My story with TMS

R

Radek

New Member
I think it might be good to share with you my story. I'm 29 years old male. In April this year I suffered an extremly huge pain in my backs with sciatica in my left leg. I visited my doctor and he ordered an MRI. The diagnosis was : HUGE EXTRUDED DISC L5-S1. I was shocked. Till that time I was extremly active person (horse riding, weight lifing, running, skiing and cycling). I was refered to neurosurgeon and he advised the immediate surgery. I was in huge depression and I was nearly crying once the doctors told me to forget about all sport activities for the rest of my life. Yoga and stretching classes where not the things I wanted to do till the end of my life. In the meantime my pain decreased to the level were I decided to wait with the surgery. I have read some articles and heard that some of the hernitation can be absorbed by the body. Of course all the time I was participating for all possible PT the medicine ever discovered. In the meantime in May and June I have started to have some numbness in my hands and strange pain in my neck. I was so affraid if the cervical disc were herniated.

About three weeks ago I was looking for some bodybuilding forum and I read a story of the guy who was doing deadlifts again with herniated disc after reading DR Sarno book. I was very skeptic about mind body connection but I decided to read the Healing back pain book. At the beginning I could not believe at all. But then I was convinced by Dr Sarno who asked the question why in recent times so many people suffer from herniated disc? Why these were not present 50, 60 years ago. Now I believe I have TMS. The results are amazing. I have no more pain in my neck and numbness in my hands totally disappeared. I still suffer some numbness from time to time and little pain in my left leg (1 out of 10 scale). I was really affraid but I came back to most of my sports. Nevertheless I have some problems with my friends and family. They are thinking I will hurt myself. So I am doing weight lifting again, I am running and yeasterday I was riding my bike for 5 hours (I did 100 KM at once:)). It is amazing. I hope to get rid off the numbness in my left foot soon. I will inform you about my progress. I would like to thank you guys for all of the stories they really help in quick recovery.

P.S Sorry for any language mistakes. English is not my mother tongue.
 
Welcome, Radek! Sounds like you are already making a lot of progress!

Nevertheless I have some problems with my friends and family. They are thinking I will hurt myself.
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I get this once in a great while. Now that I have been feeling better for a few months friends don't bring this up as much but it still comes up. I usually just say something like, oh I don't have chronic pain any more so it's now ok for me to lift this/go barefoot/etc. I have also found as I stopped talking about pain, people stopped asking me about it.

Your English is just fine :)
 
What an amazing story! Thanks for sharing it. Your English is great! Where are you from?

When you mentioned your herniated disc I immediately thought of Lori. She had a similar issue and I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that she also had some numbness and tingling. It is so great to hear the progress you have made in such a short amount of time. I think it is common to have some skepticism at first, but once you start seeing the results and reading the stories you start to really understand how powerful this approach is.

One thing I really enjoyed about your story is that you have started exercising again. So many people in chronic pain view themselves as weak and fragile, but this is just not the case. It is great to hear that you are going for 5 hour bike rides. It reminds me a lot of Enrique's story, which I would recommend checking out if you haven't read it yet. When we are physically active we challenge our unconscious' believe that we are weak and begin to break the TMS cycle.

It seems like one of the hardest parts is convincing our family members that we are okay and that we do not have a structural problem. You always have to find that right balance on what to tell people and how to explain it. If you were like me and were in pain for a really long time, your family and friends just get used to you being in pain and disabled. When all of a sudden you are not and you are going on long walks and runs, it can be a sort of shock for people as the balance of the relationship suddenly changes. I would just recommend telling people that your symptoms are going away and there is nothing wrong with you anymore. If they accept that then great, if not don't worry about it. The key is to not let your goodist personality obsess over it either way. That little voice in your head saying you have to make everyone happy is your TMS personality at play.

I have always felt that recovering gave me my life back, and it sounds like the same is happening to you. It is great to hear you are doing better. Thanks for sharing your story. Keep us posted on how you are doing.
 
Radek, it sounds as though you immediately recognized how Dr. Sarno's theories apply to your own symptoms. A fast learning curve! I think what is helping you recover so quickly is your willingness to return to full physical activity as quickly as possible without getting side tracked into PT, which, as you seem to understand, tends to perpetuate chronic pain symptoms.
 
Hi All,

Thank you very much for the very warm welcome. I am from Poland. I really appreciate your advices when it comes how to deal with family and friends. Last weekend I was shocked when I asked my friend if we could start together in 10 KM marathon in September and she told me that in my physical state I should forget about it. I do not want to put too much pressure on me just to prove people that I am fine. All of them look at me if I was crazy when I am saying that is my brain that is causing my problems. Tomorrow I am going to the gym again to do some weight lifting and I feel so good that I will not hurt myself. We will be in touch.
 
Hi Radek. Welcome. This is one of the cases where it is normal in the medical field to blame the pain on a physical condition that was found--the extruded/herniated disc. Forest is correct, it was I who had numbness and tingling, so-called sciatica, and a large herniated disc at L5S1. These are what Dr. Sarno calls "normal abnormalities". I have to say I was less scared after reading his books. Oh, and yes, surgery was suggested for me as well. That was very scary since I have never had surgery!

I can't believe they told you to forget about sports for the rest of your life! augh! Well, they tell you what they believe. Sad though.

Read, read, and journal and believe. I was bedbound in pain for weeks, then returned to normal work and life, and physical activity progressively.

Lots of details of my recovery in my profile if you'd like to read it.

Best wishes for healing. You're young and your body is strong! Oh and regarding what to tell others, I would just work at this myself first, and then you can tell people you are better and thanks for the concern!

-Lori :)
 
I forgot to mention before but there are two great Q&A articles that address explaining TMS to family and friends. Explaining TMS to friends and family is by John Stracks, MD and the other is How do I handle a family member who is not supportive? by Eric Sherman, PsyD. In the latter one, Dr. Sherman writes something I find very interesting, which is
Dr. Sherman said:
You might also want to reflect upon how difficult it is for you to stay on course when you are in conflict with someone who is very important to you. Very often people with TMS/PPD are people pleasers, afraid of any conflict with important others. You might want to examine how your fears about being in conflict with your mother are remnants from childhood experiences which are no longer applicable to the situation you are dealing with today as an adult.
The problem you describe is not unusual because people who love one another can hardly be complacent when someone he or she cares about is suffering.
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When someone we know reacts negatively to our informing them about TMS and how it is changing our lives, it can be very frusturating. When I got better I was very enthusiastic and wanted to tell everyone I knew about it, but not everyone was very receptive of it. Part of me was very angry that they couldn't see the truth when it made such a tremendous impact on my health. If someone's rejection of TMS bothers you, I would recommend thinking about why this is so. What parts of your personality (most likely goodism and being a people pleaser) make you react negatively or become frustrated when someone just doesn't understand TMS. Understanding this will help you not worry if someone else rejects TMS.

One thing that I've learned over the years is that you can't control how people will react to learning about TMS. Some will be receptive of it, and others will just not understand it because they are stuck thinking physically. Don't let someone's doubts about TMS prevent you from having success at this approach and being pain free. Don't let your TMS personality prevent you from recovering.
 
Hi Guys:)

I would like to thank you again for this wonderful forum. Sorry I was not writing for so long but I was on my holidays in Turkey:) Quick update from my side. Well I feel great. I took it easy and I am not trying to convince all the people that I am ok and it is working. They have just stopped asking. I have started to practice crossfit traings. These are really tough and I feel ok. Last Friday during my workout I did 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squuats and 100 pull ups! For those who are just getting used to TMS and are still not convinced please open yourself to the Sarno approach and save yourself from unnecessary surgeries and physical treatment. To convince you I attached a scan of my MRI. Remember herniated disc is not the reason of your pain! I will keep you posting.
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Congrats on all the progress you are making!

I remember when I started exercising again, and it felt so great to not have that fear anymore. For me, being active gave me a lot of confidence and was probably one of the biggest factors in my recovery. It is great to see you doing so well!
 
Hi Guys :)

I have not been here for ages but I would like to report briefly how I am doing. Actually I am fine :) It has been over one year since pain in my back dissappeared shortly after reading Dr. Sarno books. Since that time I have no pain at all in my back and I had some slight pain in my neck, calf etc. Nevertheless I quickly recognized it is TMS and it dissapeared after two, three days. In the meantime I am giving Sarno books to all my friends and their families. Most of them are resistance but two of them avoid back surgeries and live without or little pain now.

Dr. Sarno saved my life and I am so greatful to him! After reading his books I feel stronger and more confident. I can fully participate in all vigorous sport activities (running, Crossfit, weightlifting etc.) without fear that I will hurt myself. Below you can see me during our local Crossfit Games :)
 

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Congrats on the continued success! The fact that so many people stay pain free for years after their initial recovery is a testament to how successful this approach is. Thanks for updating us on your continued success.
 
Hi Guys,

I hope you are all doing well :) I remember to be told by doctors not to pick up more then 5 kg (11 lbs) till the end of my life as it can damage my spine. Just see what I was doing last week (squat 140 kg 308 lbs) !!!!
 

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radek, you are a wonder. Your story is so inspirational.
I can't begin to imagine doing all you do physically. But I am 84 and glad I can walk!

My father's parents came here from Poland in the early 1900s. My mother was born in Austria.
I think I come from good European genes. But I live healthy (no smoking, moderate drinking,
and having dogs to walk kept me in good health.

Keep up the healthy living and don't worry if some people don't believe in TMS as you, we, do.
That's their loss.
 
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