New to TMS and finding pain increasing, is this normal

I am a new member and seem to have trouble posting. I have tried in several different places so hope that this will finally post.
I have been struggling with back pain for several years, and have tried all the usual modalities to address it. My scans show nothing remarkable so I am ripe to accept the TMS diagnosis. I am reading Sarno's book and have been at this for about a week now. I have resumed walking 2.6 miles a day, still with pain and yesterday tried upping it to my previous level of 3.2. Now I have even more pain and it is also in another area of my back. Is this normal when starting? I am a very anxious person and feel comfortable with the fact that I am a TMS candidate, however, even with the "brain talking", I am still struggling. I know in my gut that I am stronger than this pain, but it is still hard.
I would love to hear other people who have traveled a similar path and hopefully have gotten to a successful resolution.
Many thanks,
Livinginhope

 

Hello and welcome, @Livinginhope! It's not unusual to have an increase in pain or other symptoms after accepting, or working on accepting, the TMS diagnosis. I started about a month ago after reading Dr. Sarno's The MindBody Prescription. It really spoke to me, and I thought (hoped) I would have an instantaneous cure. Instead, I had new and worse back, shoulder and rib pain. It went on for a couple or three weeks, but in the last few days I've really seen an improvement. Much good time and the attacks of TMS pain are shorter. I've also found that my first thought when feeling pain is less panic and more knowledge of what is going on.

Sorry to turn the convo to me, but I can only speak of my experience.

Good for you for restarting your walking and even upping it. Just keep knowing the pain is TMS and that you don't need it, you are strong and can deal with its underlying emotional basis. You'll do great.

There are so many inspiring stories on this site. Also, there's the free SEP program you can do on this site. I looked at it a couple of weeks ago and am ready to really dig into it now.

 

Thank you, Cricket313. It is very helpful to know your experience. I am also having tooth pain, out of the blue, but on the same side as the hip pain? What is the SEP program?
I have noticed that when I use a pendulum, which may be a bit woo woo for this site, I can make my mind move the pendulum the way I want it to, therefore feeling that the pendulum is not a really reliable vehicle. But it is interesting for me, simply to know how powerful my mind can be. If I can move this little pendulum then surely, I can take care of my hip pain! Fingers crossed.

 

I use a pendulum, too, and have had the same thoughts/experience. I never knew when I was asking it if my pain was TMS, whether the yes answer was controlled by my mind or not, but that in itself told me something: that I was accepting the TMS diagnosis!

I started having hip pain and jaw pain on the same side as my worst shoulder (the left) and it really ramped up when I found out about TMS. It's mostly better now.

The SEP program can be found on the main page of the tmswiki site. I'll sign off from this message and get better info for you, as I can't recall exactly how to find it.

 

SEP is Structured Educational Program. On the main page, scroll to the bottom of the page. There are links on the right for several things, including the TMS Recovery Program, and Structured Educational Program. Check out the TMS Recovery Program, too. It's got great information, including some worksheets you can print out. It's not long. The SEP covers several weeks, 6 I think.