Wondering if i have TMS

I came across Dr Sarno's book on Friday night when reading about someones sciatica on a exercise forum, it sounded interesting and I watched an hour long talk by the doctor who worked under him. It seems like it could be this is what I have any why the feeling will not go away. This is my issue,

May 2016, the day after a yoga class I had an uncomfortable feeling in my glute, like it was tight, didn't think much of it. It got a little bit worse, it was stretching it and foam rolling a good bit, i would really feel it when i stretched my hamstrings. Eventually I went to my osteopath, she did a few things and said it should get better, it didn't.
July 2016 I was on holiday in Spain hiking and it went away, I was thinking this might be due to not sitting at a desk in work or possibly the hiking loosened something up.
Feb 2017, I fell off my motorbike and hurt my back a bit, i went to an osteopath to get it fixed and then went a few more times to get her to sort out this as the feeling had come back, not really pain, discomfort and tightness, like the feeling over slightly over stretching a muscle.
I saw a physiotherapist and another osteopath, they tried different things, nothing really made much of a difference though the feeling came and went a bit, sometimes I would barely feel it though I stopped exercising due to it so I wouldn't do anything to make it worse.
August 2017, I had started exercising again, I was doing a front squat and got a sharp pain in my hip flexor, the next day I woke up in a lot of pain, my back all locked up, pain right down my leg. I went to a physiotherapist and she said it was a herniated disc, L5S1. She twisted my about a bit and put my on a machine that stretched out my spine. Then when it got better she had me doing some pilates type exercise. It got better for a while, then the feeling came back.
In Nov I started doing strength training that included deadlifts for the first time in ages. I had been reading an article a physio had written about rehabing herniated discs with sumo deadlifts and it sounded great. I was doing them quite light and about 10 workouts into it I got a bit pop in my back doing a deadlift and had a few couple weeks of pain. Literally five minutes before this I had a trainer in the gym watch my form as I was being somewhat paranoid about doing it perfectly..

Anyway, I am somewhere between believing it is TMS and wondering if it is.. MY thoughts on the 12 reminders.

Just looking at some of the 12 reminders,

3.TMS is a harmless condition caused by my repressed emotions

I would believe this is possible

4.The principal emotion is my repressed ANGER

I was reading about what causes surpressed anger and a significant amount of it could literally have been a description of my childhood and parents relationship.

5.TMS exists only to distract my attentions from the emotions

The mind and sub conscious are powerful and this feels very plausible

6.Since my back is basically normal there is nothing to fear

I found it very interesting the doctor saying this, that most peoples backs are basically just as screwed and do not have symptoms or need to avoid anything.

7.Therefore,physical activity is not dangerous

It seems like it is, unless i am somehow sabotaging myself.

8.And I MUST resume all normal physical activity

Can do..

9.I will not be concerned or intimidated by the pain

So does this mean I just do stuff that I know will aggravate it. If it is not TMS this is possibly going to give me a serious injury.

10.I will shift my attention from pain to the emotional issues

I can try this alright, I am not exactly sure how but I can start figuring it out.

11.I intend to be in control-NOT my subconscious mind

I have been doing this.

12.I must think Psychological at all times,NOT physical.

I have been doing this too.

So it seemed yesterday and today like it was working but then now I am feeling it a bit more. I do accept that this is likely the problem but I think some part of me is concerned that if it is not I could make things worse.. I live in Ireland and I was looking for someone who does this, the only one I found didn't look great, more spiritual than medical.

I was also wondering do I need to actually read the book, when I was reading reviews of it people seemed to give the impression that it is more just being aware of it than anything else, the book being very receptive and basic. Any thoughts are welcome..

 

Hi rowanh,

You are beginning this work with good questions. This is important, to dig into the material and do your own personal inquiry about how you fit this syndrome and whether those 12 Reminders could actually be true. Doubts, questions lead to clarity.

My recommendation is start with one of Dr. Sarno's books and read it deeply, and more than once. For instance, he refers to pops and sounds of people's backs "going out," when in fact there is nothing serious physically. You have a history of repeat sypmtoms over time, which is one indicator of TMS.

Increasing activity means within reason, and slowly, consistently. Being active and pushing your fear and pain envelope a little sends a deep message that you're not "buying into the physical."

Georgie Oldfield here is in UK. I don't know if you saw her.

http://www.georgieoldfield.com/ (Georgie Oldfield: Chronic Pain Specialist | Do you suffer persistent pain? Qualified Physiotherapist Georgie Oldfield specialises in treating chronic pain. Read more for effective treatments.)

As you get into this more, if you do, there are free programs at the Wiki. Doing the 12 Daily Reminders, reading Dr. Sarno deeply, and "using your imagination" to ascertain how your Inner Child might be feeling about x,y, or z as the cause of your pain ---these are a good start!

Andy B

 

Thanks Andy, I will buy the book and go from there.

Not sure if you are aware but the UK and Ireland are different countries and it would require a flight to visit Georgie, still appreciate the effort.

Rowan

 

Hi Rowan, Georgie works over skype. I'm in the UK and I skype with her weekly.

I have a long history of complex tms symptoms including constant dizziness, frequent migraines and rsi in both hands.

having skyped a couple of times with georgie I now have a lot more clarity on why I feel the way I do and have activities to do daily.

It's not easy, it requires persistence and faith but I've already started to see signs of the symptoms reducing.