Day 4 Not so much what the Doc said I can't do...

Today's objective was to name something that a doctor said I was no longer able to do due to my back. The thing about it is, my orthopedic really hasn't said anything of the such. He kept preaching to me every time I went in that I have a slight herniation of the L5/S1 disc, but its nothing that I can't live without. Even though he has never heard to TMS (I did inquire), its almost as though he was indirectly telling me that my pain was all in my head! But for over a year, I didn't listen to him. I kept believing that there was something that they weren't seeing. I guess they were right, it was something that they weren't seeing, but neither was I even though the answer is right in front of me. Even as I write this I feel the pain stabbing me in the back, coming up my neck. But I now know its in my head and it will never again deter me from doing what I want to do!!

 

Hi, jjnyc. You've got your mind on the right, track. We have been conditioned all our lives to believe our doctor knows best, when he or she really doesn't, because all they were taught in medical school was how to treat an ailment with pain killers or surgery. Your orthopedic comes closer to what the cause is of your back pain. It's TMS. Now you know that, keep working in the SEP and you will discover the emotional causes of your pain. The more you believe it is from repressed emotions or a perfectionist or goodist personality, the more you will heal and the faster. That's what it took for me to stop having severe back pain and I was 82 then and three years later am still without pain.

Continue any normal activity and any exercise even if it gives you pain. The pain will soon stop.

Here's a morale booster about TMS from a recent post:

Kevin healed 95 % from SEP

Welcome to the SEP and to the path of recovery. I am on my final two days of the program and I can say with complete confidence that I am a changed man. I started after 6 months of nasty low-back/butt/leg pain, could hardly walk, stand, etc. was in physical therapy, chiropractor, acupuncture, pain medications, etc.. the usual. My MRI showed 3 disk bulges/herniations touching nerves, so that is what I believe it to be....that is until I read Dr. Sarno and found this site.

I encourage you to really get involved, follow the instructions, do the journaling, take time to read all the suggested readings, and watch the videos. I'd say I'm 95% cured. There is still some very light lingering "annoyance", but I still have some work to do. I've been walking miles with hardly any pain these last few weeks. But even more, if the pain comes on now, it just doesn't bother me like it used to, I sorta just see it, acknowledge it, and go about my business. It took working the program to get to that point, but 6 weeks compared to 6 months is nothing! I made more progress in the first week than I did from two months of PT!!! It's going to challenge you and your "beliefs" in medicine, but you have nothing to lose. We generally wind up here when all else fails.

So give it a shot, especially before considering anything invasive like surgery. If you put the work in, you will get better. Have you read Dr. Sarno yet? I assume you have since you're here, but in case you haven't, definitely read Healing Back Pain. Again, it will challenge everything you've believed about your pain, and backs in general. You'll be encouraged to resume life as normal, i.e. stop ALL "therapies" (PT, chiro, etc.), stop taking medications, and most importantly, stop thinking STRUCTURAL problems are the cause of your pain and shift to psychological as the reason.....again, this can be difficult and takes some time to sink in, so be patient and kind to yourself.

It was a process for me. A few of the bigger moves in my case were: I ripped up and threw out my MRI test results (I found myself obsessively reading over them and comparing them to other results I could find on the web and even here on the TMSwiki site...); I got back to the gym and stopped using a weight belt; and I even cancelled an appointment I had made with a TMS doctor because it was more than a month away and it was hindering my recovery (that is, my 100% belief in TMS was lagging because I had this pending appointment, but as soon as I cancelled it, my recovery sped up significantly). Everyone's journey is unique to their situation, but I've found that really committing to the program and brining what I learn from it into my daily life has had profound results. Also, sharing along the way here in these forums has been extremely helpful - there's something about knowing that you're not alone in your TMS recovery that really helps. I encourage you to look through my past posts for some insight into my experience with SEP. Like I said, I'm just now finishing, tomorrow is my final day, and I feel like a changed person. It's amazing. And I feel as though it is something that one carries on with, not just like a one time 6 week thing and that's that...it has helped me to get to know myself and taught me tools to "deal" with my emotions. Learning and accepting TMS is a life changer for sure.

 

90% of my spine has been fused since I was 16. Over the years low back pain, neck pain, middle of the back pain, tingling in my hands and feet, Shin splints, foot pain and more and more. I blamed all on my back.

Now I walk 4 miles each day. I play pickleball almost every day. I garden for hours.

10 years ago a specialist in Scoliosis said eliminate ALL bending to preserve my lower back. He was very very wrong. Almost ruined life.

Look at me now. Read my story. You are on your way to learning the tools to help you be pain free.

 

Wonderful posts, Stella. I'm so glad you are so active again. Thanks for sharing your inspirational story with us all.