fern
Well known member
Hi everybody! I'm new to this wiki and thought I'd introduce myself since I've enjoyed reading your stories so much. I just discovered TMS a week ago, and, having found this site, I already feel like I've found a community of welcoming, loving support that I'm eager to participate in. Thank you for being such wonderful humans!
I'm in my mid-thirties and have struggled with IBS and functional dyspepsia since I was at least 12. I received my diagnosis back when it was still called "spastic colon" (which a friend said would be a great name for a metal band). I also have pelvic floor hypertonicity that has led to various on-and-off painful issues with my menstrual cycle, sex, and bowel movements. How's *that* for an introduction?
I've known all along that my IBS was connected to stress, although, like most IBS sufferers, I've also connected it to food triggers, hormone fluctuations, tight waistbands, etc. I didn't discover until a few years ago that my pelvic floor issues were stress-related (I didn't even know what the "pelvic floor" was, which is something I'm now so passionate about when it comes to women's health education - we need to know these things!). I discovered women's health PT almost on accident, and it was exactly what I needed.
It wasn't ALL I needed, though! PT taught me that I hold my stress in my pelvic floor, and the treatment was basically a slow regaining of trust that I was not broken, that I could build supple muscles that are able to stretch and contract without going into spasm. It was a life-changer, for sure. But the pain still comes and goes and sometimes leads to fear/rumination/avoidance, and I think TMS education is going to be the missing piece.
(I will talk to ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY who would like to know more about pelvic floor PT. I know in TMS treatment we try to avoid treating the pain as physical, but there are some important points of overlap between TMS education and pelvic floor PT that I think are worth exploring.)
As for my IBS, I've spent my life looking for triggers and have managed to get myself to the point where I only feel comfortable eating food we've prepared at home, and even then there are only a small number of dishes that I "trust." I'm losing weight that I don't have to spare and have lost joy in food, which is something so fundamentally human that I deeply miss. This tells me that my treatment approach is moving me away from who I am meant to be, not toward health. So I restarted my research and discovered TMS education, and it pulls together a lot of things I have long suspected but never knew how to address.
I've started the recovery program on here and am enjoying not just the daily posts from Alan, but also the warm, honest comments from members of this community. I'm learning so much from you all!
I'm in my mid-thirties and have struggled with IBS and functional dyspepsia since I was at least 12. I received my diagnosis back when it was still called "spastic colon" (which a friend said would be a great name for a metal band). I also have pelvic floor hypertonicity that has led to various on-and-off painful issues with my menstrual cycle, sex, and bowel movements. How's *that* for an introduction?
I've known all along that my IBS was connected to stress, although, like most IBS sufferers, I've also connected it to food triggers, hormone fluctuations, tight waistbands, etc. I didn't discover until a few years ago that my pelvic floor issues were stress-related (I didn't even know what the "pelvic floor" was, which is something I'm now so passionate about when it comes to women's health education - we need to know these things!). I discovered women's health PT almost on accident, and it was exactly what I needed.
It wasn't ALL I needed, though! PT taught me that I hold my stress in my pelvic floor, and the treatment was basically a slow regaining of trust that I was not broken, that I could build supple muscles that are able to stretch and contract without going into spasm. It was a life-changer, for sure. But the pain still comes and goes and sometimes leads to fear/rumination/avoidance, and I think TMS education is going to be the missing piece.
(I will talk to ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY who would like to know more about pelvic floor PT. I know in TMS treatment we try to avoid treating the pain as physical, but there are some important points of overlap between TMS education and pelvic floor PT that I think are worth exploring.)
As for my IBS, I've spent my life looking for triggers and have managed to get myself to the point where I only feel comfortable eating food we've prepared at home, and even then there are only a small number of dishes that I "trust." I'm losing weight that I don't have to spare and have lost joy in food, which is something so fundamentally human that I deeply miss. This tells me that my treatment approach is moving me away from who I am meant to be, not toward health. So I restarted my research and discovered TMS education, and it pulls together a lot of things I have long suspected but never knew how to address.
I've started the recovery program on here and am enjoying not just the daily posts from Alan, but also the warm, honest comments from members of this community. I'm learning so much from you all!
