Pain is back

mncjl123

mncjl123

Peer Supporter
i was doing pretty good with my foot pain for the past month of TMS work. Today it is back! It is an injury site, and I'm afraid I hurt it by trying to walk. Is this typical of TMS to come back after all the hard work I have been doing the past 4 months with my Sarno work? Very frustrated.
 
Very typical. I get ahead of my back pain and all of a sudden I got frozen shoulder and frozen neck muscles, then that eases and the pain comes back in my back. Then the rashes come. Ringing of the ears after that. TMS is real stay the course. 100% real. I am only 22 years old as well so my body is not breaking down.
 
Great response from Brendon. Totally been there - in fact, that pretty much describes, to a lesser extent, my last week, as I'm juggling about six different things and not getting enough of any of them done. I have to laugh at the different symptoms that come and go, trying to distract me from my feelings of inadequacy at handling all the demands of my life.

But back to your foot pain. Remember what Dr. Sarno tells us to ask ourselves - is it actually logical that you can injure or re-injure the site where the pain is? Our bodies were designed to heal. If the medicos have told you that the injury is healed, then it is healed. The only way you can re-injure it is by experiencing the same trauma that injured it in the first place. Walking alone should not re-injure it unless there is a physiological reason why that would be true - in which case the docs would be telling you not to walk, right? As long as they've given you a green light to resume your normal walking routines, you should be good to go. Except that you have doubts. Which is exactly where your brain goes, to find a distraction for you.

So - convincing yourself of that truth is the first step. By reminding yourself that you can't hurt or re-injure yourself by simply walking.

The next step is to understand that your brain can remember the former pain pathway and bring that pain back, without any physiological reason, for its own insidious purposes. This is what phantom limb pain is all about - and the neuroscientists now accept that phantom limb pain is as real as any other pain we experience - because pain actually originates in the brain.

The final step is changing the negative messages that your sub-conscious brain is bombarding you with, and it's the step that will eventually bring you freedom from pain. Right now you're having all of these negative thoughts about what might be happening when you walk. Change your perception to a positive one (possible example: "it hurts because the muscles are still healing, but they need the exercise and the blood flow to heal, so this pain means I'm healing").

Of course, this is all easier said than done. But it can be done. I've done it, and many people in this community have done it, and we still find ourselves needing to repeat these same steps, over and over, especially during times of stress. The mechanism of TMS is deeply ingrained into the human psyche, so honestly, it's not at all easy to just banish it, even when you know, on an intellectual level, what it's all about.

But, like so many things, it does get easier with practice.

Jan
 
mncjl123 said:
i was doing pretty good with my foot pain for the past month of TMS work. Today it is back! It is an injury site, and I'm afraid I hurt it by trying to walk. Is this typical of TMS to come back after all the hard work I have been doing the past 4 months with my Sarno work? Very frustrated.
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You should think of your path more like a roller coaster or a pendulum. It swings both ways, often wildly. It was named extinction burst by Sarno for a reason, and it tends to hit exactly when you feel you are on a firm track to recovery, in the place that you could have never expected it to be. I have had pains in places I never thought would hurt. My anxiety levels would spiral out of control. I was hit by depression which I had not had for years. Fill in the blanks.... All the above means that you are on the path to recovery, just believe in it. 4 months is nothing in TMS lives - be patient. Some people have to work for years to see full recovery....
 
mncjl123 said:
A lifetime isn't very encouraging tg957.
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Read Steve Ozanich's book - it took him 18 months. You will soon discover, as I did, that pain tends to dissipate and the experience of learning about yourself and your ability to beat odds is becoming more and more exciting... The main thing here is that Dr. Sarno and TMS community give you hope and way out of the black hole of pain. This is the only forum of chronic pain sufferers that I would want to be on, driven by compassion and hope. It makes you a happier and better person - please, believe me! In my case, pain is an easy part: 5 months ago, I had badly swollen hands with extreme sensitivity to cold (had to wear gloves in 70 degree weather), could not lift a full mug of tea, my fingers were clawed in and did not bend/unbend due to the tension in tendons. I could not handwrite, was barely able to type. Add pain in arms, hands and legs. Pain was the least of my problems to overcome. I am still working on the tension and not able to bend/unbend my fingers, my hands are still sloppy - but I am holding onto my job and doing better every day. As Jan said, you need to get negativity out of your mind if you want to recover.
 
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I have read all the books. I have been in a lifetime of pain since 1984! I have along history, but just need encouragement, not defeat. I have been working many years on getting better.
 
mncjl123 said:
I have read all the books. I have been in a lifetime of pain since 1984! I have along history, but just need encouragement, not defeat. I have been working many years on getting better.
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Defeat is usually self-defeat, much like victory is always your own.

Those who are lucky enough to recover quickly do not come here. Truly accepting the fact that we are not that lucky - and not be upset about it - is half of the deal.

Jan is giving you this incredibly encouraging advice - there is end to suffering, you just need to look for it inside yourself. The difference maybe subtle. Until I started truly meditating, I was, in fact, faking my recovery effort. I thought that 17 years of yoga practice count as meditation - but I was wrong. I was deaf and oblivious to what people here were saying - until I got it. The difference was in 15 minutes a day.
 
TG, indebted to you this evening for these posts. I've had a rough ride today, a depression and freaky pain double-punch. While I *know* it is tms being a total bitch it has helped me immensely to read your words.

mncjl123, that feeling of going nowhere fast is wretched. No matter how long we've been healing the seemingly endless nature of the quest is enough to put us in the madhouse. I find it does well to reflect on the boons and on how far you really have come at such a time.

Jan, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
 
plum said:
TG, indebted to you this evening for these posts. I've had a rough ride today, a depression and freaky pain double-punch. While I *know* it is tms being a total bitch it has helped me immensely to read your words.
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Plum, this is why we are here - to help each other when we hit our low points. Funny, I think it was your question to me: "honey, do you meditate?" that got me truly moving in a right direction.

Love,

TG:)
 
Ah, TG - (and Plum!) I needed that reminder about the power of meditation and mindfulness. I don't know why it's so hard to find those 10 or so minutes a day. I've got things to make it easy, and I've done it in the past, sometimes more successfully than others - I even have a meditation "buddy" but neither of us is being good about encouraging the other. It's my busy noisy distracted brain - telling me that "now isn't a good time, maybe later". I have actually been able to banish some troublesome symptoms with mindful meditation and visualization, which is why I'm so intrigued by this mental resistance to a regular practice.

Hmm... one could almost say it's another TMS-type equivalent. Just one more negative message, keeping me from what I need...

To mnc, I can only say - it IS all about those messages that your primitive fearful brain is feeding you. It's how we're wired. You need to know, and accept, that you have the ultimate control over those messages - but it takes a certain power of will to be able to shift from negative to positive. When it happens, you'll know it, but I feel it's the biggest hurdle for most people, because it is so alien to the way our brains were designed.

Yes, I still struggle with symptoms. And TG is spot-on when she says this:
TG957 said:
Those who are lucky enough to recover quickly do not come here. Truly accepting the fact that we are not that lucky - and not be upset about it - is half of the deal.
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Here's the thing: the difference for me "before" vs. "after" I discovered Dr. Sarno, is that my perception of symptoms is totally different. I have at least 80-90% of my life back, compared to those bad old times, because I don't give symptoms importance any more. I simply look at the latest one, and change the negative fear message that my brain is trying to foist on me. Each symptom eventually goes away on its own, or I might have to do some mental/emotional work to make it go away. But it doesn't send me into a downward spiral - not even close. I had a physical late last year, in which the doctor pronounced me "very healthy" (at age 65) except for borderline high blood pressure. I convinced him to give me some time, during which I meditated and was consciously mindful about breathing and unclenching during the day. After three weeks, my BP was completely normal.

We have the power.
 
Hi Plum,

I'm so sorry to hear that you're having a difficult day.

Sending a MASSIVE warm hug your way, via UPS.

You're an incredible young lady and full of joy, warmth and love. We all truly value your kindness, humour and all-round good nature. Please don't forget that.

It's okay to feel set backs or hopeless at times, we all do. Just know it's a momentary feeling and it will pass.

Like Jan has suggested, I'd definitely try some breath work to put some space between yourself and any thoughts you have. Hopefully, it will give you a sense of clarity and direction.

God bless you, my dearest friend.
 
Hugs to you, Plum, and to you, Mn. I'm sending you healing- and light-filled thoughts.
Am feeling the pain myself this last week, as we made our annual trek from Texas to Minnesota to see family. Fought the horrible chop-off-my-head headaches almost every day--even today, when we're on our way home! I allowed myself time to cry and just feel sad one night after my in laws went to bed. That helped.
I feel blessed by the support we offer each other.
 
God Bless you all. I really didn't expect to be greeted with such love and affection this morning, needless to say my spirits are much lifted (and mercifully my pain levels are a touch lower). Thank you all for your support.

Gigi, I did pretty much the same thing yesterday, allowing myself to feel the sadness and despair of my situation. It is incredibly rare that I feel this way, usually I swim enough to keep my tension levels down but of late it hasn't been possible because my partner has been going through a rough patch. I'm going to the baths this afternoon though :) I hope your awful headaches pass very soon.
 
Can I pile on?

Sending dearest Plum and all of you wonderful people out there who are hurting all the love and peace I can.

This, too, shall pass.
 
Gigi said:
Hugs to you, Plum, and to you, Mn. I'm sending you healing- and light-filled thoughts.
Am feeling the pain myself this last week, as we made our annual trek from Texas to Minnesota to see family. Fought the horrible chop-off-my-head headaches almost every day--even today, when we're on our way home! I allowed myself time to cry and just feel sad one night after my in laws went to bed. That helped.
I feel blessed by the support we offer each other.
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Oh, we don't get to choose our family - our endless source of love, hate and stress! Stay calm, Gigi, and carry on! ;)
 
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