Need help for low back pain. VERY DESPERATE!

My name is Brendan F. I'm from Boston, Massachusetts. I was a union laborer until I got hit and crushed with a forklift in 2013 at the age of 19, that day has changed my life. I can no longer hold a job, work out, hold a relationship ( because I'm so miserable), I feel my life has been taken from me due to my low back pain. I played hockey and worked out my whole life now i'm totally limited to what I can do. After my accident doctors could see no noticable injuries which made me think where is my pain coming from then? This injury led to injections ( 15 ), manipulation (20), massages (20), nerve burning (1) and I still have no relief. I eventually got addicted to the painkillers I was prescribed and it led me down a dark road of heroin use I eventually happened to pull myself out of that and today I have 8 months sober. This injury nearly costed me my life due to my drug use. I have lost my career, my girlfriend, and I cannot work due to my pain. I have become so depressed to the point where I ask myself " do I even want to live anymore If my life is going to be like this"... the reason I am on this post is my uncle recommended me this book as it cured him from pain, I am currently half way through and still in pain... How do I implement Dr. Sarnos concept into my life? What do I do when pain starts to come? someone please help me.

 

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brendan

first of all you are in the right place..first of all are you medically cleared by your dr with no sign of disease or broken bones if so your tms journey as begone. This is a journey is self discovery and patience...you have the right book to read this is a great place for advice. There are many more experinced people who will give you further insight. I have given what you need to start with medically. Be patient others will chime in. I am also from Boston

 

Thank you for commenting. Have you recovered? yes I have no broken bones, doctors have treated me like a voodoo doll sticking me with everything they could. I am desperate for a solution.

 

Hi Brendan,

Read one of Dr. Sarno's books and do what he says to do in the books...it works! I had terrible lower back pain and sciatica and I did Dr. Sarno's treatment and am now pain-free. Do the treatment and try not to worry how long it will take for the pain to go; it is different for everyone. Trust Dr. Sarno's process and don't put too much pressure on yourself to get better right away. There are a lot of resources on the TMS Wiki also, check them out and see what resonates with you.

Here are some other things I found helpful for getting the message to sink into my subconscious:
An episode of 20/20 about Dr. Sarno ()
A trailer for a documentary being made about Dr. Sarno (https://www.kickstarter.com/project...cumentary-connecting-emotions-and/description)
A congressional hearing from 2012 where Senator Tom Harkin tells his TMS success story and also brings in Dr. Sarno ()

Best of luck, Brendan!

 

I was seriously hurt on the job when I was 20,and it totally changed my life. I am still trying to piece together from thoughts and Journaling just what that accident did to me.
I have always been a nervous person, which I consider normal. But my accident gave me panic attacks sort of the icing on the cake.

 

Hi, Brendon. The others have given you excellent advice and encouragement, and I echo that. I suggest you follow regularly the 12 Daily Reminders that Dr. Sarno writes about in Healing Back Pain. I especially like the extended version explaining them deeper that was written by another of this web site:

Herbie’s Extended Version of Dr. Sarno’s 12 DAILY REMINDERS

1. The pain is due to TMS. This is real pain or anxiety but it is caused by subconscious tensions and triggers, stressors and traits to your reactions and fears and also when at boiling point your conscious tension can and does also cause real pain.
2. The main reason for the pain is mild oxygen deprivation. This means that when you get in pain or anxiety then the blood is restricted from going to your lower back, for instance. The blood being restricted causes oxygen deprivation which causes the pain. Remember, where there is no oxygen then there is pain in the body. Also, the pain stays because of fear.
3. TMS is a harmless condition caused by my REPRESSED EMOTIONS so even though you think you can harm yourself from the years of pain you have felt and how you feel in general -- so far no reports have been heard from TMS healing knowledge causing damage to anyone, it only helps.
4. The principle emotion is your repressed ANGER -- this means under your consciousness lies something that happens automatically to everyone. TMSers have repressions that are stored because of our personality traits, traumas, stressors, fears, strain, etc... When these stored repressions build and build, then eventually they cause the brain to send pain into your body to keep you from having an emotional crises. The mind-body thinks it is helping you.
5. TMS exists to DISTRACT your attentions from the emotions, stressors, tensions and strains of your personality traits because if you can get distraction then you won’t have to be in emotional turmoil. When you don't face and feel your emotions and they get repressed because you didn't want to deal with something -- they are just adding up in this beaker, ready to pour over and create real pain and anxiety in your body.
6. Since my body is perfectly normal, there is nothing to fear. So in reality when I fear the pain or anxiety I just cause myself undo strain and tension adding to the beaker of pain. If I fear, then I feed the pain, If I fear, it’s impossible to recondition. Fear keeps the pain and anxiety alive in the body through focus.
7. Therefore, physical activity is harmless. If I want to work against the pain I could but it’s better to lose some of the pain so when I start my life over I have to be in pain trying to heal because facing the repressions and all the other activities that cause the pain and reversing my fear and focus to them, then I can heal.
8. I am resuming all normal physical activity. I don't fear moving anymore. I believe in my body’s ability to heal now. I can move as I want. I will not fear moving with a bent back anymore. I will also practice going out and acting normal again, not in fear of what pain might do to me.
9. The pain is unimportant and powerless. Its only power is how it is hidden -- its illusion, its fear.
10. I will keep my attention on the emotional issues. I will think about my emotions and feel my emotions throughout the day. I will not judge, criticize or fear my emotions. I will not run from my emotional issues but face every one of them. I will feel my emotions fully and cry if I need to. Then I will release the emotion and get my mind and thoughts back to my life and living in the present.
11. I am in control of all of this. This is how I recover.
12. I will be thinking PSYCHOLOGICALLY AT ALL TIMES. This means I will keep my thoughts on psychological issues like happiness, fear and anger -- traits and triggers, conditioning and journaling -- The science behind mind-body/TMS healing, etc.... This way I will not feed my thoughts to the body -- that is a trick of TMS. TMS will always try to get me to focus on the body caused by the pain until I break its show and flair. When I get my attention off physical symptoms and on to emotional issues and psychological issues then I will not feed the fear of the physical issues anymore, thus making the TMS of no pain effect on the body. This will in return, give us the cure and become pain-free.

 

Walt you I appreciate your input you seem to be like the father of the group I see you helping everybody you possibly can and I admire that. TMS sucks! I don't think I have a problem accepting it because I truly think this is what I have im just having a hard time working it into my life. I can't even sleep at night 3 years of this im ready to just give up.

 

Hi Brendan,

You may benefit from seeing a TMS-trained physician or therapist. There is a directory on this site. There's no reason that you have to face this alone.

Is it possible that you developed fear as a result of the accident? Perhaps fear that you had some hidden injury, or that you might be in an accident again if you go back to construction work? Fear can create pain.

Be patient with yourself as you work on recovery. Progress is often gradual.

Let us know how you progress.

David.

 

Yes I definitely have fear with everything I do now... driving, sleeping, walking, sitting, showering, laughing, coughing, everything I do hurts... ill get one day of some relief and then it comes back and its an ongoing cycle I cant seem to break.. im reading all these success stories im waiting for mine to come.

 

Hi Brendan, I am by no means a success story but I just felt I needed to chime in. I am on day 30 of the SEP program. I spent my days sitting because that was the most comfortable spot. Severe butt pain and sciatica. I could barely walk. Today I walked 3 miles, not pain free but comfortable pain if I could call it that.
I started skating again, great for butt muscles. Anyhow for me journaling and reading a lot has helped. I still would like to jog but for now I can't and that's Ok. It's ALL ok, it will come. I am very competitive with myself and to even admit this is hard. Don't give up just do what you feel is for you, reading, journaling ect. just get comfortable. That's what I am trying to do so far.You have the advantage of being cleared by doctors. I self diagnosed my TMS but that LITTLE doubt is always there. I have not had an MRI. Tomorrow I'll walk every step thinking of ''your'' success story.
Cheers
AL

 

desperation will pass. it will pass. i was desperate on my journey too. i can feel you. just hang in there and keep reading book.
simple suggestion : when u feel too much, just breath in and out for a moment.
healing lies in acceptance kindness and a bit of patience toward yourself.
others have provided your wonderful suggestion. follow them.

 

Hi brendan537

I too have low back pain, in fact i have been disabled by it for the last 12 years,some days/weeks/months I was even suicidal with the pain ...
I have only just started learning about tms, and still in the beginning stages of doing the tms work properly!!
but I HAVE already had success, with pain levels decreasing, and sometimes no pain at all !

If someone would of told me 6 months or 6 years ago, that I myself could make my pain go away JUST by thinking - i would of told the to F off !

Yesterday I was having a particularly bad flare up - so I immersed myself in tms reading, in particular SUCCESS STORIES, within an HOUR of doing this - my 9/10 pain was almost GONE ! Today however its back ... so here I am again, but i know what I have to do (the work/the journalling/the SEP/the meditating/relaxing) in order for me to get completely better.
This is the success story I read yesterday ;
http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/overcoming-pain-back-hips-and-neck.11086/#post-58343

Best Wishes x x

 

Hey,

Sorry to hear you've been going through a tough time. Do the SEP here on this site. It's a 6 week free program and it is amazing.

Best of luck.