Alan G. What treatment option should I focus on?

[Benny562562]

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Question

Continue Tms treatment or not? I self diagnosed myself with Tms. Back pain started 5 months ago while switching to a ups fedex type job. I'm 40 right now,herniated my back when I was 27 so always in my head that my back wasn't strong. Couldn't handle the new job,back pain hurt from driving and getting in n out of the van for 12 hours a day. Switched back to my old job that I used my own truck delivering parts but the pain continued. Was told I had degenerative disc disease so upon reading of it, I started getting anxious and depressed. Did 35 disc decompression treatments n back didn't improve one bit. Was suicidal 2 months ago,felt depressed and pictured myself living like this for the rest of my life. Found dr sarnos book and at first didn't buy into it,but recently realized that I had Tms. My question is, I started the Tms protocol 8 days ago and the pain which was constant throughout the day only hurts when I sit and drive now. Should I continue Tms protocol or concentrate on de conditioning? Someone on here said to concentrate more on the decomditioning. I feel slightly better since starting the Tms protocol. Wondering if continuing the protocol is going to get rid of this conditioning? I'm confused

 

[Alan Gordon LCSW]

Answer

Hi Benny,
Deconditioning is part of the TMS protocol, so I don't see them as two separate treatment options. There are several components of treatment. One of the primary approaches is to alter the way you respond when the pain comes up. Read these two articles:
http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Breaking_the_Pain_Cycle,_by_Alan_Gordon,_LCSW
http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/A_Word_About_Outcome_Independence,_by_Alan_Gordon,_LCSW

Here is a good video clip specifically focused on conditioned responses such as sitting and standing:

Finally, you might want to work on addressing the underlying issues that caused the pain to arise in the first place. Do you constantly scare yourself? Do you put incessant pressure on yourself? Are you continuously beating yourself up? Are there emotions that tend to repress?

Sometimes you can work through these on your own, sometimes it can help to work with a TMS therapist.

Alan

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