Mortons Neuroma?

[mama4]

Could TMS be the cause for a popping sensation in my third and fourth toe along with the sensation of numbness and "crumpled sock" around that area as well? I have seen 2 podiatrists. The first diagnosed me with Mortons Neuroma and told me to wear a metatarsal pad. I did the follow up in 3 weeks and saw a different podiatrist, who told me that he thought I just had Metatarsalgia (I have no pain) and to wear orthotics/metatarsal pad. It is crazy to think that TMS could possibly be the entire cause for this sensation in my foot and that there may not be a neuroma... Any insight or experience with this?

 

[TG957]

I had it, and it was extremely painful. Podiatrist was useless, offered me a surgery with a 60% success rate. I went to the chiropractor, 3 spinal adjustments fixed it completely. That was before I knew about TMS. So, I am on the fence about it: I do have a very tight right side of the body which may have caused a skeletal imbalance, but I am 100% certain that my muscle tightness is TMS. So, the trigger was likely TMS, but a fix by a chiropractor worked. Still, 3 years later, I was hit by another, much bigger chronic pain/muscle contraction issue which was only resolved thanks to me learning about TMS. This is a long and winding answer, I hope it helps.

 

[Mery]

I had it, and it was extremely painful. Podiatrist was useless, offered me a surgery with a 60% success rate. I went to the chiropractor, 3 spinal adjustments fixed it completely. That was before I knew about TMS. So, I am on the fence about it: I do have a very tight right side of the body which may have caused a skeletal imbalance, but I am 100% certain that my muscle tightness is TMS. So, the trigger was likely TMS, but a fix by a chiropractor worked. Still, 3 years later, I was hit by another, much bigger chronic pain/muscle contraction issue which was only resolved thanks to me learning about TMS. This is a long and winding answer, I hope it helps.

How long did you suffer with the chronic muscle contraction pain? I have this issue on my right abdominal side for 3 years. Very debilitating. thx

 

[TG957]

How long did you suffer with the chronic muscle contraction pain? I have this issue on my right abdominal side for 3 years. Very debilitating. thx

I had muscle contraction for over 2 years. Just FYI, it is called dystonia and it is considered incurable by the official medicine. I fully recovered, thanks to Dr. Sarno and his followers. In my opinion, dystonia is a tougher case of TMS, but beatable.

 

[LMB]

We need to be very careful when talking TMS. Not sure Dystonia is a tougher case of TMS.

 

[TG957]

We need to be very careful when talking TMS. Not sure Dystonia is a tougher case of TMS.

I made it clear that it was my opinion, but based on my own successful experience. I was mostly pain-free 1 year after discovery Dr. Sarno, but it took me 2 years to get rid of dystonia. I could refer to others on this forum who had muscle contraction problems, but I suggest that people do their own work searching for those opinions.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Yep @TG957, I'm with you.

In MY opinion only, my Rheumatoid Arthritis (sudden onset in 2020 at the advanced age of 69) was 100% caused by extreme environmental/outside stress (volunteer job vs 2020 shutdowns combined with mindless perfectionism and goodism on top of four years of political distress). NOTHING ELSE MAKES SENSE.

However, that opinion was not helpful when my inflammatory blood markers were apparently screaming RA, along with being extremely crippled with constant pain, and I guess at high risk of imminent joint damage. I consulted with Dr. Schecter who said I had to be a good patient and follow my new rheumatologist's recommendations to the letter - but that at the same time there was nothing stopping me from assuming the stress source, or from assuming that I can achieve remission with my TMS knowledge and skills, because he's seen it happen.

Dr. Sarno himself said that sometimes, you gotta take the meds to get to a better place to start doing the work. I've had four or five quarters of extremely low (bottom of the range) CRP results along with months of not needing pain relievers, and I'm going to talk to my rheumatologist about backing off on the methotrexate to see what happens (update: he said yes, go ahead (sometimes we have to ask for what we want!)

There is no black & white answer to ANY of this, especially for a condition such as dystonia, which I looked up. I like the Mayo Clinic for the "standard Western medicine" description of various conditions along with causes and treatments. According to their site, dystonia covers very large range of individual symptoms and an equally large range of severity, associated disorders, symptom management, and prognoses. It's hardly a discrete condition.

Most notably, and in congruence with the autoimmune conditions (like RA), and other stress-based conditions (for which I will always refer to Gabor Mate MD for the best explanations) I gleaned the following three bits of information from Mayo about dystonia:

1. They don't know what causes it.
2. There are no cures - only management of symptoms, which vary as widely as the type of symptoms.
3. >>>>> Stress, fatigue, and anxiety generally make it worse<<<<<<

I'm generally pretty conservative, but I don't have a problem suggesting that once someone has this diagnosis, that in the absence of a known cause or a clear treatment plan, it can't hurt for them to decide treat to their dystonia with TMS knowledge and techniques.

 

[TG957]

Yep @TG957, I'm with you.

In MY opinion only, my Rheumatoid Arthritis (sudden onset in 2020 at the advanced age of 69) was 100% caused by extreme environmental/outside stress (volunteer job vs 2020 shutdowns combined with mindless perfectionism and goodism on top of four years of political distress). NOTHING ELSE MAKES SENSE.

However, that opinion was not helpful when my inflammatory blood markers were apparently screaming RA, along with being extremely crippled with constant pain, and I guess at high risk of imminent joint damage. I consulted with Dr. Schecter who said I had to be a good patient and follow my new rheumatologist's recommendations to the letter - but that at the same time there was nothing stopping me from assuming the stress source, or from assuming that I can achieve remission with my TMS knowledge and skills, because he's seen it happen.

Dr. Sarno himself said that sometimes, you gotta take the meds to get to a better place to start doing the work. I've had four or five quarters of extremely low (bottom of the range) CRP results along with months of not needing pain relievers, and I'm going to talk to my rheumatologist about backing off on the methotrexate to see what happens (update: he said yes, go ahead (sometimes we have to ask for what we want!)

There is no black & white answer to ANY of this, especially for a condition such as dystonia, which I looked up. I like the Mayo Clinic for the "standard Western medicine" description of various conditions along with causes and treatments. According to their site, dystonia covers very large range of individual symptoms and an equally large range of severity, associated disorders, symptom management, and prognoses. It's hardly a discrete condition.

Most notably, and in congruence with the autoimmune conditions (like RA), and other stress-based conditions (for which I will always refer to Gabor Mate MD for the best explanations) I gleaned the following three bits of information from Mayo about dystonia:

1. They don't know what causes it.
2. There are no cures - only management of symptoms, which vary as widely as the type of symptoms.
3. >>>>> Stress, fatigue, and anxiety generally make it worse<<<<<<

I'm generally pretty conservative, but I don't have a problem suggesting that once someone has this diagnosis, that in the absence of a known cause or a clear treatment plan, it can't hurt for them to decide treat to their dystonia with TMS knowledge and techniques.

I do agree that stress can reach the level that triggers autoimmune conditions like RA. Even though it is not strictly a TMS per se, but by approaching it from the TMS perspective, which is stabilizing the nervous system, it is possible to reduce or maybe even reverse the symptoms. I refer everybody with autoimmune conditions to the website of Shannon Harvey who fully recovered by using psychosomatic methods. Jan, I so hope you would be able to gradually get off the meds!

As for dystonia, since causes are unknown and cures are none, TMS should be the first candidate for treatment!

 

[IamKaren]

Hello, hopefully I am in the right place - tried to find some more recent comments on Dystonia. I just joined the forum, having read Dr Sarno’s book The Mind Body Prescription to see if TMS protocol can help with my Meige Syndrome/Cranial Dystonia symptoms. I was diagnosed in 2019 .. tried Botox, Artane meds and joined Dr Farias program. The program helped a lot and I was able to ditch Botox and reduce meds but not managed to stop meds completely. Over time my symptoms have shifted and changed … I 100% believe my symptoms are mind body and that I can heal myself, but not there yet! I am currently struggling with anything that can be called neural relaxation… eg meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, qi-gong, walking and even just siting down and ‘resting’ because my symptoms kick off making it very difficult for me to ‘switch off’ and properly relax. My symptoms are virtually non existent when I am ‘busy’ or mentally and physically engaged, as in cooking, cleaning, gardening etc. I can also read mostly ok, use the computer and drive- all of which I am truly thankful for. Also thankfully, I don’t have much pain except some jaw/TMJ pain and a lot of jaw popping. I struggle with speech and sometimes eating, although both are much better than they were. My speech is worse when talking to family members and close friends. If talking to people I don’t know so well, my speech is much better and sometimes no restrictions at all. I very much believe the onset of this condition was due to extreme emotional stress brought on by marital problems, plus I fit the bill for perfectionism, goodism, people pleasing etc. I am still in my marriage and things are better - but issue’s do still arise from time to time .. which doesn’t help! I have recently adopted some affirmations, try to be mindful… especially about my thoughts, practice gratitude, a bit of journaling, attention to healthy diet etc. and have engaged in some hypnotherapy, and Osteomyology sessions, all of which I believe have helped to some degree. I feel I now need to get more focused my question is where should I start with seriously engaging in the TMS protocol, bearing in mind my current difficulties?

 

[Tmswarrior32]

Could TMS be the cause for a popping sensation in my third and fourth toe along with the sensation of numbness and "crumpled sock" around that area as well? I have seen 2 podiatrists. The first diagnosed me with Mortons Neuroma and told me to wear a metatarsal pad. I did the follow up in 3 weeks and saw a different podiatrist, who told me that he thought I just had Metatarsalgia (I have no pain) and to wear orthotics/metatarsal pad. It is crazy to think that TMS could possibly be the entire cause for this sensation in my foot and that there may not be a neuroma... Any insight or experience with this?

How are you doing? I have the EXACT sensation and symptoms. No pain. I want to view it as tms but it has been very hard for me. I don’t want to fall in the medical loop but feel I may need imaging for some reason.

 

[JaneSandyJane]

How are you doing? I have the EXACT sensation and symptoms. No pain. I want to view it as tms but it has been very hard for me. I don’t want to fall in the medical loop but feel I may need imaging for some reason.

In Dr. Sarno's book he wrote that a blood flow shift causes tissues to act out, right? wouldn't that include local nerves too?

 

[Tmswarrior32]

In Dr. Sarno's book he wrote that a blood flow shift causes tissues to act out, right? wouldn't that include local nerves too?

I had an ultrasound that stated either bursitis or Morton neuroma. Will have an mri this Friday for peace of mind. I have applied the tus mindset tot his issue and have actually seen some improvement however I still have that popping nervy sensation all the time. The other sensations are not constant

 

[mama4]

First off, I will say that I am doing so much better! I am back to running 3 to 4 days a week and other than making sure that I have a wide shoe for the purpose of giving my foot plenty of room, I don’t pay attention to the shoes that I wear nor do I wear any type of insert like I originally did. just for a refresher, I saw three different podiatrist and got three different opinions. The third podiatrist ordered an MRI of my foot given that my symptoms were not improving with wearing appropriate shoes and metatarsal pads. The MRI showed a ganglion cyst, which I believe the podiatrist was surprised with! I know that most TMS experts will urge against doing any type of imaging, but for me, it was important that I knew exactly what the sensation was coming from. Once I found out that it was a ganglion cyst, it was amazing how quickly my perception of the sensation changed and now I rarely to never notice it.. I was no longer scared of this sensation. The podiatrist told me that it would not harm to run, and there was no nerve damage and I knew that most of the time, ganglion initially absorb on their own. I was so glad that I got the imaging. It was interesting that when my perception of the sensation changed, my symptoms basically went away. Additionally, I’ve had several other mind-body symptoms that have improved and or completely resolved through a lot of education on mind body syndromes. How are your symptoms now? What did the MRI show? it was crazy that once the podiatrist told me what they thought the diagnosis was before I ever had imaging, my mind was consumed with my sensation, and the fear surrounding the what-ifs magnified my sensation and controlled my life.

 

[TG957]

I know that most TMS experts will urge against doing any type of imaging,

First of all, congratulations on your success! Second, there is nothing wrong with getting MRI done to rule out a structural problem. In your case, it became the deciding factor in your healing - what's wrong with that? It is not about what shows on MRI, it is about which things seen on MRI are considered a problem. Dr. Sarno saw bulging discs on the MRI of his patients, but he did not think they were a problem. But he still wanted MRI done so he could rule out tumors or fractures.

 

[Tmswarrior32]

First off, I will say that I am doing so much better! I am back to running 3 to 4 days a week and other than making sure that I have a wide shoe for the purpose of giving my foot plenty of room, I don’t pay attention to the shoes that I wear nor do I wear any type of insert like I originally did. just for a refresher, I saw three different podiatrist and got three different opinions. The third podiatrist ordered an MRI of my foot given that my symptoms were not improving with wearing appropriate shoes and metatarsal pads. The MRI showed a ganglion cyst, which I believe the podiatrist was surprised with! I know that most TMS experts will urge against doing any type of imaging, but for me, it was important that I knew exactly what the sensation was coming from. Once I found out that it was a ganglion cyst, it was amazing how quickly my perception of the sensation changed and now I rarely to never notice it.. I was no longer scared of this sensation. The podiatrist told me that it would not harm to run, and there was no nerve damage and I knew that most of the time, ganglion initially absorb on their own. I was so glad that I got the imaging. It was interesting that when my perception of the sensation changed, my symptoms basically went away. Additionally, I’ve had several other mind-body symptoms that have improved and or completely resolved through a lot of education on mind body syndromes. How are your symptoms now? What did the MRI show? it was crazy that once the podiatrist told me what they thought the diagnosis was before I ever had imaging, my mind was consumed with my sensation, and the fear surrounding the what-ifs magnified my sensation and controlled my life.

so happy to hear that you are doing so much better! So the mri never found a Morton neuroma just a cyst? I have those same sensations as well. I went to get my MRI but the insurance company refused my claim and I couldn’t pay 600 for a mri so I never had it done. I only had an ultrasound which the podiatrist said he was certain I had a Mortons on my right foot but he wasn’t completely convinced. He said there was a white area that is where the Morton neuroma was, but he couldn’t confirm it 100% without an MRI. My left foot I have similar symptoms, but no popping sensation and he said that he couldn’t see anything there, and he was surprised I was having symptoms since he couldn’t see anything so I’ve come to the conclusion that I do have TMS and I might have a Morton’s neuroma, but I don’t have to have sensations. I went on vacation and barely even notice my foot at all, and had a great time so I am positive I have TMS . I do want the MRI just for the peace of mind so I know exactly what I have. I don’t like that not knowing the physical structure problem even though I know it’s TMS. I guess I still have a little bit of fear I would just like to know exactly what I have just like you stated so I can just move on with my life.

 

[Georgie_downunder]

Hello, hopefully I am in the right place - tried to find some more recent comments on Dystonia. I just joined the forum, having read Dr Sarno’s book The Mind Body Prescription to see if TMS protocol can help with my Meige Syndrome/Cranial Dystonia symptoms. I was diagnosed in 2019 .. tried Botox, Artane meds and joined Dr Farias program. The program helped a lot and I was able to ditch Botox and reduce meds but not managed to stop meds completely. Over time my symptoms have shifted and changed … I 100% believe my symptoms are mind body and that I can heal myself, but not there yet! I am currently struggling with anything that can be called neural relaxation… eg meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, qi-gong, walking and even just siting down and ‘resting’ because my symptoms kick off making it very difficult for me to ‘switch off’ and properly relax. My symptoms are virtually non existent when I am ‘busy’ or mentally and physically engaged, as in cooking, cleaning, gardening etc. I can also read mostly ok, use the computer and drive- all of which I am truly thankful for. Also thankfully, I don’t have much pain except some jaw/TMJ pain and a lot of jaw popping. I struggle with speech and sometimes eating, although both are much better than they were. My speech is worse when talking to family members and close friends. If talking to people I don’t know so well, my speech is much better and sometimes no restrictions at all. I very much believe the onset of this condition was due to extreme emotional stress brought on by marital problems, plus I fit the bill for perfectionism, goodism, people pleasing etc. I am still in my marriage and things are better - but issue’s do still arise from time to time .. which doesn’t help! I have recently adopted some affirmations, try to be mindful… especially about my thoughts, practice gratitude, a bit of journaling, attention to healthy diet etc. and have engaged in some hypnotherapy, and Osteomyology sessions, all of which I believe have helped to some degree. I feel I now need to get more focused my question is where should I start with seriously engaging in the TMS protocol, bearing in mind my current difficulties?

I can very much relate not only to the dystonia (I have full body) but how you are activated when you rest or do anything that’s normally calming. I know this post was a few years ago but I’m wondering if you have had any success?
I’ve just come across Dr Farias also and signed up alongside trying to do other mindbody work (but I’m like you and it’s tricky re mediations etc)

 

[TG957]

I can very much relate not only to the dystonia (I have full body) but how you are activated when you rest or do anything that’s normally calming. I know this post was a few years ago but I’m wondering if you have had any success?
I’ve just come across Dr Farias also and signed up alongside trying to do other mindbody work (but I’m like you and it’s tricky re mediations etc)

you can check out this website: www.defeatcrps.com. It was created for CRPS, which is a conglomerate of symptoms, and dystonia is one of them, but everything that you find on the website is relevant to dystonia. Dystonia is mentioned on the site quite a bit. I credit meditation for my recovery. I am aware of several other success stories with dystonia (as a single symptom or as part of CRPS). I went to Dr. Farais workshop and found his method utilizing many of the TMS concepts.

 

[Georgie_downunder]

you can check out this website: www.defeatcrps.com. It was created for CRPS, which is a conglomerate of symptoms, and dystonia is one of them, but everything that you find on the website is relevant to dystonia. Dystonia is mentioned on the site quite a bit. I credit meditation for my recovery. I am aware of several other success stories with dystonia (as a single symptom or as part of CRPS). I went to Dr. Farais workshop and found his method utilizing many of the TMS concepts.

Thank you for your message. I appreciate that. I get 12 hour plus full body spasms so I really need help.

 

[TG957]

Thank you for your message. I appreciate that. I get 12 hour plus full body spasms so I really need help.

You need to calm down your nervous system. The longer meditation sessions you can sustain, the better. I started seeing results after I was able to meditate at least 1 hour straight on a daily basis.

 

[Georgie_downunder]

You need to calm down your nervous system. The longer meditation sessions you can sustain, the better. I started seeing results after I was able to meditate at least 1 hour straight on a daily basis.

I have been trying to meditate for 15 plus years but I’m like IamKaren above where my system is so dysregulated that whenever I try to rest or close my eyes or do calming type practice, my system goes into sympathetic stress. I’ve even monitored on an Oura ring for 5 years - my HRV drops below 10 when I try to meditate or sleep too. This has been the biggest hindrance to me knowing how to move forward. I’m very open to suggestions but most practitioners or coaches don’t understand this challenge when your system operates the opposite of what you’d expect for healing.