New onset sciatica?

[Volcano1963]

Dear @Hopeful_Alexandra, only because I have had searing, burning, excruciating, paralyzing “sciatica” pain that disappeared all of a sudden after starting Dr Sarno prescription do I feel confident enough to chime in and add my voice to others who encourage you to see the pain for what it is, an emotional response, not nerve or tissue damage.

Partway through what had been mild discomfort escalated into searing pain and I had to leave the meeting early).

Your mind succeeded in getting you out of that horrible dangerous situation! Your neural circuits helped you make that important decision, “get away out of danger.” The only problem was that your other neural circuits, that were leaning in the direction of finishing your presentation and not giving into the trigger, got hijacked and over ridden. They backed down in the face of your super strong flight mechanism.
Others have given great suggestions (journal, redo the SEP, do psychotherapy). For me, what I needed in addition to all that work was understanding how my neural systems could do this to me. This meant a lot of reading.
I’ve just finished reading david Sussilla’s memoir Emergence and strongly recommend it. It's beautifully written, with explanations of how neural circuits work that are understandable by laypersons and not at all dumbed down—hard to do but he does it really well. I am amazed at how much closer neuroscientists are getting to understanding how our feedback loops work. Unfortunately, it can take a long time for research results to be incorporated into medical practice. Don’t let their resistance influence your path to true healing.
Best wishes!!

 

[Adam Coloretti (coach)]

I had been making moderate progress (sitting at my desk, walking around the block) and then Thursday I had a presentation at work with a hugely triggering person. (It was virtual). Partway through what had been mild discomfort escalated into searing pain and I had to leave the meeting early).

Great that you were making progress! You've clearly spotted the trigger, which was emotional, so that's even more evidence of TMS. I'd take great confidence in that (even though it is very painful). You clearly weren't doing anything physical at the time (during the meeting), so I'd be confident that this flare (numbness included) is TMS

 

[Scott G]

@Hopeful_Alexandra hey, how are you? Just checking in to make sure you're okay!

 

[Hopeful_Alexandra]

Thanks for checking in @Scott G and for everyone else’s responses. Yesterday I had a very active day—the most since all this happened more than a month ago—-with everyday activities. Today I’m in quite a bit of pain, though I’m still taking the prescribed pain stuff, and the numbness is worse. And is that a bit of crotch numbness I feel? I can’t tell if it’s really happening or if my brain THINKS it is happening because I know that is the major worry symptom, like there could be a serious nerve issue. I know my post is reflecting a lot of fear. I wish that sciatica was a “clearer cut” case of TMS . It’s stressful because my MRI findings do line up with symptoms, and I know cases like that are usually more borderline. But of course there are examples of folks with MRIs like mine who have healed completely, even with TMS docs telling them it’s probably structural…

 

[Adam Coloretti (coach)]

@Hopeful_Alexandra did Dr Stracks come back to you clarifying the 10% thing he talked about?

 

[Cactusflower]

@Hopeful_Alexandra
In the end, does it matter if it's structural or TMS?
Doctors: not just TMS doctors but all doctors talk about healing taking place in the body over time - just several months of time. So if it IS physical, it will heal. If it IS TMS (which, at least part of it is because the anxiety, fear, fixing and focus is definitely TMS) then doing your TMS work that has been proven to you in the past will help you.
Dr. Stracks probably allows for 10% because he is looking at the fact so many people with TMS are perfectionists and black/white thinkers especially during stressful times or flare ups. The work is partly about dealing with the uncertainty of life, about how we approach new and different situations in life. How we balance stress in any situation with our inner peace. Nothing is certain. But nothing is also completely uncertain either.

 

[Hopeful_Alexandra]

Hi everybody, wanted to post a little update. I ended up speaking with Dr Stracks about the numbness and he reassured me that it can be present as a mindbody symptom, and even more likely to be one since the latest flare up occurred after a traumatic (emotional) event. (Numbness and tightness are still present)
I’ve been journaling every day and trying to resume activity (right now it’s a daily walk of a few blocks).
@Cactusflower yes, I believe that it was Dr Stracks intended - he said he rarely sees someone where he would say there is a 0% physical component, and he also said that most ppl he sees these days have OCD tendencies. I’m definitely in that category, FWIW