My Doctor: “You should be in agony.”

So, this was an interesting doctor’s visit for me and I thought this may help others or bring comfort somehow in regards to back pain and the notion that muscle tension “is the root” back pain. Spoiler alert, it’s not always.

I went to my doctor’s office for a follow-up after a car accident I was in back in May that resulted in me having severe whiplash injuries, which caused soreness and pain all the way down my back, my knees being bruised and a few other injuries but ultimately I was fine. I walked away and I’m grateful. Luckily… Nothing was broken or anything, just couldn’t move around very well.

my doctor recommended I get x-rays and go to PT and honestly, knowing that I have a history of TMS, I lightly refused to do either (big risk, I know) and trusted that my body will heal itself in time. I didn’t feel like I was so messed up that I needed x-rays or PT. My intuition was telling me I’ll be fine. I don’t need to know what my spine looks like if it isn’t broken lol

well, fast forward to this past Monday, I went to my follow-up. My doctor was not pleased that I haven’t gotten x-rays done, haven’t attended PT and haven’t even picked up the muscle relaxers she prescribed me (I have a fear of becoming addicted to pills, so that prescription was doomed to stay at the pharmacy from the work Go). I told her that I didn’t think I needed any of it and that I felt fine.

She insisted on examining my back for me and as she is pressing around my spine, she says “Does any of this hurt?”
me: “no”
Doctor: “Your muscles around your lower spine are rock hard. You should be in agony.”
Me: “Well, I’m not. I feel fine. I even started working out again and have had no issues with my back.”
Doctor: *looks puzzled* “Your muscles are definitely in a spasm.”
Me: I think it’s from being nervous about being in the doctor’s office. I tense up when I’m anxious or stressed. I’m fine though.

Past me would have taken her words to heart and they would have scared me deeply. I would have spiraled and paid attention to every little thing my back was doing and every little bending motion I made. But in the end, using what I’ve learned from TMS is if my body feels one way and my doctor’s opinion differs from it, I’m going to listen to my body. Unless a test is done that shows I have some real serious stuff happening, little things like my doctor pointing out I’m tense when I feel A-Ok isn’t something I need to freak out about.

In the end, my doctor recommended PT and muscle relaxers which I declined again. I’m fine. I don’t need these things. But after leaving the appointment, I thought maybe someone who does have back pain and think it’s muscle tension related might find this story helpful. And I hope you do! I’m sure if I had gotten x-rays and done PT, I’d have chronic back pain because my brain would have believed something was really wrong with my back and started sending pain signals to my brain to be amplified. Sometimes, we’re just tense humans and it doesn’t have to cause pain lol

 

Thanks for sharing. Good for you.
...
I went to a NP recently (maybe a month ago) and she tried to convince me that I would be sick for the rest of my life. She wasn't listening to what I had to say about my life's routine, my diet, meditations, workouts, positive mental state, good spirit etc etc. All she did was to do her very best to convince me that my condition will get worse and worse in time IF I don't follow her "precious" advice. Her advice: lots of medication daily of course coming and seeing her regularly for the rest of my miserable life I guess...At a certain point I was not listening to her anymore.

Lucky me I retained my composure and then left. I will never see her again. Never.

It was hard not to punch her in the face or at least slap her a few times. Sorry if I sound aggressive writing here but at the time...I was just fantasizing in my mind while I was listening to her abominations.

Shame on them, the freaky "doctors". Probably she has student loans to pay...yeah. I was not the one to pay for it with my visits over and over and over again. Thanks but no thanks.

 

I appreciate both of these posts so much. We are often taught (I definitely was) that the doctor is the expert and what he says is what you should do and you should never question them. Although I know better now, I fall back into the fear that I am not safe or ok unless a doctor tells me that I am. Leaving no trust in my self or my body.


Thank you both the inspiration on intuition and self trust. I love reading stories like that. We need more stories like that.

 

Yes, doctors with God complex. They are never challenged by anyone, no one, ever. In their entire career. And they honestly believe that they know everything about you (the patient) after a 10-15 minute visit.

I saw this woman for the first time in my life and she was absolutely certain about my health and miserable future after 15 min. She knew me better than I knew myself, better than my previous doctors etc. She was a "genius"!

The truth is...without this forum, I would have been listening to her probably. But this forum helped me, plus Dr Sarno's theories, plus the courage that I gathered in time. Plus my gut feeling.

Yes, I appreciate these comments/stories too. Very much.

 

They are just poking around trying to understand what they will NEVER understand because they don't understand TMS!
(say that three times fast)
The list of Noceboes and negligent things they say is pretty lengthy. I used to get similar statements when they probed my 'zone of tenderness' or whatever Sarno called it.

I actually got that statement too the first time they MRI'd my hips and that area..... Hips were so drastically tilted, the Doctor said "You should have been in pain your whole life!" But I had not been.
I've thought about it before and the only thing I can guess is 1. Birth defect (I was Born with congenital fusion) or 2. a Lifetime of skateboarding which means doing a lopsided workout with your hips/legs for years.
I still walk funny. So does my son, but he also was a skateboarder!

But just like Sarno says, It's sort of pointless and academic. The problem is in my mind. The physical stuff is 'just there'

yep!
Whenever I am near the medical world I have my 'Charlie Brown cartoon adult voice' ready....anytime they start talking about structural things?
"Wah wah wah wah , wah waah wah wah". I have my own pre-conditioned defense against their Noceboes....Just ridicule them!