Day 1 About to start ...

Hello all ... I'll add my tale here as I get ready to start on this process. I've only recently learned of TMS/Dr. Sarno, and have instantly become hopeful.

I've been a long time sufferer of chronic lower back pain, though managed to lick it a few years ago. At the time I attributed it solely having been doing Crossfit for a few months (lots of squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc). Discovering and learning about TMS makes me think that finally get fit was probably having an impact on my anger levels.

After a shoulder injury and then a 2nd child, I stopped doing Crossfit and got out of shape again. Last June I began working out on my own when I felt a pull in my back that has left me in agony since. I've seen 2 chiros, 2 PTs, a neurosurgeon and a pain med specialist.

I've gotten more relieve in the 2 days since reading one of Dr. Sarno's books than I did from all of them. The neurosurgeon finally made me get an MRI which shows a central herniation in the L5-S1, but still nobody can agree on anything. The neurosurgeon says it's physical and the pain med guys says it's probably chemical. The neuro says don't do squats ... the PT tells me to go do squats. I currently have an injection scheduled for 2 weeks from today and I'm already thinking of canceling it.

I have a brother who has sold back surgery instrumentation for 15 years who tells me that nobody really knows what the hell is going on in the back. I can certainly attest to that and so clearly cements in my brain that Sarno is on to something. There's no physical reason, herniation or not, for what I'm feeling.

So a friend recommended Sarno, I've read 2/3 of "Healing Back Pain", did some Googling and found you all ... and here I am.

Cheers all ... I look forward to reading more of this site and sharing my experience.

 

Welcome. I'm a newbie myself. I read Healing Back Pain in a single sitting, on a night when I had just gotten fed up with dealing with my back pain, just a week and a half ago. I woke the next day, and the continuous ache that I had in my lower back was gone. I'm still having pain in certain situations, and also having the pain jump around, which is typical of TMS. But it's been such a relief to have found this forum. The support you get here is amazing. I'm finding Dr. Alan Gordon's TMS recovery program on the wiki to also be very helpful - I've been rigorously journaling and trying to get to the bottom of some of my issues, and I like listening to the recordings from some of his sessions with TMS patients.

I've found on more than one occasion that while posting to this forum, I've had revelations on my feelings and why I've reacted to certain things. Today, I had pain in a spot from surgery 25 years ago, and realized that I've been dealing with emotions from that exact time period, so the pain is kind of a physical memory that is going along with the emotional memories I'm stirring up - TMS is nothing if not creative! Doing the work on the SEP, that you've just started, has been really helpful. There have been some very difficult spots, as I think about things I've tried to forget (repressed!), but as I work through them I've had some amazing insights and I think this is going to help in all aspects of my life, not just in getting rid of the pain. I started this thinking I had no repressed emotions, and wondered how I was supposed to 'work through the emotions', but as I do the program the path is opening up in front of me.

Hope you also have a revealing and helpful journey!