New to the Forum... but not to pain!

Hello everyone, and thanks for creating this community.

I've been dealing with a wide variety of pain for about 18 months that started with a torn rotator cuff. Around the time I was diagnosed I also developed pain in the shoulders, neck, upper arms and back that I attributed to "referred pain" from the torn tendon, but it just didn't feel right.

I had surgery to repair the rotator cuff and initially the other neck and shoulder pains went away. However, during my recovery and PT it did return and a whole lot of anxiety kicked in. Kept thinking I did something to re-tear the tendon. Then my hips, lower back, and legs started hurting. X-rays and MRIs showed severe hip arthritis (one doc asked if I was ever in a car accident!), cervical spine degeneration, and some disk degeneration in the lumbar spine--all of which made me think I was falling apart. More recently developed burning and tingling all the way down to my feet and forearm/hand pain that resembles carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes. Anxiety, stress, and depression have all increased as part of the package.

Numerous injections, gabapentin, meloxicam, and flexiril have done nothing for me.

All bloodwork has come back normal, though I am showing hyperreflexia. Waiting to get an EMG in a few weeks.

I should also mention that for about 8 years I had chronic migraine, but it hasn't been an issue for several years and the headaches have not come back during this onslaught of symptoms.

Oddly, I had been in some of the best physical shape of my life in the couple of years leading up to the rotator cuff injury--dropped about 20 lbs and took my cholesterol level down 40 points, regular hiking, yoga, and meditation made me feel great.

I came to the idea of TMS through the Curable app, and I'm finding I fit into nearly ALL of the personality traits associated with TMS!

Looking forward to joining the conversation and exploring the resources in this space.

 

Probably the only place in the world where we are glad to hear "That's totally average and normal".

From the diagnosis of something 'real' to them discovering new things, to the duration of your pain, once having had migraines that are now gone...ditto, ditto, ditto.

I too was in the best shape of my life when my worst TMS came. ...and it was ALL TMS.

Just an aside, I am an avid baseball fan and 'rotator cuff tears' are blamed for people's poor performance... From following the careers of many players in minutiae like a fan (FANatic) The diagnosis is always made at some time in their playing career when they are under immense pressure...look at Shohei Ohtani right now! With his 'tear' he has no pain and can still throw 95mph and hit a baseball close to 500 feet? Strange injury, huh? No reports of pain...just not feeling great. SCREEECH....near career ender at age 29???

I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with self imposed pressure? Or the fact that he waived off a chance to play for a contender for his crappy team that doesn't have any pitching and relies on him 5000%?
Nahh....blame the physical. so much easier

It's TMS...always has been and always will be

welcome home!

 

Thanks for the encouragement Baseball65.

I’m a baseball fan too—a Mets fan! I’m sure that would trigger symptoms in anybody

 

Jacob DeGrom would be your 'model' then. Imagine being the best Pitcher on Earth and ALL of that pressure and responsibility....physically and financially.
I looked at his career stat line..interesting...all of his 'issues' started around age 30. I don't know what it is about that age, but that is when Men start to really feel the 'call' so to speak... My First TMS melt down started then too

 

So true! My headaches started in my late 30s, not long after my wife and I bought a house, our son was born, and I changed jobs in the span of several months. Then in my 40s it was a torn meniscus in both knees, a rotator cuff tear, and a blown Achilles tendon. Found myself saying “what the hell has happened to me?”

Probably no coincidence that this recent onslaught of symptoms came on as my son was close to graduating high school and then left for college. Guess I have some work to do…