Numbness, tingling, electric shocks, paresthesia, allydonia, small fiber neuropathy

Ok TG957, I will.

Also, apologies for putting out some non-TMS related advice, perhaps that was the wrong thing to do on a TMS forum but I just wanted to be of help. The neuroplastix website counts as mind-body method though.

 

There is nothing wrong in discussing non-TMS treatments, people do it all the time. For those with neuropathy, I always suggest Topricin as a temporary pain-relief measure, because I know how unbearable this pain can be. IMHO, as long as you view it as a temporary relief, not an ultimate solution to your TMS, it is quite acceptable to rely on non-addictive painkillers now and then to give yourself a break from pain, even for 30 minutes!

 

The ARA 290 is very promising. Have you found a practitioner that offers this? Or Pirenzipine?

 

TG957 can you share with the group the exercises that you are using to help the woman with neuropathy? As a firefighter, I feel as if I am dealing with an overstressed nervous system. I feel as if my body is in a constant "fight or flight" mode. Was wondering what specifics you are using?

 

@scrapshat , first of all, my sincerest thanks to you for protecting us from fires! I live in the area where fires are frequent and devastating, so firefighters are our heroes. I wish you to stay safe and healthy!

Now, to your question. The core issue that I had and this woman has is anxiety. Anxiety is generated by an overstressed nervous system that can no long absorb all the stress. Your job constantly exposes you to anxiety and fear, and that is a heavy burden. It took me a while to recognize and accept that I am prone to anxiety, but once I did, things started to improve.

I highly recommend Claire Weekes audio, you can find it here:

https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/claire-weekes-audio.2569/ (Claire Weekes Audio)

People like her book, but I found the audio much more powerful.

But the other half of my recovery came from meditation. There are many ways to meditate, different schools of thought on that subject, and it took me a while to figure out what worked and what did not. There are, in my opinion, only two hard rules in meditation: a) there is no one-size-fits-all rule on what pose, sound or environment you choose and b) the healing phase of meditation begins after about 20 minutes, but first you often need to get through the feeling of discomfort, rise in anxiety and even outright desire to stop it. I practice somatic meditation, which is focusing on the negative emotions and learning how safely release them in the body. Not every meditation practice ends up with release of stress for me, but I don't get disappointed and keep trying.

 

@TG957 Thanks for responding. Yes, I do believe I have anxiety by an overstressed nervous system. 22 yrs as a firefighter with about 2 more to go. Many sleepless nights. Intrestingly, in 2004 I was 42 yrs old, my wife and I had just had a baby, and I was stationed at the busiest Station on the Dept. 3 yrs later, my symptoms started when I felt my left big toe go numb. I remember remarking to my wife as we were driving home from vacation that I thought my foot had gone asleep. From there it blew out of control with numbness and pain in both feet. The pain and numbness is on the top and bottom of both feet with tight calves. All of this was frightening because it was all new to me. Previously, I never had any problem eliminating back or neck pain. But foot pain was a whole new ballgame. I never suspected TMS. I'm writing this so others can understand that events in life can manifest a myriad of symptoms in the body that we don't connect to TMS.

You are definately correct about the discomfort with starting meditation. It is very hard to concentrate and get comfortable. I didn't know that healing begins after the 20 minute mark. I will work on getting more comfortable with meditation. Thanks for the advice!

 

@scrapshat , what you have is clearly TMS: moving and changing symptoms. BTW, sitting meditation is not the only option. I use running, swimming and yoga as meditation. People use dancing, too. Anything that stabilizes you mentally can be used as meditation.

 

@TG957 I have always exercised. Biking and running. I've come to realize that all these years I have been trying too hard to make the pain go away. I am now concentrating on being in the present. Leaving the past behind me and trying real hard to not worry about the future (which is hard for me. Financial, health etc,)
I'm confident that I will beat this, but family members (my wife) are making it hard, because she is science based and can't quite believe that your mind is doing this. It's a constant struggle and this is where a lot of my frustration and anger comes from. Thanks for listening!

 

Physiology of TMS is explained by neuroscience much better than all those 60%-successful surgeries could be explained by modern medicine. It is a cutting edge of science, not a voodoo magic.

Your wife needs to watch this:
and this:
She can also read this: https://www.amazon.com/Brains-Way-Healing-Discoveries-Neuroplasticity/dp/014312837X
and this: https://www.amazon.com/Cure-Journey-into-Science-Mind/dp/0385348177
All the authors above are educated in hard science.

I can also throw in my humble two cents, it describes my own journey from an absolute hard-core skeptic to a convinced follower by way of full recovery from "incurable" CRPS: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0834Q46SM.

You can also remind your wife that lobotomy used to be a "scientifically proven" standard clinical practice for many mental health conditions.

Somebody posted here a quote that says it all: "All truth passes through 3 stages. First it's ridiculed. Second it is violently opposed. Third, it's accepted as being self evident."

 

One more: exercising by itself for purpose of exercising may not be doing it. Exercising with intention to melt anxiety away IS meditation. The same yoga routine that I do sometimes is meditation, sometimes is not. Once you accept that your pain is part of who you are and start focusing on your ability to absorb stress, it will go away naturally, organically.

 

So I have just about the exact same symptoms as the OP however, I was diagnosed with SFN through a skin biopsy a few years ago. Will this be treatable with the methods shown here?

 

I had neuropathy, plus slew of other symptoms, but did not have SFN diagnosis. I did have a bad EMG that pointed at what I was told "irreversible nerve damage". All of my symptoms are gone. I would not get hung up on the actual diagnosis, but rather try mindbody approach. I believe I saw posts from people on this forum who had Lyme diagnosis, yet recovered. You can search this forum on Lyme keyword to see if you can find those posts.

 

@TG957 Thanks again for the additional info!

 

You won’t find a practitioner who offers any of those treatments, or any who have even heard of them. That’s taking your health into your own hands (literally)

 

Have you tried ara? Or pirenzepine? I’ve connected with a few people who have tried ara and are having results.

 

I have tried pirenzepine for my idiopathic PN (not TMS) and had no luck with it. Sunrise is right, there is no Doctor that will treat with anything other then Gabapentin or some other useless medication. Dosage and delivery method apparently are critical for pirenzepine, so that was a complete guess for me, but I tried it for a couple months. Have not heard of ARA, but I'll do some research. As of now, there is no treatment for peripheral neuropathy unfortunately. Folks with buzzing or numbness somewhere in their body that comes on suddenly and without known cause, is likely temporary and TMS related. Long-standing, consistent numbness and tingling (usually in the feet), with failed EMG's is the true disease state...

 

Unless you define long-standing as more than 5-6 months, I would dispute this statement. I had a failed EMG, consistent numbness and tingling in my hands and arms, yet I fully recovered from it, within a few months. I followed a pure TMS route, without any drugs or procedures. As Dr. Weekes said, no matter how long you have been suffering, you can still recover.

 

Yes, I would define long-standing in years, not months. For me it has been 11 years of steady, slow progression numbness in my feet. If the symptoms come and go and move around the body, I suspect TMS, but the disease/condition is very real and millions suffer with this disease...

 

You may want to search for success stories on this forum.

Before you conclude that what you have is a very real disease while assuming that TMS is not a real disease, I suggest that you
a) reconsider your opinion that TMS is not a real disease. It is a very real disease, and millions suffer from it. The difference is in how you approach it: through meds/surgeries or through healing your mind/brain and subsequently healing your body. On this forum, you will find hundreds of stories of successful recovery from this disease which manifested itself in many very debilitating conditions.
b) search Success Stories subforum on keyword "neuropathy" and ask people about duration of their condition prior to recovery. There are many people on this forum who suffered for decades, yet, still recovered.