I just had a huge breakthrough in my TMS

Oh and, by the way, the last time, about a year ago, that I succeeded in getting rid of my pain, I experienced sleeplessness for 4 months, until I must have decided that the pain was more tolerable than the sleeplessness!

 

Oh Chickenbone, I had to chuckle over your comment. Not because it was funny but because I could so relate. My lower back tension has subsided and has been replaced with an annoying cough. I absolutely know this is a TMS equivalent for reasons I won't get into here. It's now moved to more of a bronchial cough…no other symptoms mind you and I feel perfectly fine. No cough while I"m sleeping. Just an.annoying.cough.

So what do I do last night? On Facebook I clicked on a link someone posted entitled, "Oh, sh*t, I have cancer". (What is it about our fascination with medical drama?) And OF COURSE, this woman's symptom started with an annoying cough.

Here's what my internal dialogue has sounded like:

My Amygdala - OMGawd! I've got cancer! It's probably already spreading like wildfire…
My higher functioning brain: Oh, fer-crying-out-loud, YOU'RE FINE.
My Amygdala - That's what you think you ignoramus! This poor woman just had a cough. And she "didn't feel right" either.
My higher functioning brain: It's TMS. And quit calling me an ignoramus.
My Amygdala - I wonder what my funeral will be like.

And it continued. All within a span of a few seconds.

I get so tired of myself sometimes. And with my nursing background and the fact that I do some medical writing. I can really work myself into a lather.

I'm using Walt's favorite tool of choice and have been watching more comedies PLUS I'm putting myself on a mental diet - NO MORE freakin' medical drama articles or anything negative for that matter!

All that to say, dear Chickenbone….we're BOTH going to be just fine!

PS Can I share another ridiculous symptom? This morning I was getting pain in the very tips of my toes. Seriously. That was a first. So when I started watching Dr. Sarno's video, he mentioned that TMS can manifest anywhere from the top of your head down to the tips of your toes. It made me laugh.

 

Following an alleged prolapsed disk last summer I experienced pain not only at the tips of my toes but I could actually perceive pain beyond my toes! Pain beyond one's actually physical body, now that is truly bizarre. Another example of the power of my mind and how far it can go if I let it run free.

 

North Star, I loved your post - you know, when I am not panicking about these symptoms, I am laughing at them. The whole thing at times just seems so absurd, how our conscious minds can be so at odds with our unconscious. I don't know how many times my husband has told me "That's crazy" and I agree, but that doesn't stop my unconscious from throwing more stuff at me.

I know what you mean about the medical drama. I unsubscribed from all the medical and alternative medical websites - everyday, it was just something else that caused cancer or heart disease. I am much better off not to even see that stuff.

This afternoon, I was reading for the tenth time what Dr. Sarno had to say about hypochondria, that it is a really severe form of TMS, a TMS equivalent. Normally I just have my run of the mill TMS with it's phantom pains that come and go, but when it really gets going, usually because I am really in pursuit of the psychological, it can become full blown hypochondria.

yb44 - did you know that people with limbs cut off often get pain and sensation in the missing limb??

 

Chickenbone…LOL…so good to know I'm not alone. I didn't realize that about the hypochondria being a TMS thing. I'm sure I've read it a gazillion times but then again, every time I re-read Dr. Sarno's book or Steve's, I see something new.

Yb44…that is wild. True story. I have a very painful scar that keeps growing on the left side of my chest. The pain is a very distinct sensation One night I was lamenting the pain..on my RIGHT side. I did my, "Oh MAN!" wail over the darn scar growing again when I did a face palm…I don't have a freakin' scar on my right side. The pain immediately ceased.
So feeling pain beyond your body doesn't sound far-fetched. Our brains are infinitely creative.

I actually emailed Dr. Schubiner about the scar pain and he graciously replied to me. He had never heard of a keloid being TMS but since keloids are usually NOT painful, he suggested that perhaps the pain was TMS and not the scar. That was revelatory to me.

 

Yes, chickenbone, I am familiar with phantom limb pain. I was watching a reality tv show a while back where a man had lost his leg in an accident and he spoke about the pain he felt where his leg used to be. I must have taken in this information to be used at a later date.