Moving Nerve Pain Throughout Body

Hello,

I am new to the TMS Wiki and am relatively new to the ideas behind TMS, which I am more certain by the day is what I am dealing with. Long story short, at the age of 31 I had an L4/L5 Discectomy and Laminectomy. As I would always say in the years that followed, "Knock on wood I had a successful surgery and the pain that I was feeling in my low back and leg had dissipated." That being said, I always have some pain in my body (previously mostly in my low back) that I dealt with on a semi-regular basis but nothing like I had back in 2010-2011.

In January of this year at the age of 39, I started having very bad pains in my left arm which wouldn't go away. I figured it was from sitting funny in my office and therefore went through doing everything I thought I should to fix this. Despite having an ergonomic assessment at work, going to a chiropractor (I recently paid $3000 for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression and Chiropractic care not covered from insurance), neurologists, physiatrists, taking MRIS of my entire body, full blood work, XRays, Physical Therapy, steroid packs, home devices for the neck, etc. the pain continued. It originally started in the left arm, then the right arm, then down into the hands where I felt numbness. I was diagnosed with Cervical Stenosis from a C5-C6/C6-C7 herniation.

After having a Cortisone Shot (Epidural) in September 2019 since nothing was helping, things started to take a turn for the worse. I continue to have pains now that feel like nerve pain which comes and goes and jumps around the body, legs, arms, chest, etc... When I am less stressed, the pain usually dissipates, but when I get caught in the pain, boy can it really go! This being said, I am wondering if anyone else experienced this with TMS? Specifically, not pain in one part of the body but pains that seems to jump around to different body part. Again, I am truly believing this to be TMS but these are sensations (trying to not call this pain at all) that seem s a little atypical if I am not mistaken?

Thanks so much in advance for any feedback,

Neal

 

Yes this is super common and it's definitely TMS. The fact that it moves around is classic tms. Before I knew I had TMS, I would draw road maps of my pain on my legs with marker to show doctors. But the lines were ever changing and so were body parts.

 

Thank you for your response. I am getting tears in my eyes as I realize more and more the control I have over stopping my pains, vs. the depression and anxiety of thinking something was happening TO me or taking control OF my ability to live a normal life.

 

Yes, I used to think of the pain as this outside force or entity (or monster) that was terrorizing me and controlling me. When I realized that it was I who was actually creating the pain from within, I realized that I was fighting myself! There was nothing to be intimidated by! I wasn't this victim at the mercy of external forces. I was the creator and architect of my own prison....to which I had the key and could walk out of at any time!! They were simply FALSE BELIEFS that had no bearing on reality. I don't need to believe my thoughts anymore. Just as my pain was temporary, so were my thoughts!!