bollib1

This all began approximately 1 year ago following a fall on some steps at a local theater. I didn't think much of it at the time, just felt like I had bruised my right glute, not other symptoms. A week later, I was out of town for work, standing up/sitting down testing sofa and chairs (I'm a buyer for a local furniture retailer) and started to notice pain in my right glute that was starting to radiate down my leg. Approximately 2 wks later, I had made it's way down to my foot and was almost constant. The pain would be the worst when I first got up each morning, extreme pain in my glute. It would lessen as the day went on but would increase when getting up from a sitting position or after driving any distance. I had had an episode of this earlier when I was in my late 20s and know I was dealing w/ sciatica. I got an epidural injection in mid Nov 2014 which barely did anything. I then chose to self treat, using some stretches I found on the internet. Things seems to be progressing until early Jan when I had a small slip on some ice that seemed to tweak my back. I had another epidural in mid Jan 2015, again little effect. A couple of days after the injection, I reluctantly boarded a plane for Vegas (work again) and proceeded to sit in a middle plane seat for 3 straight hours (bonehead move!). I could barely walk off the plane I was in so much pain. I turned around and headed home the next day, repeating the process and by Sunday night of that week was willing to cut myself open to fix the problem. I finally went in to my primary doc and requested an MRI and a surgical consult. To his benefit, he refused the consult and recommended I see a spine specialist instead but submitted an order for the MRI. The new MRI (Jan 2015) didn't reveal anything new when compared to an MRI I had exactly one year prior (Jan 2014) when I wasn't having any issues other than some strange sensations in my LEFT foot. The specialist referred me to PT so , 8 wks later, was still dealing w/ the same issues. At that time, I did have a consult w/ a neurosurgeon who told me that the herniation wouldn't get any better and my only option was a microdiscectomy! I was shocked! How could I possibly need surgery for something I've obviously had for who knows how long? When I pressed him about this, he looked at both MRIs, shrugged and said "Oh yeah. I don't know?" His only words of advise was to not wait too long as my chances of resolving the pain would keep going down the longer I waited to have surgery. Nothing like a little pressure! In the meantime, I had come across a billboard for a chiro in a local suburb that focused solely on discs using a form of intensive traction. After discussing my options with the spine specialist, he didn't think waiting a few more months was doing to hurt me any and gave his "blessing" is I wanted to give the chiro a try. The chiro claimed to have a 96% rate and predicted improvement in 4-6 wks. However, after 9 wks and several thousand dollars later (don't take insurance, of course!), I wasn't improving and he even suggested surgery. So I scheduled surgery. However, when push came to shove, I couldn't go through with it. I read too many horror stories about poor outcomes and just didn't think my situation could possibly be that bad. I decided then to look into more alternative approaches. I tried acupuncture and also Chinese herbal medicine. Figured they couldn't hurt. I also started seeing a therapist to help me deal w/ the extreme anxiety and depression all this has been causing. It was around this time that I also came across Dr. Sarno's name in a blog and did some searching online. I bought two of the books and, as many folks say, saw myself reflected in what he was describing. About two weeks ago I went to see the only Dr anywhere near me who accepts TMS as a possible diagnosis. He reviewed my MRIs and agreed that there wasn't anything significantly wrong. He listened to my story as I've described it here and asked my many questions about my past--med history, relationships, how I was brought up, and offered the opinion that it was extremely likely that I'm dealing w/ TMS. WOW! What a relief! Someone believes that this may be something other than a structural issue that requires possibly multiple surgeries that don't offer any guarantees. He recommends digging deep with a therapist and following up w/ him so he can further advise me on this journey. I went how feeling a million times better and already feel things have improved. I spent all day yesterday re-reading "Healing Back Pain" and feel ready to accept this diagnosis and invest the time into healing myself. I plan to do the Structured program to get the most out of this I can. Wish me luck! Barry