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At the end of my rope with sciatica / piriformis syndrome

Discussion in 'General Discussion Subforum' started by Recursion, Apr 25, 2025 at 1:38 AM.

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  1. Recursion

    Recursion Newcomer

    I've been fighting sciatica / piriformis syndrome symptoms for the last 6 months and was doing well during the day but not so well at night. A couple of weeks ago the pain started ramping way up at night and some during the day, and now I can't sleep more than an hour at a time without having to get up and walk around for 1-2 hours. I'm starting to lose my mind from sleeping 3 hours a night and the increased day pain.

    I know it is TMS (I have 30 years of experience with a litany of manifestations) but I think I need some meds to get me over the hump of pain so I can sleep and think clearly. Without meds I can no longer use psychological strategies (Sarno and Claire Weekes based). I got some weak muscle relaxant from the urgent care place yesterday and it barely helped.

    This past week has been hell. I'm afraid I'm going to lose my job or give into suicidal thoughts if I don't make progress in the next few days.

    I've found this forum and the old TMS help one very useful over the years and really appreciate everyone in this community. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

    Thanks so much!
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
    Recursion, Apr 25, 2025 at 1:38 AM
    #1
  2. Baseball65

    Baseball65 Beloved Grand Eagle

    There is nothing wrong with taking meds. Period. BUT just be mindful ahead of time that most good sleeping help stuff might agitate your depression. I Still occasionally take something, and I have been pain free a long time. Not sleeping messes with the whole thing. But the morning after I gotta hammer some extra nuclear coffee to get going.

    This is all about us taking back control. Just like with the meds, when you know consciously what you are doing, it gives us a sense of agency and we tend to get UN-depressed.

    You are right when you say you've been fighting, but Re: The real fight is the time we sit and have a contest of wills with the pain . Sarno even called it as such in the back of Mindbody Prescription.

    I went through some really dark stuff last year and can sympathize with the suicidal thoughts thing....A Bro from this forum called me and just getting to unload with someone who 'got it' was the turning point. If you ever just need someone to talk to, PM me and I will send you my contact stuff... I always have time for People with this shit.

    peace
     
    Baseball65, Apr 25, 2025 at 8:46 AM
    #2
    JanAtheCPA likes this.
  3. Recursion

    Recursion Newcomer

    Thanks so much Baseball65! Your message is very helpful and heartfelt. I especially appreciate the offer to talk. You are very generous with your time. (I've read countless posts of yours over the years.)
     
    Recursion, Apr 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM
    #3
  4. JanAtheCPA

    JanAtheCPA Beloved Grand Eagle

    Hi @Recursion and welcome.
    My question is whether you ever did the Structured Educational Program? We know that TMS Knowledge alone is quite powerful, but the number of people like yourself who are experiencing intractable symptoms after years or decades of successful management, is fairly significant from my point of view. There could be different reasons for this, starting with the obvious one, which is the universal unconscious repression that occurs with our awareness and fear of aging. On top of that, for anyone paying attention, is the inevitable, but still often unconscious, fear connected with the frightening uncertainty of the times. Because if there is one thing that we humans desperately want to avoid, it's uncertainty. Uncertainty, of course, is at the heart of our fear of mortality, right?

    My personal struggle at age 74, as I enter my last couple of decades (if I'm as long-lived as the other women in my family) is with both of these things. Aging and mortality alone are hard enough to face with equanimity... top that off with uncertainty and discouragement over the state of the world, and I have to be overwhelmingly grateful for my TMS tools.

    Which brings me back to the SEP. The purpose of the program is to incorporate what Dr Sarno teaches us about repressed emotions and to give us the tools to acknowledge what we're repressing and to find self-acceptance and equanimity alongside that acknowledgement.
     
    JanAtheCPA, Apr 25, 2025 at 3:21 PM
    #4

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