"It's pain management not pain cure"

That was the most disheartening thing a doctor has said to me about my symptoms/pain. That has been circling around in my head for a while now because it makes it feel like a life sentence. This is a hard one for me to break through. I'm having trouble getting past the idea of "is it a strain? or is it TMS?"

 

If your pain is TMS, then total recovery is possible. I avoid the term "cure" because most of us have relapses from time to time. However, it is possible to be completely TMS-free for long periods of time, and to get over relapses quickly. Don't lose hope. You can get there.

 

Totally get your quandary Trojan. Doctors have said the same to me about dystonia. Do I have something called dystonia or not, and/or is it really TMS or not, or do I have both, and if I do have dystonia does the TMS route to wellness apply? I believe so. I certainly hope so! But I don't know so, at this point.

 

Hello . . .

The body has amazing powers to heal. Fractures are much worse than strains, and they heal fine. That said, it can definitely be hard accepting a TMS diagnosis. Trying to find inconsistencies with your pain helps prove TMS. For example, if it happens when at rest, but then not another time when doing a physical activity, etc. Many people find their symptoms lessen when distracted, which is a great sign that the brain is causing the pain. Also, the consistency of the SEP will help you with this dilemma. Keep up the good work!

 

I was so distraught when they told me that I would have to be 'careful' for the rest of my life. The thought of being compromised made me suicidal.

But as @ssxl4000 points out, quiet reflection on your own experience will reveal where THEY are full of shit.

THEY said "You should have been in pain your whole life".... I wasn't. I had only been in pain about 18 months.
THEY said "You risk paralysis if you ever even Jog again" but when my friends dog was being attacked I sprinted there fast as I ever had run before...painfree.
THEY said "If we relieve the pressure on this, then the pain would go away" ...but it didn't
etc,etc,etc...

I have pages full of them. I didn't see them until I took the text of Healing Back Pain and The MindBody prescription and scribbled it in the margins everytime I had an 'Aha!' My own experience stands in opposition to THEY's best guess

ALL of their stuff is observation and projection. Tons of other people with TMS and other psychosomatic disorders have come before them and they make broad generalizations based on observing them, while simultaneously ignoring and laughing at Psychogenic, emotional factors and placeboes...and that is also why their success rates are poor at best

so when you get desperate enough to stop listening to THEM, and start listening to your own inner voice, experience and growing 'data' points, you will find that THEY were wrong and that Sarno and Co. are right. Period.

What is a 'Strain' ?

Part of recovery is dropping their nomenclature altogether. Most of their words are meaningless.

I was completely discarded by the medical system and told I would be in pain for the rest of my life back in '99. I have been pain free ever since. I play baseball , work in construction and routinely grab things THEY probably would tell me not to, and drag them carelessly in ways THEY would tell me not to and do things that guys 30 years my junior do....I am not special or strong or anything like that. I just deleted all of their bullshit from my thinking mind and perceive all physical stuff as expressions on my inner life.

Then I address that....and do what ever the hell I want to and it is such an amazing gift because of the desolation and loneliness and fear that was becoming every second of my waking life....

Get that doctor out of your head and put your own common sense and experience where he used to be...and the outcome will startle you!

 

I've heard many comments from practitioners too.

I have a shorter leg, or a higher hip, a twisted tailbone, some extra weight (this is a new one because I got overweight/read lazy in the last 2 years). I used to be a gymnast so that's why my back hurts because...you know...all the falls injuries...they say. But that was almost 40 years ago when I was 14 and I never broke any bones!!! Why was I not in pain every day in the last 40 years? Ah, and another one, I have some calcium deposits on the spine, but I was born like this apparently.

On and on and on...a never ending 'thing'.

 

Great thread. I too struggled with the "pain management" concept. Those that are psychologically predisposed to TMS don't deal well with ambiguity so getting told you have something without a "cure" is extremely damaging. Well meaning doctors and therapists have a big blindspot. The word "chronic" is one of the worst words in the English language in my opinion. The human body is an amazing piece of work. It heals! The mind heals! You will heal! Read Sarno. Meditate. Start digging into your psyche. Start listening to your body. You got this!