New to TMS, with arm weakness

Hi all, new to the forum and to Dr Sarno.

Just read Dr Sarnos Book, Healing back pain, last week, and right now about half way through Steven Ozanichs, book.

Let me tell you a little about my story. ive always had back pain since i can remember, right now im 38 years old. My back pain comes and goes on different days, and its not so much as a painful inhabilitaing pain, its more like a tireness on the back. so i need to constantly crack my back to feel some relief. but still can do whatever i want which is mostly weight lifting. Same thing for my neck, same symptoms and same cracking.

2 years ago i had a sharp pain on my neck, which turned to a sharp pain on my right arm around my outer bicep. it hurt for weeks, i got an MRI and had 2 herniated discs on the neck. after therapy the pain on the arm went away, but could not keep my head straight or look up because i felt a pinching. after months of therapy, injections etc, the pinching didnt go away and had the two discs removed and fused.

I felt great after the surgery for a year and a half, was lifting heavy, everything great. then about 2 months ago i woke up in the middle of the night with the worst pain ive felt in my life. neck, shoulder blade, arm, on the left side this time. as if some one poured acid inside my nerves. i was in bed for a week, took antinflamatories ,medications, the pain got better but still had severe arm pain for weeks and numbness on two fingers, took an MRI and showed a herniated disc just below my 2 fused discs. Doctor said that was the proble, the herniaton was pinching my nerve.

Long story short, i went to quiro, etc etc, the pain is 98% gone but still have severe weakness on my left tricep and pectoral muscle along with the numbness on the 2 fingers. if i can normally do 70 non stop pushups, right now i can only do 15. which is a lot better from 2 that i was doing a month ago.

So im thinking its TMS, but still not 100% sure because i have NO pain. everyone talks about pain, but im pain free at the moment. i have the weakness which i guess has kept me metanlly worried, ive been afraid of lifting weight etc.

After reading Dr Sarnos book i decided to go all in to the gym, ive felt good, but still cant lift much weight on the excersises that require tricep bicep push.

Do you guys think this is TMS? And yes, i was going through some stuff in my life that increased my stress and anxiety when the pain began.

 

It could be TMS because the pain has gone but not the weakness and you are afraid of that. Nerves heal themselves so either way with time the weakness should go too as long as you can stop worrying about it.

 

Thanks for your reply. One thing that worries me is that Dr Sarno says that after a nerve is pinched, it will stop sending pain signals. And as i said, i have NO pain, just the weakness and numbness.

 

Nerves do heal but it can take some time. What did your doctor advise you to do? From a TMS perspective getting on with your life, accepting the symptoms for the time being and not worrying would be the way to go. I have had many strange nerve symptoms go away eventually, most of them caused by TMS.

 

Hey Mikegp

Sarno brought that up as a counter-argument in a theoretical 'debate' with the whole theory of herniated discs. Go back and check the context ... HBP is my 'gospel' so to speak and I have been pain free for 20 years this year. He was basically saying "IF this pain was really structural, than medical knowledge would imply....." He wasn't making it as an affirmative, but to expose the myth of the structural.

That being said YES, a lot of the times when I get a tickle (that's what I cal a small relapse) There is a weakness with the pain and sometimes after the pain. Remember, it's there to try and scare and distract us "something is wrong". The Pain issue that eventually brought me to the 'pain industry', failed surgeries and ultimately Sarno, began with weakness in my left leg. I couldn't move it forward and had to 'assist' it with my hand while I walked

on an aside...

I can't help but giggle. I see what I assume are your kids in your pic? You didn't mention any 'causers' of your TMS, but as a father of two I can assure you the underlying need to be the Strong, Providing, Stoic and Dependable dad puts a lot of pressures on us THAT NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY. I used to have excruciating neck pain every morning when I got up at 4am to be at work at 6am when my sons were little .... I just never went and had it checked out. Than the leg weakness/back pain started....THAT got my attention!

Your 30's is the Middle of the responsible years... I never stopped trying to be a good dad.. I just had to realize that the way I was wired (over protective, putting their welfare before everything) caused a lot of unconscious anger. Still does and they are well adjusted mid twentysomethings. The most important thing is 'what was going on when this got my attention that I needed a distraction from?'
Your mileage may vary

peace