How I healed from a myriad of symptoms

Hello! The article is indeed available to me where I’m from in the U.S.; perhaps this similar article will be available outside of my country? Let me know!: https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2019/08/03/rewiring-the-brain-to-get-out-of-pain-the-moskowitz-approach/ (Rewiring the Brain to Get Out of Pain: the Moskowitz Approach - Health Rising)

 

Yep, that link is okay here in the UK; well found!

 

I’m glad it works for you!

Neuroplasticity is such a freeing concept and it helped me make so many positive changes to my overall life, including healing from various symptoms. That said, I do wish to be transparent with people about the fact that I am far from perfect. Sometimes it’s easy to read success stories where the author never came back to the forums and assume they’re on top of the world and/or immune to the mind-body connection because they “know better” now.

I would hate for anyone to walk away from this thread and feel defeated because they think I’ve reached some sort of “mind-body self-actualization.” NO WAY. A guru I am NOT. I’m still struggling like any human being who has been given the privilege of being alive and I have to remind myself to embrace life and its struggles, even when I’m so resistant to what’s going on around me at times.

While physical symptoms no longer plague me, I’m focusing more on emotional symptoms these days. I live alone and although I have fantastic friends in my city and family nearby, coping with uncertainty and boredom (the latter has always been a gateway to depression for me) in 2020 has been hard. Gratitude overwhelms me when I think about how I’ve been able to keep my job and flat, but I’ve had to remind myself that feeling bad sometimes doesn’t mean I’m ungrateful or undeserving.

We are all doing our best right now. And overcoming your symptoms today doesn’t mean you have to be perfect to avoid intolerable symptoms in the future. You can still go through difficult situations without having a total relapse; this was something I worried about all the time in 2018. Ultimately, this may be a time when quite a few people are feeling like disappointments or just disappointed in other things. So much is up in the air and out of our control in 2020, and we all know that can lead to TMS/the mind-body connection acting up. From a personal standpoint, even with everything going on, I can happily report that I have not once felt like I couldn’t hold a cell phone, touch a pencil, drink a glass of champagne on my birthday, etc. without unbearable pain.

 

Waaaww your story is incredible you are an inspiration. I also have POTS and I was wondering what advice you could give me to overcome it and no fear it?
Thanks you

 

Hi, @Amina.84! I hope you’re doing well. Did you have a tilt table test or other labs when diagnosed with POTS? When did it start appearing and what was the identified root cause? When do your symptoms wax and wane?

 

yes I did the tilt test. I don't know if I had POTS at that time but I started having dizziness 10 years ago shortly after my mom had health issues and shortly after emotional shock ( men tried to enter in my university room in the middle of the night while I was alone) but it was 3 years ago following a difficult divorce that I felt my heart beat faster when I get up and have developed several other symptoms.
Sorry for my bad english lol

 

Your English is great - please don't apologize or worry.

I haven't been diagnosed with POTS, but I do have dysautonomia from Ehlers-Danlos. You know what makes it go from manageable to completely unmanageable, with constant nerve pain, limbs that change colors, tachycardia, feeling dizzy after standing up, etc.? Powerful emotions, especially stress!

There are definitely many dysautonomia success stories, including experiences that involved POTS. Were you ever formally diagnosed, or do you just see a lot of the symptoms in your day-to-day life?

 

Just want to remind everyone to keep going, no matter how bleak it may seem. I used to feel guilty when people remarked that I seem so “chipper,” “happy,” and in possession of a “great temperament.” None of those compliments rang true at the time and the guilt was immense. But things truly can get better.

 

Dude thanks i really needed to read all this, i am hypermovile, all my life but was not to two years ago that started to become an issue for me, i was told to almost dont do nothing, idk if i have any kind of EDS for a time, i was thinking that that could be my issue, but now with TMS everything else started to makes sence, i`m still on my jorney but you really give hopes thanks

 

@emporeon027, were you diagnosed with EDS, or are you hypermobile but unsure if you meet the EDS criteria? Apparently, hypermobility is a spectrum. Either way, I’m glad my story gives you hope, and let us know if you have any questions, need support, achieve success, etc.!

 

Hey @Dorado,

Thanks for all the help and support you're providing here - incredibly useful to us on that healing journey.

Long story short: I've healed from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) after doing the work and my god, did the symptoms move around after that! First, it was allodynia on my back and torso, then it was fatigue and now finally, I have dry mouth and eyes. This is the one that I've stalled at for so long (around 6-7 months), simply because it has power over my ability to move past it as TMS (I don't believe it is TMS).

I've had all the tests for what was suspected Sjorgren's but all were negative (minus the lip biopsy) but when you take into account I'm male and 30 years old, the likelihood after factoring that all in, is very low. Moreover, I notice that both dry eye and mouth have a relation to the shut down of the parasympathetic nervous system, i.e. freaking the f*** out all the time! Even on top of that, the timing is suspect - one condition after another in quick succession? Give me a break, brain!

I see in your symptom list that you noted dry eyes and mouth too - can you give me some reassurance here about what you experienced there and any advice you have to help move past this?

Many thanks, Dorado.

 

i meed some of the criteria, may doc was kinda sure that i have EDS Tipe III, where being hypermovile becomes an issue, but i did martial arts almost all my life, i dind get hurt there, not was to spend two years with out it (i was a swimmer as well) that istarted to get injury all the time, painds and SRI, i only have an scoleosis just 14°, but i got a lot of symptoms, TMS Symptoms, that has almost complete gone. I only deal with pains in the leg and some times in the S,I joints and sometimes Tinnitus, i started this jorney just two months ago the good news its that all my RSI (the quervain symdrom) gone, and when the pain cames i tell it that its just TMS and then its back, but that doesnt work with my leg pain jajaja, still i try to think psicological but not so sure how yet, you just give a lot of hope thanks.

 

Hey Dorado.

I’ve something in common in terms of our sexuality, however I am gay, and you’re not. But has libido been of any issue for you due to stress/anxiety/mind body connection? We’ve spoken before on the thread - I have/had numerous symptoms relating to nervous system sensitisation.

I’ve struggled with libido, and erections ever since I was 21. Now I’m 28, after suffering 5 years of intense symptoms from my mental health breakdown (kicked off by a panic attack), now more than ever I have literally zero desire nor can I obtain or sustain meaningful erection. I know the cause, but I’ve changed the way I’m reacting to all these annoying symptoms. Have you suffered from this, if so, has it returned?

 

“I’ve something in common in terms of our sexuality, however I am gay, and you’re not.” Ah, okay - let me clarify a few things.

I’ve tried to be more anonymous on these forums. For that reason, I have not corrected people when they got this wrong, but I’m seeing more questions tied to these topics pop up, so I feel the need to be clear: I’m a [cisgender] woman, not a man. I have zero experience with erectile dysfunction, and gay means something different to me than a gay man. Going forward, I don't think I can talk about sexuality or hormones in a meaningful way without clarifying this. I actually used to mention being a female in my older posts and it's not news to some people who knew me when I first joined TMS Wiki, but I'm now finding both men and women messaging me or responding to me with questions specific to their experiences. For what it's worth, I'm bisexual.

Bottom line: I think denying my sexuality caused some periods of hyper sexuality, as opposed to zero desire. Cymbalta withdrawal also weirdly caused this for a time, although I'll be honest - it wasn't as distressing for me and I sort of accepted it until It calmed down. So I had a different experience from you, but that doesn't mean what you're experiencing isn't TMS/the mind-body connection.

The fact that you're specifically mentioning being gay (and you mentioned that you thought I was not) makes me wonder if that at all ties into you're experiencing, even to a small degree? My orientation certainly did for me. You also said, "We've something in common." Are you comfortable with your sexuality? Do you feel any added pressure from others because you're gay? I've definitely had gay friends - both male and female - talk about the expectations placed on them once they came out, and I can certainly relate to that as well.

I'm sorry I can't speak to your exact situation, but I have indeed had mind-body symptoms affect my sexuality, although it was more extreme hyper sexuality after denial and feeling rejected over my orientation, as well as Cymbalta withdrawal. Interestingly enough, a lot of people experience ED, spontaneous orgasms, no sex drive, extremely high sex drive, etc. after antidepressant withdrawal - further speaking to how greatly symptoms can vary, regardless of the cause.

 

I think EDS causes genuine dysautonomia and mast cell activation for me, BUT it’s livable and often not even noticeable until I deal with heightened emotions. I stopped doing the fun circus tricks that my friends loved back in high school and college because I recognize that they’re terrible for my joints. I’m also aware of how to avoid subluxations and dislocations. Beyond that, I just focus on managing my emotions.

What kinds of injuries were you dealing with? Breaks, sprains, subluxations, discolations, etc.? I can put an entire yoga class the shame, but now I get that I probably shouldn’t bend to the point that my shoulder is nearly popping out. But I’m not concerned when my fingers start hurting after a day of typing - that’s just STRESS.

I’m at a point where I know my body well enough to get what’s structural versus what’s not. This took a lot of time and, quite frankly, some soul searching and self-honesty. And I stay the hell off EDS forums.

Are you reading EDS horror stories? Do any of your injuries continue to hurt even after you’ve healed? Do any of these injuries include no actual diagnosable breaks, sprains, etc., but just pain?

 

I did have severely dry eyes, but through the approach I took described in this thread - recognizing it for what it was (a mind-body symptom) and managing my emotions - it went away! Sometimes my eyes feel itchy if I’m stressed out, but I don’t let it bother me.

I remember thinking I was going blind because the dryness eventually caused blurry vision. I’ve got 20/16 vision and am definitely not going blind!

Same goes for the dry mouth. If I’m drinking enough fluids, there’s no reason for me to have such symptoms, and I automatically shrug it off now. I can't even tell you how quickly it goes away... because I'm thinking about other things and then sometimes randomly realize the insatiable thirst has vanished completely.

 

This is a great success story. Congrats on your accomplishment!

 

Oh boy, just found your post and so uplifted, wows many of the things i have been dealing with for seven years
In a bleak place

 

It sounds like you just had some bad neural pathways that needed fixing. Why not just take a pill or have surgery for that?


Of course, I'M KIDDING!! Hope you didn't mind!! I couldn't resist.

Seriously, I really enjoyed reading your story and found it inspiring and insightful! I always get a great deal from reading your posts and really look forward to reading more in the future!