Seeking some advice

Hi!

I am new to this forum, I just recently discovered Dr. Sarnos books. I have been experiencing pain mostly in my torso, it tends to focus in my left lower back and left side but it can appear on the right side as well. It is usually not very intense, but it is always present and has been so for a long time now. It actually started in the tissue on the outside of my right hip and buttock area, and it can still appear there from time to time but mostly it has moved to left side of torso now. Sometimes it will appear in my belly (usually very superficial, although I also have pain from my intestinals occasionally).

I've noticed that I get a lot of noise from what I assume is the small intestine, lots of gurgling and such, much more than normal.

As far as doctors appointments go, I have been to a few. They have done MRI of the back up to 6th vertebrae (I assume they count downwards) which revealed nothing of interest. They have also done ultrasound of my stomach which also didn't show anything abnormal, although I'm not really sure what such an exam would show anyways. They also x-rayed my hips and lower back and it seems fine.

I would of course very much like my pain to be TMS, because then there would be something I can do to help myself, but I am worried that there may be something else going on. Of course no one can diagnose TMS on an internet forum, I would however like to know if there are any differential diagnosees that might be helpful to know about during my next doctors visit.

The thing is, the doctors never seem all that interested, they just keep sending me to one physiotherapist after another, all of whom seem to have no idea what is going on. I have also been to a couple of naprapaths and chiropractors, who seem to have this standard procedure of pulling and bending and then something pops or cracks and nothing really changes at all in terms of my pain. So although I can't really talk TMS with my doctors I could at least ask them to check for these differential diagnosees so that I might exclude them as possibilities in my own mind.

A few characteristics:

1. My pain is not constant. It is focused on the left side of my torso, but it tends to pop up in other places as well, primarly right side of torso.

2. My pain does not get worse with physical activity at all. Rather, it gets better. I have full range of motion, I can run, jump, walk, etc. Yoga tends to help, but only very temporarily; as soon as I cool down the pain comes back to normal levels again.

3. I am not really a perfectionist, I am however very much a goodist and I suffer from very low self esteem. I have a million things that I most certainly repress. I definately *should* have TMS, but I find it hard to simply accept the idea that there is nothing else going on. I'm just very skeptical by nature and whenever someone tells me something I always ask "but what if...".

I think what I am mostly worried about is cancer. Which I suppose is natural, since for most people that is the scariest thing imaginable. I keep thinking what if there's some tumor somewhere above that 6th vertebrae? Would that produce these kinds of symptoms? What if there is something in the left side of my back that is damaging the nerves there? The problem, I have found, with all these lists of symptoms one finds on the internet is that they are never very detailed. Pain is just pain, they never mention in depth the characteristics of that pain, or even if it is like my pain that comes and goes and moves about or if it tends to be constant. Will all kinds of pain get better with excercies, simply because blood flow is increased, or is this indicative of TMS? Would pain from a tumor somewhere in the CNS also be able to turn on and off and change location?

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

Hi hades,

Did they , or you consider IBS as cause ?
That can even cause pain in you back en
to one side of you body

Karina

 

Sounds like classic TMS. Moving around, clean bill from docs etc. The intestinal stuff, IBS included, is also very classic TMS. You are worried. Your last paragraph states great fear. Fear of something that hasn't happened. That fear is feeding the TMS. You are in the right place so keep reading, asking questions and maybe find council. I know for me that I need to ask for help. Left to my own devices I run out of good ideas.

 

Hi,

This definitely sounds like TMS to me! You've had all the MRIs and ultrasound, rest assured it's TMS. A tumor would have shown up, and if you had a spinal tumor above that level you'd certainly be getting more consistent and different symptoms. Trust me it wouldn't improve with activity and change locations, I've worked with plenty of clients who really did have a spinal or brain tumor and it's much more severe. Be confident in the diagnosis of TMS and your healing process can begin.

 

Hello again,

thank you so much for your replies. I do not believe it is IBS, since I don't really have any of the other symptoms (constipation/dhiarrea etc), also I eat mostly vegan these days which supposedly makes it very hard to get IBS. I do have a lot of muscle tension, really all over but it seems to be worse in the left side of my back. I've found that using one of those hard rubber balls I can massage a lot of it away, but again only temporary, it always comes back.

I also experience this weird phenomenon where my muscles seem to tense and relax periodically, where it feels as though when a muscle or group of muscles (for intance, the muscles in my side, obliques) on one side tenses up ever so slightly, they relax on the other side and then they keep going like that for a while, back and forth. Happens in my legs as well. Problem is, its so small of a change that it isn't really visible on the outside so I can't really show it to my doctor. I tried explaining it but they said it was nothing to worry about, although they didn't really give a reason for why. This of course has had me worried about all kinds of neurological diseases (apparently, some small percentage of people with huntingtons disease develop it spontaneously, without having inherited it from a parent or grandparent, an unfortunate fact which of course led to a lot of worry for a while) but it doesn't seem to get worse over time really and I don't even really notice it when I'm active and doing things, only when I am resting and my attention of course goes to every tiny aspect of my body.

I've started journaling and that seems to help at least temporarily, although I have yet to make any significant breakthroughs. My hope is that over time it will help, there is definately a lot going on in my sub-conscious.

Again, thank you very much for replying