PPDA Textbook & Venous Insufficiency - Structural AND TMS?

Hi all,

I am wondering if anyone knows who (pseudonym) Meghan Maguire is in Chapter 2 (A Patient’s Perspective) of the “Psychophysiologic Disorders: Trauma-Informed, Interprofessional Diagnosis and Treatment” textbook by Dr. Clarke, Dr. Schubiner, Dr. Clark-Smith & Dr. Abass. In this Chapter, the author is basically describing my life story (tons of TMS ailments, herniated discs, etc) and I am seeking confirmation around her story.

I have healed almost all of my TMS ailments but I was recently told that I do have a structural abnormality – venous insufficiency. In the Chapter, Meghan discusses how she knows she has her TMS, but she also has venous insufficiency which she treats as a normal issues, as well as endometriosis (something I have also been told I had, but I don’t have the normal/painful symptoms often associated with it and have not pursued treating it). However, what I have always thought was TMS induced pelvic pain, I am now (two years later) being told I actually do have venous failure/reflux and varicose veins occurring in my pelvis which leads to blood pooling and swelling in my lower extremities (along with some IBS, low back aches if I rest too long, unexplained bloating, and can usually be solved by laying down or putting my legs above my head for a while).

For the last six months I have been treating all of this as simple TMS manifestations, and while I no longer have PAIN (or burning, stinging, itchiness and other TMS ailments I used to have), I still have this nagging heaviness and some random discomfort in my pelvis. It does not scare or limit me the way it used to, but it is still there. It does act up on occasion (usually during extensive exercise, sex, or prolonged sitting) which I always thought was a conditioned TMS response as it was never during anything stressful, but the symptoms are truly in line with the physical manifestation of venous reflux…

I think I am just very confused!!! I am wondering if venous insufficiency (where the veins are shown to be very dilated and be refluxing on an MRI/CT) is not just another TMS manifestation? I know many other venous things (like POTS) are considered TMS, so I am struggling here to rectify the conflict my brain is having re: can I have TMS AND a structural concern that should be addressed? And where does one end and the other begin?

I guess this is why I wanted to see if I could connect with Meghan - to see if she did something about the venous issues she mentioned in the PPD text. I am being told that leaving varicose veins can cause issues the longer they are left and will not heal on their own, may cause pregnancy complications, and my parents both suffered from them (not with much issue, but they were also advised to have them removed).

Thank you, all.

 

I know nothing about venous insufficiency, but probably 90% of those who healed successfully had been at some point told that their symptoms were structural. I had pretty serious Raynaud's which spooked my GP enough to send me to a cardiovascular specialist. My Raynaud's is long gone, thanks to meditation and emotional work. It is considered incurable.

 

Hi there,

I appreciate your comment, but I am asking about venous insufficiency specifically and the literal mechanism of blood re fluxing from stretched veins, and if anyone knows if the Meghan is apart of this community.

 

I was not answering that particular question, I was responding to this part of your post:

I am struggling here to rectify the conflict my brain is having re: can I have TMS AND a structural concern that should be addressed? And where does one end and the other begin?
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My point is that, based on experiences of many people on this forum, a lot of symptoms that are labeled structural are in fact TMS. If you are not seeking answers to the questions above, you can disregard my post. Just tried to be helpful to a newcomer.

 

Hi again,

As said, I do appreciate you getting back to me. However, your response still doesn’t answer the question – can people not have TMS as well as a structural issue that should be addressed? Your response suggests that everything in the material or structural realm is still TMS, and I do not agree with that (and neither do most other high end researcher in the TMS/PPDA world, as far as I am aware).

All the TMS specialists speak about ensuring there is no structural cause to your issue before proceeding with TMS approaches. I have proceeded with TMS approaches with great success, but the lingering issues I still have are being very thoroughly identified and explained by specialists as vein failure due to extreme, permanent dilation. Even if it was CAUSED by TMS, it is there now. Does the same not apply for things like a valve failure and other cardiovascular system concerns? We don't just say, "oh, that's TMS" and just ignore treating it conventionally.

As I indicated, all my “traditional” TMS pain/burning/neural symptoms are gone and resolved, so is it not logical to also entertain the idea that there could be something else, too, to explain some other things (i.e. severe swelling, unexplained bloating, the literal presence of blood refluxing on imaging)? Meghan explained and suggested this in Chapter 2, which is why I was hoping to speak to her or someone else with pure venous insufficiency in addition to their TMS and what they did about it (if anything).

 

Curious regarding answer