pai

Hello, I'm new here and so pleased to have found this site. I'll get started on it properly tomorrow. I hope I can make some new friends. Ten months ago I suffered an annular tear in l3/4. I have been lying down pretty much since then but I have read tthe two John sarno books and the Great Pain Deception and where as three months ago I would have denied it I am sure this is the right path, not quite sure how to get started though. The thing is that just at the moment I cannot give up my tramadol, I only have four a day but will have to wean myself off gradually. They have helped the pain so much. Will I not begin to recover while takin them? The problem is they have other effects besides stopping the pain, they are antidepressant as well. I had a ruptured appendix in June and the back pain went away for three weeks. I have got a leg problem though which I think is physical. I've lost a lot of my left quad muscles and they twitch and hurt but that has been going on for 5years now and als has been ruled out. Of course my leg has got weaker still with the inactivity. I am 66 and female but until last January I was walking 4/5 miles several times a week. Lots of trauma and loss in my life but won't go into that now. I love it that you are so positive, I've only read some of the posts as yet but they really inspired me.
Paddipaws

 

The best way to get started is to gather the information on TMS. The more you know, the better you are... up to a point, then it begins to become information overload as everyone has a different opinion that will confuse you. Stick to the basics of TMS and Dr. Sarno, if you are going to try TMS healing.

You can begin to recover while on meds. They are an emotional safety net for many people. Begin TMS healing and prepare to ween yourself off, slowly. But only with medical supervision.

Your ruptured appendix was your new obsession, or replacement for your back pain, that's why your pain left. That's a good indicator you have TMS.

Your past trauma has a lot to do with your TMS, but you can heal. There's work to do, so get going and come back and tell everyone how you're doing.

Steve

 

Thanks Steve
The ruptured appendix was not really an obsession in fact it affected me much less than this back pain, actually it's bodywide pain now. The appendix hurt like hell and I realised I could have died from peritonitis yet I recovered from it quite quickly. I thought I was better all better and it had been causing referred pain, or that the antibiotics had cleared up my back pain as well. I walked a mile and a hakf today, it was freezing and I hurt but I kept going - should I do this. Akso, I was wondering if some of my aches and pains are simply old age?
I've sent for that book you recommended 'HealingBack and Neck Pain '. There is so much information on this site though.

Paddi

 

Hi, paddipaws. Welcome to the TMSWiki family.
Steve is giving you the best advice. You've already read the Sarno books and Steve's, so more could be overload and confusing.
He's right that different people have different techniques for healing.
Do Sarno's 12 Daily Reminders, but don't spend more than a half hour on them.
Journaling can be a great way to learn what repressed emotions you have.
You may not think you have even one, but they're there. Something new or similar may have triggered them to give you pain.
You say you've had lots of traumas and loss in your life. That'll do it. But you an make peace with all that and yourself.
Just remember, you're a great guy. If you had a dog, it would know that.

Be sure to get your doctor's advice before slowing down or getting off the medication. He'll tell you how do it the safe way.

 

Paddi,
I can empathize with your situation. I was taking 8 tramadol per day and had been for about 15 years when I first learned about TMS. Shortly after that I spent a week entirely pain free for the first time in 20 years (I had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia). At that point I felt like I needed to wean myself off the tramadol, but had similar concerns about the pain coming back and about becoming depressed. I am tramadol-free now, but it was a challenging process and it should be done under the supervision of a doctor. I am glad I did it, but I haven't been 100% pain free since--more like 75-80%--and I did increase the anti-depressant I was taking as my mood did plummet without the tramadol. However, I feel like I'll get to 100% pain free again as I continue to do the TMS healing work, and that I'm better able to access my emotions now than I was when I was on tramadol. And that is both a good thing and a challenge.

Whether or not to stop taking medication is a very individualized decision that only you can make in consultation with a trusted physician. But whatever decision you make, you are on the right path by delving into TMS healing and participating in this forum.

Best wishes and welcome to the forum.

 

Hi. Ellen. Congratulations on being off of Tramadol. I don't know what it is, but I'm glad you got your doctor's advice in going off of it.
I would expect some symptoms to remain, to some degree, such as depression. I'm not a doctor so I won't post like one, but Dr. Sarno, Steve Ozanich, Dr. Brady and others said fibromyalgia is another symptom caused by TMS. Just keep working on those repressed emotions. I takes time and healing time can be different for different people.

I bet it feels great to be off of any medication. Be on positive thinking and deep breathing, medication, and enjoying every minute of every day.

Enjoy every person or pet in your life. Forget that they may not be perfect and may be causing you pain. Love them for "the good times."
They're probably in TMS pain too. (Not your dog or cat, because God loved them so much He didn't give them TMS. Unless they have it but we don;t know it.

I know what you mean about being better able to relate to your emotions since being off medication. I was on Librium years ago, after an
anxiety attack. My roommate said I was like a zombie. (I hate zombie movies or books). I got back to living when I got a new job, even though I hated the big company I worked for. I dragged myself to work for three years and then quit. I began doing what I love (freelance writer of books) and am still at it after 40 years and 40 books (a list is at www.walteroleksybooks.com and and at amazon.com books under Walter G. Oleksy.

I am not a religious nut but believe one of the main reasons I am free of pain is, besides knowing about Dr. Sarno, is knowing God loves mes.
He takes me as I am, pain and all. Warts and all. Imperfections and all. Mortgage and credit card debt and all. Gray hair and 83 years of not
being as good as my dog thinks I am.

Hooray! Happy Day!

My mother told me, at age 94, "I have some arthritis pain, but life is sweet!"

Life IS sweet. Everyone reading this post, believe it.

 

Welcome to the forum, paddipaws. It's a wonderful place.

 

Wow, 15 years! I was taking 4 Tramadol a day (200mg) during the summer and I thought that was extreme. So pleased to hear you have weaned off of these, Ellen. You have made massive progress. I was taking a cocktail of drugs actually but this was the one drug I was intent to lose from my daily dosing before any other. I agree that the one thing that made it difficult for me was fear of the pain increasing. I was fortunate that I had been taking drugs for such a short period of time so it was much easier for me to taper off than someone who has been taking them for a much longer period. I am down to just the odd non-aspirin pain reliever or ibuprofen each day.

Paddipaws, I wasn't aware that Tramadol was an anti-depressant. As time goes on and you get to know people on the forum even if only in a virtual sense, perhaps you will feel less isolated and more able to cope with less medication. However as Ellen says, make sure you consult with your doctor.

 

yb44,
Thanks for reminding me how far I've come. It's easy to forget that and focus on the small amount of residual pain left and the occasional flare up.

Even with all that tramadol, I still had pain because I wasn't treating the underlying cause. I have a small fraction of the pain now and am completely drug free--this TMS healing stuff really works...but it is hard work at times.

 

You're a real inspiration. Almost all pain gone and off of medication.
I agree, believing 100 percent in TMS is not easy but it works!

I feel so lucky that I learned about TMS, a year ago, from a nurse friend in Hawaii.
I became free of pain and whenever any symptom arises, I tell myself it's caused by
a repressed emotion and it goes away.

Stay with your routine. It's working great for you.