Help

Hey everyone. I've been here for over a year for low back /leg/foot pain that definetly fits the bill for TMS (moves around, dissapears sometimes) , along with headaches, anxiety and fatigue.

I've been doing the work for over a year now and while I did see some improvement, I feel like I'm not really getting there ( still hurs A LOT) and I've been out of a job for 3 years now. I want to get better so I can go back to work but I feel like I'm gonna be one of those cases that doesn't really ever get out of pain.
I;m really struggling. Help !

 

Hi MrMD,

I see that you started the SEP, and I wonder if you worked your way through?

What do you think leads to symptoms in you? How much are you convinced this is TMS? Are there doubts?

If you've completed the SEP, I suggest you go through Alan Gordon's course listed at top of page. It has very basic training on your relationship to symptoms, which can be very important to reacting less.

How about mindfulness? Meditation? Finding social interactions, pleasure? Counseling? Fill us in on your progress, and perhaps ask more specific questions... We're here to help.

Andy

 

To be completely honest I got halfway through the SEP , and stopped to do the recomended readings. I read 3 of John Sarnos books ( the most recent ones) , and all the popular books: David Hanscom's Back in control, Steve O.'s The great pain deception, The meaning of truth by Nicole Sachs, and a few other books. I stopped doing the SEP because I thought I had the information I needed from reading 1200+ pages worth of information on the books.

I definetly have past trauma so I worked with a psychologist (a regular one... no TMS specialist in my area or anywhere remotely near). I did the common going o 5 or 6 doctors to find out what was wrong with me a few years ago and nobody could give me an acurate diagnosis ( I'm a medical doctor myself, hence the name), so I was very convinced this was TMS until last moth when I started having symptoms that left me bedridden again.

I do meditation about 5 or 6 days a week. Journal 3-4 times a week
I lost my job in medicine because of my symptoms so I've become a half time musician ( the best I can manage with my symptoms) which I enjoy tremendously and try to make the best of my situation, but Im getting pretty desperate because Im on my third year of barely getting by .

Im getting pretty desperate by now

 

I realise you have the knowledge but as the man says knowledge is not enough. You need to do the work. If you feel pain you have to not be scared of it. Not let it stop you. It’s conditioning in your brain developed over time. It will go but you have to disassociate the pain from the conditioning. Feel the pain embrace it then think about what emotions are causing it. Don’t run from the pain. I posted the Sarno lecture in the videos section give it a look

 

I have never needed the right answer....only the right question.

What were you doing when the symptoms began? Where were you Emotionally, professionally , spiritually, financially?

Could it be that being a Doctor and understanding conditioning your ego tells you you are immune from it?

Do you really like being a Dr? Maybe you really wanted to be a musician anyways but part of you thinks that isn't right? Maybe something in your life...your marriage, your recreation, your hobbies are someone else's idea and you just went along?

I find myself really susceptible to the nocebo. If I was around Drs all the time I'd probably be in pain a lot.

I HATED my job in Hollywood working for the DEVIL INCARNATE aka the entertainment business. No matter how much I told myself I was doing it for my Family and the money, Harvey Weinsteins are all over the place... and the self satisfied, know-it-all condescension was so real it was hard to not beat on somebody... so i left.

All therapists can do is point us. Many gather round the outside but we enter the bridal chamber alone. -Thomas

 

I love Baseball's post, as usual. He often points to being a detective. About half the cases can be attributed to specific life events. Reading your earliest post, I think you were just starting to become a practicing MD, right? When it all started?

Jimmy gives great advice too. But this method, our TMS approach is really not easy for most. You have not failed so much as you have found you need more support. This is natural.

Have you read this post from another physician? Below are three links. In the podcast she talks about the years it took her, even working with a specialist in TMS.

Don't give up hope, and do find ways to deepen your work toward understanding and learning. Just reading will not do it for most. Psychotherapy can work, but best if guided by someone familiar with TMS practice.

Another strategy is to see someone like Howard Schubiner in person for a full diagnosis. As a start. This kind of expensive step is very helpful for someone as down as you are. Maybe you could do this. Batson got help from Dr. Schubiner, I believe.

Just giving you some encouragement and hints. It is essentially a deep, personal process. Keep asking questions!

https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/a-physicians-tms-story-rsi-hyperacusis-and-much-more.7658/ (A Physician's TMS story - RSI, Hyperacusis and much more.....)

https://www.curablehealth.com/podcast/stumped-a-double-boarded-physicians-quest-to-cure-her-chronic-pain (Stumped: A Double-Boarded Physician’s Quest to Cure Her Chronic Pain)

https://aliciabatsonmd.com/17-steps-to-healing-chronic-pain/ (17 Steps to Healing Chronic Pain -)