Day 10 Is physical exam necessary?

Dr. Sarno and other TMS doctors repeat in various places the importance of having a physical examination from a TMS doctor to ensure that there's actually no structural abnormality. This is both a good precaution in case there actually is an abnormality, and they say it's a prerequisite to fully accepting the diagnosis.

Is it really necessary? I get worried every time I read that. If it really is that important, I should go find an available doctor right away. If it's not necessary, I wish they'd stop stressing me out by saying it is. Are there any TMS doctors in Wisconsin, or even Chicago or the Twin Cities? I've looked at the tmswiki's list of TMS doctors for Wisconsin, and I searched online for all of those docs, but the list seems to be quite out of date and I couldn't find any of them online.

 

Hi cokeefe. I've never been to a TMS doctor per se. I have shared with my trusted primary care doctor that my body tends to exhibit stress as pain, so that he is aware of that.
Perhaps seeing a TMS physician would help allay any fears at your pain is due to a structural problem rather than TMS, bit I have not found it to be necessary.
I actually contacted Dr. Sarno in the '80s after reading his book Healing Back Pain. I was ready to go to NY to see him and attend his class, but he told me that if I had already accepted the diagnosis 100%, then there was no need to travel all that way. I had accepted that I had TMS, so I didn't go. It didn't impair my recovery in the least.
Blessings as you work through the SEP. It's an amazing program.

 

Hi, cokeefe. When I had severe pain more than two years ago I had a doctor look at me and take X-rays but nothing structural was found. I asked a nurse friend about it and she suggested I read Dr. Sarno's Healing Back Pain. I did, and then did the SEProgram and realized I had been repressing childhood anger and feelings of abandonment and insecurity when my parents divorced when I was seven. I came to understand about that better and to forgive and my pain went away. So I think it's good to get a physical checkup, but would not get an MRI just an X-ray, maybe. I don't think it's absolutely necessary to see a TMS doctor unless one is close to you. Just keep going in the SEProgram and journal to discover your repressed emotions or recognize that you have a perfectionist and/or a goodist personality. Those also are emotions that cause TMS pain.

While doing the SEProgram, remember to practice deep breathing, living in the present moment (Mindfulness meditation) and read Dr. Sarno's 12 Daily Reminders from his book Healing Back Pain. I especially like this extended version from Herbie, another TMSer:



Herbie’s Extended Version of Dr. Sarno’s 12 DAILY REMINDERS

1. The pain is due to TMS. This is real pain or anxiety but it is caused by subconscious tensions and triggers, stressors and traits to your reactions and fears and also when at boiling point your conscious tension can and does also cause real pain.
2. The main reason for the pain is mild oxygen deprivation. This means that when you get in pain or anxiety then the blood is restricted from going to your lower back, for instance. The blood being restricted causes oxygen deprivation which causes the pain. Remember, where there is no oxygen then there is pain in the body. Also, the pain stays because of fear.
3. TMS is a harmless condition caused by my REPRESSED EMOTIONS so even though you think you can harm yourself from the years of pain you have felt and how you feel in general -- so far no reports have been heard from TMS healing knowledge causing damage to anyone, it only helps.
4. The principle emotion is your repressed ANGER -- this means under your consciousness lies something that happens automatically to everyone. TMSers have repressions that are stored because of our personality traits, traumas, stressors, fears, strain, etc... When these stored repressions build and build, then eventually they cause the brain to send pain into your body to keep you from having an emotional crises. The mind-body thinks it is helping you.
5. TMS exists to DISTRACT your attentions from the emotions, stressors, tensions and strains of your personality traits because if you can get distraction then you won’t have to be in emotional turmoil. When you don't face and feel your emotions and they get repressed because you didn't want to deal with something -- they are just adding up in this beaker, ready to pour over and create real pain and anxiety in your body.
6. Since my body is perfectly normal, there is nothing to fear. So in reality when I fear the pain or anxiety I just cause myself undo strain and tension adding to the beaker of pain. If I fear, then I feed the pain, If I fear, it’s impossible to recondition. Fear keeps the pain and anxiety alive in the body through focus.
7. Therefore, physical activity is harmless. If I want to work against the pain I could but it’s better to lose some of the pain so when I start my life over I have to be in pain trying to heal because facing the repressions and all the other activities that cause the pain and reversing my fear and focus to them, then I can heal.
8. I am resuming all normal physical activity. I don't fear moving anymore. I believe in my body’s ability to heal now. I can move as I want. I will not fear moving with a bent back anymore. I will also practice going out and acting normal again, not in fear of what pain might do to me.
9. The pain is unimportant and powerless. Its only power is how it is hidden -- its illusion, its fear.
10. I will keep my attention on the emotional issues. I will think about my emotions and feel my emotions throughout the day. I will not judge, criticize or fear my emotions. I will not run from my emotional issues but face every one of them. I will feel my emotions fully and cry if I need to. Then I will release the emotion and get my mind and thoughts back to my life and living in the present.
11. I am in control of all of this. This is how I recover.
12. I will be thinking PSYCHOLOGICALLY AT ALL TIMES. This means I will keep my thoughts on psychological issues like happiness, fear and anger -- traits and triggers, conditioning and journaling -- The science behind mind-body/TMS healing, etc.... This way I will not feed my thoughts to the body -- that is a trick of TMS. TMS will always try to get me to focus on the body caused by the pain until I break its show and flair. When I get my attention off physical symptoms and on to emotional issues and psychological issues then I will not feed the fear of the physical issues anymore, thus making the TMS of no pain effect on the body. This will in return, give us the cure and become pain-free.

 

Thank you both! These are helpful responses. It's especially encouraging to hear from you, Gigi, that Dr. Sarno told you it wasn't worth a visit to him. I will continue not seeing a doctor, then. I will also print out the TMS daily reminders and put them on the back of my desk behind my computer where I will see them every day.