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My meeting with Dr. Schubiner

North Star said:
Dr. S asked me to recall the anger. Something I had a very hard time tapping into. I'm a nice girl. I don't get mad when people hurt me. I "understand" and excuse them.
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I totally see myself in what you are writing here! My girlfriend says that I am always very good at seeing other people's sides of conflicts, but perhaps there is a cost of repressed anger that comes along with it as well.
North Star said:
I just got out of my 2.5 hour appointment with Dr. Howard Schubiner.
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Mala said:
Pleased it went well. 2.5 hrs is a long time but he needs to be sure before giving his diagnosis I guess. He comes across as a very gentle soul in his videos.
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It always amazes me how much time TMS doctors are sometimes willing to spend with their patients. In one of her TED Talks, Lissa Rankin talks about how insurance companies will only pay for seven and a half minutes of time in a doctor's visit. Compared to seven and a half minutes, two and a half hours shows you how different the TMS approach can be. It is no wonder conventional doctors can't diagnose TMS - they don't have time to get to know what is happening in your life.

Of course, Dr. Schubiner probably spent extra time because of the long drive. Whatever the case, I think it's pretty special if you think of how busy he is. After all, he runs his own hospital-based pain clinic, runs his own online program (with a private forum!), serves on the board of the PPD Association, and is running a 2 million dollar NIH funded mind-body study on fibromyalgia (with other investigators). He also just published an ebook about how anxiety and depression are TMS. There is no official announcement yet, but I've heard he's also working on a manual for practitioners related to ISTDP.

By the way, Northstar, you're a great writer. This really has been a great thread, too. Thanks for sharing your report. I hope that others will share their "field reports" as well, especially if they find something helpful.
 
Aw, thanks Forest. I appreciate your empathy and your kind words.

I didn't realize that Dr. S. had his finger in all those other pots too. And the 2.5 hour appointment? I was under the impression that's how long the TMS appointments are. (He told me the length when I first talked to him on the phone.) And yeah, that length of time would be a real profit killer for the medical money machinery.

I found it ironic that the diagnosis code he used from my billing form was Fibromyalgia. ("They won't cover a TMS diagnosis," he said.)

It's also humbling that he will avail himself to any questions or follow up I might have.

Colly, I forgot to tell you…I did not record this but I do have handwritten notes from the good doctor. I just didn't want to relive the issues that we discussed…it's in the past. "Let the dead past bury the dead," as Longfellow put it. The doctor on the other hand, was tapping many notes into the computer while we were talking.

I am humbled and grateful. Lots of food for thought for the 1,400 mile ride home. :)
 
This part of my healing pilgrimage has now ended. We drove nearly 4,300 miles in the past days…what a whirlwind! Every time I got out of the van, my achilles would loudly protest. I told them to shut up. Ditto for the condition responses in my neck/shoulder from sleeping on "the wrong sort of mattress." I did NOT take any ibuprofen. :smug:

I wish I could say I was like one of those crutch waving converts running around at a Christian healing meetin' after the preacher's laid hands on me but that doesn't appear to be my lot. I'm okay with that. And besides, Dr. Schubiner told me that he is Jewish. ;)
 
So glad to hear how successful your appointment was. It will really help you, and I am sure the healing will progress very well now you have been given such a boost from his words and reassurance.
 
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