question about moving pain

[Mala]

Hi, some of you may know me from the TMS Help Forum. I posted this ther too . Any observations would be helpful.

I would like to ask people here to comment about moving pain.

I have 3 areas of pain at the moment. When one is more intense then I don't seem to feel the other 2. For example

The last 2 days my neck has flared up so I haven't been feeling the burning 'down there' or my knee pain as much.

Then today the burning is dominant & the neck seems a bit better. I can feel the knee but not so much.

Some days the knee will be hurting more.

Is this the same for others or is it different?

Or do most people have 1 pain which goes away completely & is then replaced by another.

Or do some people feel pain in different parts all at the same time?

Oh and one more thing, how many people 'feel' that there pain is worse with weather changes ?

Would appreciate some feedback.

thx

Mala

 

[Forest]

Hiya Mala - I had multiple symptoms as well, ranging from my neck and shoulders to my wrists and hands, to knee and ankle. Usually, they didn't all hurt at the same time. The pain moved around. Some days my one symptom hurt a whole lot, but on others it was something else. I also developed new symptoms as time went on. There is really nothing more frustrating then to have one pain in your neck go away, but have it replaced by pain in your knee or arms. Throughout my 18 years of having TMS, having new symptoms pop up had to be the worst part. It really makes you feel like you are just broken.

That's the bad part. The good part is that I did eventually get better, which means that you can as well. One thing that I heard from TMS practitioners is that a common sign of TMS is if symptoms actually move around like this. Knowing that really helped me not let the change of symptoms frustrate me as much. The symptoms move because it is an easy way for your unconscious to distract you. I found that once I no longer let the moving symptoms distract me, they didn't move as much.

For me, not letting the symptoms distract me, really referred to not obsessing over them and allowing myself to fear them. This involves not letting your mind race to worst case scenarios. Instead, try to calm yourself, when you feel the anxiety start to ramp up. By going from negative thoughts to positive ones, you will be able to calm the overactive portion of your mind.

 

[JoyceVT]

Here's a brief history of my moving pain: I've been dealing with TMS for many years. I believe it started with my knees when I was bike racing in the 1990s (but I didn't know about TMS yet). When I stopped bike racing it moved to my wrists when trying to play my flute and use my mouse at work. Dr Sarno's work and Dr Sopher helped me get through this "RSI". Later when I started running I had all kinds of TMS pain in my legs. One week it might be an inner ankle, next month it might be the side of my knee, then it was my shin, groin, shin, knee, IT band, shin, calf, etc. Always something! And within the last couple years sometimes my TMS would jump to my upper arms/shoulders when trying to swim. Right now my legs are great but my left shoulder hurts. It's all just TMS but it can be so frustrating at times. When I believe 100% it is TMS and have no fear or worry I am successful at getting rid of it. When I worry non-sto, it stays a lot longer. And I'm falling prey to thinking my shoulder might not be TMS at the moment. It's difficult....

 

[yb44]

Hi Mala,

Welcome to the wiki forum.

I think most of us have experienced symptoms changing and moving around at some point. Sometimes it's physical pain we feel, sometimes it's anxiety or depression. Sometimes it's everything all at once. I certainly have my down days where I feel completely fed up and it's a chore to gee myself into some activity that will take my mind away from my physical symptoms or my worries. My symptoms have been all over my body, sometimes on their own, sometimes attacking me from all sides. So not only do symptoms move around, they move around in pairs or in groups. Currently I am feeling pain in number of locations but consistently in my feet hurt. They have been hurting off and on since December. Sometimes it is the right foot, sometimes the left, sometimes both. The pain moves around the foot itself, sometimes in my heel, sometimes my arch...whatever! The bottom line is I have done nothing to hurt my feet and I know there is nothing wrong with them. Whatever I need to do in terms of daily tasks, I do it regardless of what my feet are telling me. What are they telling me? "I hurt. Don't stand on me. You will make me hurt more. Keep resting me. Keep thinking about me." It's a good thing I am a rebel.

 

[Mala]

Hi guys, thx for the comments. I think that when one area hurts we tend to tense up other areas without knowing & so the next day we feel it in that area & then we tense up another area & so on. Also have you noticed that a loud sound or stubbing your toe can temporarily halt the pain & then your mind goes back to the old pain & it starts again. It all to do with the workings of the Central nervous system.

I feel that just becoz one has TMS one should mot stop treatments that promote a sense of well being. Pain needs to be dealt with soon. Anything that can reduce pain quickly is good for body & good for the mind. Its good for your mood. Its easier for people to think in a positive way when they are hurting less. It makes them less fearful. It also brings about a sensory change in the area which is good. Anything that is a change from the ususal pain is a good thing.

People often forget the Body in the treatment of mind body ailments.

Just my thoughts

Mala

 

[Forest]

I feel that just becoz one has TMS one should mot stop treatments that promote a sense of well being. Pain needs to be dealt with soon. Anything that can reduce pain quickly is good for body & good for the mind. Its good for your mood. Its easier for people to think in a positive way when they are hurting less. It makes them less fearful. It also brings about a sensory change in the area which is good. Anything that is a change from the ususal pain is a good thing.

This is an interesting point. I know Dr. Sarno said to stop all physical treatments of the body, but, as you pointed out, there are some that may help reduce fear and anxiety. It can be very difficult to think psychological when your symptoms are screaming at you in pain. I am of the mind that anytime you can increase joy and positive thinking will help in the long term. In the end, I think it comes down to how you view the treatment. Is it just something to help you deal with the symptoms in the short term, or do you do the treatment because you view your problem as structurally based?

 

[Mala]

Forest thx for yr reply. Of course if one believes in TMS then one will focus on the psychological & think about what emotion, personality trait etc is contributing to the pain. That is how it should be. But there is the body in mind body which also sometimes needs some attention too. How for example do you think psychologically if you your head is throbbing or some other part of yr body hurts like hell. Is it humanly possible? Many people in the forum talk about ignoring the pain, or continuing like its not there or trying to ignore it. You think if I could do that I would be here?

 

[ClearMind]

I will probably die one day from thinking a serious medical condition is TMS. I'm joking, of course. But it is something I've thought about.

TMS is pretty incredible. After being back pain free for 3 months, I started to feel anxious about a week ago. Yesterday, my anxiety completely went away but in exchange came some mild to moderate back pain. I know it's TMS, but I have to remind myself often as the movement is so incredible it's almost difficult to believe!

I'm just thankful I'm aware if TMS and how it works!

 

[gailnyc]

In 1999, I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse after feeling a "fluttery" feeling in my heart. In 2008, I went to a cardiologist to see if the mvp had gotten any worse. After doing a test, he told me I didn't have it! He said I either didn't have it anymore, or hadn't had it to begin with and had been given a faulty test.

I fully believe, with what I know now, that it was TMS. It was a very stressful time in my life (I had just moved to a new town and gotten a new job). It's incredible to me that my brain actually created a problem in my heart! But now that I know that's possible, I really do believe the brain can do anything. I really do. It's hard to believe, it's incredible, but it's true.

 

[D. R. Martin]

TMS is like a great major league pitcher, capable of throwing lots of different pitches at you--both with moving symptoms and with changes in one area (I've counted at least a dozen types of knee pain since Feb.). It keeps you off balance, which makes it much harder to cope with, and creates fear more readily. In a sense, it keeps you in constant turmoil. The upside, though, is that it reveals itself through this behavior. Still, it's hard on a person.

 

[gailnyc]

TMS is like a great major league pitcher, capable of throwing lots of different pitches at you--both with moving symptoms and with changes in one area (I've counted at least a dozen types of knee pain since Feb.). It keeps you off balance, which makes it much harder to cope with, and creates fear more readily. In a sense, it keeps you in constant turmoil. The upside, though, is that it reveals itself through this behavior. Still, it's hard on a person.

Oh, I so agree. It's a real struggle.