Day 8 My first post and a question

Hey all! I am so glad to finally make a post on this forum. Reading you all has filled me with warmth and support.

I am also reading The Mindbody Prescription and take therapy sessions alongside the Simple Educational Program.

I am convinced I have TMS, and that the roots of my physical issues (major: chronic fatigue, chronic all over body pain, leg pain, back pain, chronic constipation & minor: sinus infection, skin rashes) are in my psyche. Being a writer, I thought I wasn't someone who repressed things. But I caught myself suppressing my emotions, esp anger, so many times since discovering TMS.

Now the only thing I need to figure out is this: In a blood test, my ESR rates came out really high. Around 90 when it should be between 2-20. The doctor said it could be arthritis (he had also said it could be fibromyalgia and CFS a while back) but I never felt like believing it. I am more interested in healing TMS than fighting arthritis through massages. However, that figure 90 hovers in my mind and worries me. If anyone reads this and has a suggestion please let me know. <3

Hope you all are safe in these times.

 

Hello, I am certainly not an expert, but if I am reading the details on your ESR test correctly, it measures inflammation markers. So, your high result basically just says you have inflammation, which makes sense since you have pain. The TMS related question is WHY do you have inflammation. It's kind of like if a doctor took and x-ray of your lower abdomen and said "you have lots of stool, that's the constipation." Again, the question is WHY do you have constipation.

Long story short, I would try not to get hung up on that test. I recovered from CFS (16 months of it) and IBS with constipation (12 years of it) using the program, Dr. Schubiner's work, and Mindbody Prescription. Feel free to message me if you have any concerns, questions, or doubts. Keep up the good work!

 

This is a great response and reminder to look at the "why." I'm excited to see you recovered from CFS because I've been fatigued for over a year myself. What do you mean exactly when you say "the program"? I've been struggling for a long time convinced it's TMS but not seeing any changes. I've also been searching this site for more hope from people who recovered from fatigue specifically.

 

Hi AMarie...I'm referring to the 40 day Structured Education Program (SEP) on the Wiki here. I first learned about TMS/MBS by reading an article from Dr. Schubiner linking it to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (link below - I highly suggest you read it if you have not already). Then, I read Dr. Sarno's Mindbody Prescription, did the SEP, and also read Dr. Schubiner's Unlearn Your Pain.

I started feeling better almost immediately, but it did take me about 6 months to recover my previous weight, strength, and conditioning. I've been on this site for about a year and a half, and I've seen a handful of other people like me, so they are out there. Good luck!

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/unlearn-your-pain/201606/explaining-the-unexplainable-chronic-fatigue-syndrome (Explaining the Unexplainable: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)

 

Thanks for writing back right away. I did read that Schubiner article a while back and it jumpstarted me into realizing this really is TMS. I'm going to do the program. I have a bunch of books, but I'm finding that since they're really specific to pain and not fatigue, I think that it's not translating for me -- just psychologically I'm looking for more writing that is about overcoming TMS in the form of fatigue. Does Unlearn Your Pain get into cfs?

 

Unlearn Your Pain does discuss fatigue and CFS. Fatigue is listed around 25 times in the index. Dr. Schubiner is pretty broad when looking at TMS symptoms and does not focus on muscle pain like Dr. Sarno or others. That said, even Dr. Sarno labeled CFS and other non-pain specific syndromes as TMS in his later work. The first 3rd of Unlearn Your Pain is all about TMS (he generally calls it Mind Body Syndrome [MBS]). It does not have any long sections dedicated to CFS, but it dips into it and all sorts of other different symptoms and disorders. The rest of the book includes a recovery program that I did not do, so I can't vouch for it. I read the book after I did the program here, so it was more just for reinforcement.

I like Dr. Schubiner's take as he looks at TMS as more of a fight or flight stress reaction as opposed to purely about repressed emotions. I think that help explains why symptoms don't always go away once you dig up all of your buried anger/fear/guilt etc. It takes time for your brain to learn that those stressors are not going to kill you, and hence it can calm things down.