Day 8 Pain soo bad need feedback

I was doing pretty well. Was horrible getting off the non addictive ultram (yeah right) but feeling pretty good. Although late last night and today pain has gotten so bad. I cannot escape it. Usually laying down helps but has not. I try and yell at my subc and meditate etc. But nothing works. From what I read this is normal but how to overcome this part?
I do know I have tms . I have no doubts just don't know what to do.
Will taking any meds lengthen recovery?

 

Hi! I see you!!

I am so glad you are here, but am also sorry your pain is so bad. You are pretty early on your journey of recovery, so don't be to concerned if pain doesn't improve quicly or even ramps up. The brain doesn't usually give up quietly!

You have a great start with SEP, and Dr. Sarno's book. Like you, I had read it years before, but didn't really get on board until Sept 2014. I would suggest reading other mindbody syndrome books, and read the success stories here, but also any posts that look interesting, you will gain alot of insight and info. Allow yourself some more time, let the "knowledge penicillin" really sink in and do its work. Mindfulness meditation is so helpful, and can be hard to do...my brain doesn't want me present, but if I meditate 10 min every morning, my whole day is better in so many ways.

Others will have help too! Keep us updated on how you are first, and how your pain is second!

Lizzy
Ps, sorry, I have no experience with pain meds

 

CMe, hang in there! And gosh, I swear I just responded to someone else who was getting frustrated on Day 8! Is that possible? Well, it was pretty close, anyway. It is really really normal, because this is the point at which your brain is freaking out - it really thinks you are in mortal danger from getting too close to the awful negative emotions it has spent so many years trying to keep repressed. The sooner you can uncover and face those emotions, the better, because when you do, your brain will have to let go, having realized that you survived the experience just fine.

This is the point at which we can suggest a few things:

- Read this post by Alan Gordon about Outcome Independence

- Along with "not caring" about your outcome, you'll want to stop checking the calendar or counting the days

- As Lizzy mentioned, mindfulness and learning to be present in your thoughts are really helpful. You don't have to spend a lot of time learning or doing this. Do a search (upper-right corner) on the word mindfulness and check the box for "titles only". You'll find a ton of posts and articles on the forum and the wiki.

- Part of mindfulness means recognizing and hearing the negative messages your brain is bombarding you with, and replacing them with positive expectations and beliefs. This is actually more pro-active than meditation, and it's a powerful tool.

- Be kind and loving to yourself!

- And give yourself a huge amount of credit for getting off the prescription medication. If you can take an OTC pain reliever like Ibu or Tylenol, they've been shown to relieve emotional pain as well as physical pain. I sometimes take one when I'm having some pain or even when I'm feeling stressed or shaky, just to take the edge off. ("before Sarno", I used to take five ibuprofens to get rid of my headaches). It helps me focus on an expectation that I will feel better soon. Dr. Sarno says it's okay to use medication as long as you know it's not going to be a regular thing. Sometimes you just need a little help. The other thing that's really comforting is a hot shower, bath, hot water bottle, or hugging a tube sock filled with rice and heated in the microwave. Visualize the heat reaching into your pain and breaking it apart as the muscles around the pain completely relax. Again - this is more proactive than the kind of meditation where you're just trying to quiet your brain - and again, it's a very powerful technique.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

Hi, Cmenow. Jan and Lizzy have given you excellent healing advice. I agree and add that it helps a lot to be positive and practice deep breathing.
There are wonderful free videos on Youtube on how to practice deep diaphramic breathing. It sends oxygen to the brain which has a profound calming effect.

I watched TV news the other night (rarely do because it's so depressing), but a man was interviewed who was among those who lost their homes to fires in northern California. He said he was positive and would get through the loss of his home. He thanked the Lord he and his loved ones were alive. It was so inspirational I thought it could help anyone in any adversity including pain.

The following post also can give you confidence that the Structured Educational Program helps heal us...

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 readHealing 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 aTMS doctorbecause 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.