resolved with some of these minimally invasive decompression surgeries.