Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to introduce myself. About eighteen months ago, I got what I thought was a standard case of plantar fasciitis. I went through months of physical therapy, seemed to get better, and then as soon as I tried to return to more normal athletic activity, the pain immediately jumped from my heels up into my ankles. It's gone back and forth between the two since.
Had I known about TMS at the time, that probably would have been a big warning sign, but at that point I had no idea. I was diagnosed with a bad case of tendonitis, eventually put in a walking cast, given pills, an MRI, x-rays, injections, etc. All the imaging was clear, but nothing made it better. Three podiatrists, a chiropractor, a massage therapist, an acupuncturist, an orthopedic surgeon, and a neurologist later, I was effectively bedridden. A year-and-a-half before, I'd been able to easily run 7 miles and then walk another 10, but now I was in pain pretty much 24 hours a day. In early July, things got so bad that I had to stop all normal activity: I couldn't sleep, could barely eat, rarely left my house, and was pretty much wasting away.
Then, less than a week ago, when I was becoming increasingly desperate, I somehow stumbled across The Great Pain Deception and Dr. Sarno's work, and I realized that I fit the TMS profile exactly. In retrospect, I've had years of revolving symptoms -- this was simply the most extreme and debilitating set. I was lucky enough to be able to get a quick appointment with one of the TMS physicians who worked with Dr. Sarno, and he confirmed the diagnosis, but I'm still struggling to process everything.
I know that this is the only possible explanation for how I could be in so much pain when nothing is actually physically wrong, but a tiny piece of me still questions how I can actually think my way out of this (which is ironic, since I don't seem to have the slightest problem intellectualizing anything else). I know the diagnosis has to be right because of the way the pain moves around and because I'm already doing much better -- less intense pain, leaving the house and resuming some normal activity, getting exercise -- but I'm still frightened of the pain and of my body. I was a longtime runner before this happened, and even though I've read Steve Ozanich's story of how he just threw on a pair of running shoes and went for a jog despite his pain, part of me is incredulous that I'll ever be able to do that again without ending up debilitated again for months. I know this is all part of TMS, but still... it's hard.
-EM
Just wanted to introduce myself. About eighteen months ago, I got what I thought was a standard case of plantar fasciitis. I went through months of physical therapy, seemed to get better, and then as soon as I tried to return to more normal athletic activity, the pain immediately jumped from my heels up into my ankles. It's gone back and forth between the two since.
Had I known about TMS at the time, that probably would have been a big warning sign, but at that point I had no idea. I was diagnosed with a bad case of tendonitis, eventually put in a walking cast, given pills, an MRI, x-rays, injections, etc. All the imaging was clear, but nothing made it better. Three podiatrists, a chiropractor, a massage therapist, an acupuncturist, an orthopedic surgeon, and a neurologist later, I was effectively bedridden. A year-and-a-half before, I'd been able to easily run 7 miles and then walk another 10, but now I was in pain pretty much 24 hours a day. In early July, things got so bad that I had to stop all normal activity: I couldn't sleep, could barely eat, rarely left my house, and was pretty much wasting away.
Then, less than a week ago, when I was becoming increasingly desperate, I somehow stumbled across The Great Pain Deception and Dr. Sarno's work, and I realized that I fit the TMS profile exactly. In retrospect, I've had years of revolving symptoms -- this was simply the most extreme and debilitating set. I was lucky enough to be able to get a quick appointment with one of the TMS physicians who worked with Dr. Sarno, and he confirmed the diagnosis, but I'm still struggling to process everything.
I know that this is the only possible explanation for how I could be in so much pain when nothing is actually physically wrong, but a tiny piece of me still questions how I can actually think my way out of this (which is ironic, since I don't seem to have the slightest problem intellectualizing anything else). I know the diagnosis has to be right because of the way the pain moves around and because I'm already doing much better -- less intense pain, leaving the house and resuming some normal activity, getting exercise -- but I'm still frightened of the pain and of my body. I was a longtime runner before this happened, and even though I've read Steve Ozanich's story of how he just threw on a pair of running shoes and went for a jog despite his pain, part of me is incredulous that I'll ever be able to do that again without ending up debilitated again for months. I know this is all part of TMS, but still... it's hard.
-EM
