Bookmark

I am a 52 year old man. I started having back pain when I was a teenager. I “sprained” my back when I was 15 years old, and was temporarily paralyzed. I spent 3 weeks in bed and another 3 weeks on crutches. You have to understand that I was an otherwise healthy kid. I was very athletic and was playing on multiple school team sports, at the time. I started having sciatic pain and episodes of muscle spasms in my late teens. I had a ruptured disc, and had back surgery, when I was 25 years old. Over the next 25 years, I just learned to live with a “bad back”, and went to physical therapy when the pain would become more acute. Over this same time period, I also developed severe environmental allergies, to the point that my allergist prescribed prednisone to treat the symptoms. I also had frequent and chronic canker sores that were extremely painful, and would last for 2 weeks at a time. There were times when I would have multiple sores, up to 8 sores, and I could barely eat, drink, or talk for a week. Once I had a sore that was so big in size that my dentist thought it was a cancerous lesion!

Then, in my early 40’s, I started to notice that my feet and lower legs would feel really sore after walking for 20-30 minutes. And, when I would do any strenuous activity, like working in the yard or painting a room, I would have really sore muscles for 3-4 days. Then, in 2009, I started noticing a pain in the back of my right heel, whenever I would apply pressure to it. In early 2010, I started having burning pain on the bottom of both feet. I would feel the burning pain anytime I touched my feet to the floor, even if I was just sitting, and it would get progressively worse over time. Over the next 2-3 years, I went to many different specialists to try and find out what was causing my feet pain. I had about every diagnostic test you can think of, tried many different treatments including medications, but nothing cured the pain or even helped to diminish the pain. One of the treatments I got was a steroid injection, into the tarsal canal of my right foot, under anesthesia. I ended up with more pain than before. I’m not sure exactly what happened but, apparently, the injection caused nerve damage that took about 18 months to heal. More pain! Two different doctors recommended foot surgery. Thankfully, I did not go through with the surgery. I was diagnosed with idiopathic peripheral neuropathy and referred to pain management. (Idiopathic means the cause is unknown.)

During this same time period, my “sciatic” pain also flared up pretty badly. I started getting epidural steroid injections, under anesthesia. I had about 10 injections over the course of 2 years. I had a spinal cord stimulator trial done, as well as a continuous epidural pump trial, to see if I was a good candidate for either a spinal cord stimulator implant or a continuous epidural pump implant. Neither did anything for the constant burning pain in my feet, so I did not get the implants.

Also, during this same time period, I started getting multiple sore spots or trigger points, all along the back of my neck and back. I also started getting numbness on the top of my forearms, and daily migraine headaches. I was anxious, depressed, had mental fog, and insomnia. (Although, I struggled with all of these conditions since I was in my teens and twenties.) I worked from home and would work while laying on a mattress, on my stomach, typing on my laptop. I went out and bought a wheelchair so that I could go out into the community, because my feet would hurt too much to stand. I researched online if there were doctors who would amputate my feet. When I couldn’t find any, I researched if there were doctors who would sever my spinal cord, at the waist, so I couldn’t feel any pain below my waist. I was in my late 40’s but felt like I was in my late 80’s! I felt like I was dying, and I wanted to die to make the pain stop. I started researching about how many sleeping pills I would need to take to end my life.

In the summer of 2012, I was officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM). I started doing some research, online, and found a local doctor who claimed to treat the underlying cause of FM. He did blood tests and said that I had many food sensitivities, including gluten, dairy, corn, etc., and that’s why I was having so much pain. I changed my diet and felt 90% better after about 6 months. Then, a few months later, the pain came back 100%. This was in early summer, 2013. For the next 2 plus years, the pain would get better but then get worse again. Finally, about 4 months ago, the pain was worse and I was so frustrated because I was doing everything I was supposed to do: following a strict diet, stretching and exercising (about 2 hours a day), monthly visit to my chiropractor, and massage therapy every 2 weeks. Why was I still in pain, I asked myself. That’s when I went back online and found Dr. Sarno’s book. I ordered the Mindbody Prescription and Healing Back Pain, right away. While I was reading the Mindbody prescription, the pain in my mid-back went away! This convinced me that I had TMS. It’s been 4 months since I first read the book and I feel about 90% better. I also can eat anything I want. I hardly ever get canker sores anymore. Even my feet pain is a lot better. I am working out regularly, and swimming daily. I am going to Costa Rica next week. I am going white water rafting, hiking, and rappelling down waterfalls. Three years ago I was practically bed bound, using a wheel chair, and thinking about ending my life. I have my life back! Thanks to Dr. Sarno!