recurrence of pain

Forest

Forest

Beloved Grand Eagle
A couple days ago new wiki member MW2007 posted the following in the wetpaint forum. I thought I would post my response here.

MW2007 said:
I'm a 29 year old man and my story is like many TMS sufferers. I developed back and neck pain when I was 27. The neck pain lasted a few months and the lower back pain about 16 months. I attributed the pain to years of football, weightlifting and wild land firefighting. Like most of you I saw many doctors and specialists. MRI said nothing was wrong with my cervical spine and my lumbar had a degenerated disk with a minor bulge. A neurosurgeon said I didn't need surgery, it wasn't a big deal and there wasn't much more he could do. I read healing back pain on February 1rst 2012 and 80% of my pain was gone in two days. All of it was gone in a week. I knew I had found the answer. After about two weeks of feeling great I developed bad fatigue which I attributed to intense exercise. Then I got a bad cold. Then I got bad shin splints. The fatigue and other conditions are gone and the original back pain has returned. I know it's TMS and I feel like the fatigue, sickness and shin splints were as well. Hoping someone could point me in the right direction. I feel like I'm trying too hard to beat it. My work life and home life have been causing me severe anxiety in the last few years and I feel like it's a big contributor to my pain. It seemed so easy when I first found out about TMS. The pain just left as I read the book. No such luck this time. Thank you
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Hiya MW and Welcome to the Wiki,

It is so great to hear that you were able to cure your back and neck pain by reading Sarno's book! It is amazing at what education can do to overcome TMS. Now you have experienced a few new symptoms that sound a whole lot like TMS. The first thing I would suggest doing is to re-read Healing Back Pain. If you want you could read a different Sarno book like The Divided Mind or the Mindbody Prescription. Doing a little refresher course can help those ideas reach your sub-conscious. I would also try to do a some different techniques. Try to journal some or go through the wiki's Program. Bringing in new techniques can help people recover from relapses. For more check out the Relapse Recovery Rules and Breaking the Pain Cycle.

In general, the important thing is not that we have symptoms that pop up from time to time, but how we handle these symptoms. Do we focus on them or do we view them as a signal to examine our emotions. Do we worry about them or do we say 'it's just tms and nothing to worry about,' and continue on with our life. You recovered once before, so you can do it again. Don't let a few symptoms that pop up slow you down.
 
Forest said:
In general, the important thing is not that we have symptoms that pop up from time to time, but how we handle these symptoms. Do we focus on them or do we view them as a signal to examine our emotions. Do we worry about them or do we say 'it's just tms and nothing to worry about,' and continue on with our life. You recovered once before, so you can do it again. Don't let a few symptoms that pop up slow you down.
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+1 on what Forest said above. Once you know you have TMS/PPD, it's a lifetime thing. You are a young man and have many, many years to learn how to deal with your emotions and thoughts in a more productive manner. So take it one day at a time. Worry, Fear, and Anxiety thoughts are all brothers from the same mother and they are your enemy. If you aren't adequately acknowledging them then you are likely repressing them, your body will let you know via a pain or some other TMS symptom that there's something there that your subconscious mind is trying to distract you from. Take Forest's advice above on next steps and see where that takes you.

Best!
 
Hi MW,

It sounds like you're already making great progress seeing the pain shift. I don't have much to add to what Forest & Enrique said, but I just wanted to welcome you here :)

~ Veronica
 
Thank you all for your replies and support.

I was visiting my parents On Thursday afternoon and they could tell I was hurting. I had told them previously that there were some TMS doctors and I told them what I knew about Dr. Schechter. They went to his website and strongly advised that I call Dr. Schecter's office to schedule an appointment. I was able to able get an appointment the next afternoon. So I immediately got in the pickup truck for the 600 mile drive from my house to his office. My mom dropped everything and went with me. Her gesture of support was huge for me.

Yesterday I met with Dr. Schechter and he was very kind and helpful. He diagnosed me with TMS and I strongly feel I needed to hear it from a professional. Even though I was almost certain I had it, he helped squash any doubt. He was without a doubt the nicest and most informative doctor I've ever met and he treated me as a whole person and not just as an illness or injury. I got his work book, audio cds and dvd. The long drive there and back was a good therapeutic session for my mom and I to discuss events from my past and current stresses.

I know this is a long journey and I need to stay diligent. The Sarno Books, all the great info this site provides, the materials from Dr. Schechter and the advice from all of you on the forum will serve as valuable tools.

Thanks again for your support.

Mike
 
mw2007 said:
I was visiting my parents On Thursday afternoon and they could tell I was hurting. I had told them previously that there were some TMS doctors and I told them what I knew about Dr. Schechter. They went to his website and strongly advised that I call Dr. Schecter's office to schedule an appointment. I was able to able get an appointment the next afternoon. So I immediately got in the pickup truck for the 600 mile drive from my house to his office. My mom dropped everything and went with me. Her gesture of support was huge for me.
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Very cool! You have supportive parents which will really help your recovery!

mw2007 said:
Yesterday I met with Dr. Schechter and he was very kind and helpful. He diagnosed me with TMS and I strongly feel I needed to hear it from a professional.
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Must have felt really good to make that drive.

mw2007 said:
I know this is a long journey and I need to stay diligent. The Sarno Books, all the great info this site provides, the materials from Dr. Schechter and the advice from all of you on the forum will serve as valuable tools.
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I see you totally on the right track. Good luck Mike and check back in with us to let us know how you're faring!

BG
 
Hi Mike,

Sounds like you are well on your way to recovery and it's great that you got to see Dr. Schechter.

Take care,
Veronica
 
Hi Mike and Welcome :)
I'm glad you had a good visit with Dr Schecter and how lovely of your mum to go with you. Having a loved one who understands and accepts TMS is a very valuable thing, my husband could see things that I could not, he helped me so much.
Sounds like you are on the right track, good luck!
 
Mike,

It is so great to hear that seeing Dr. Schechter was helpful. He is a very great doctor with a long history of treating a chronic pain patients. If he diagnosed you with TMS, then you have TMS. Tell yourself this over and over again until it sinks deep into your unconscious. It sounds like you have squashed the doubt which is huge. When you mentioned that you needed some help in overcoming doubt, I was reminded of a quote from Marc Sopher's book, The Mind Body Syndrome. He writes:

(Recovering from TMS) requires ACCURATE THINKING. Accurate thinking means understanding how psychological factors affect our physiology. Only when this exists can we truly heal ourselves.
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Going through Dr. Schechter's work book will help in developing this understanding and will help you identify which psychological factors and emotions affect your personal physiology.

It sounds like you are on your way to recovery. Stay positive and keep thinking psychological
 
Forest said:
Mike,

It is so great to hear that seeing Dr. Schechter was helpful. He is a very great doctor with a long history of treating a chronic pain patients. If he diagnosed you with TMS, then you have TMS. Tell yourself this over and over again until it sinks deep into your unconscious. It sounds like you have squashed the doubt which is huge. When you mentioned that you needed some help in overcoming doubt, I was reminded of a quote from Marc Sopher's book, The Mind Body Syndrome. He writes:



Going through Dr. Schechter's work book will help in developing this understanding and will help you identify which psychological factors and emotions affect your personal physiology.

It sounds like you are on your way to recovery. Stay positive and keep thinking psychological
Click to expand...

Thanks Forest,

That is a helpful quote. I've noticed a pattern of pain symptoms that correlate directly to my stress level.

A bad habit I'm trying to break is blaming myself when the pain is bad. Even though I know It's not my fault and I'm not intentionally causing it, when the pain flares up I often see it as a sign that I'm doing something wrong. This must be a part of the TMS type personality because long before I knew about TMS I would blame myself for my back pain and even blame myself for acute injuries I've had from contact sports, work, etc..

There's good days and bad days but I have to say the good days are outweighing the bad ones.

Thanks for your support

Mike
 
I do believe that this idea that we are doing TMS wrong is part of the TMS personality. Try not to be too hard on yourself if you have a flare up. It actually probably just means that you are on the right path and going about it the right way. Remember, the closer we get to reconditioning our mind and breaking the pain cycle, the more our TMS will try to get us to focus on our symptoms. When your pain increases, think of it as a sign that you are on the right path and if you just continue to think psychological it will fade away.

TMS is simple. All you really need to do is educate yourself about TMS, notice the emotions behind your symptoms, and overcome the doubt that our symptoms are physical. It sounds like you are making some great progress and it is wonderful to hear that you are doing better.

Best,

Forest
 
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