Recovery from MS/MCS/lyme/EBV/mold/lead using Neural Retraining + Sarno

lowella · Sep 14, 2019

Yes, you know it now, but it's not the best idea to do those tests (a lot of people naturally have mold in their urine, and there is zero proof that those tests actually work!) You are doing great and you've seen the progress, so let that keep you moving.
My only advice would be any habits you can get rid of, especially those that don't serve you, would help immensely - I still struggle with mindfulness but instead of yelling at my kids and then feeling guilty, I go hit stuff in the basement.
There are also programs you could check into such as DNRS. Keep us posted, the forums here are great for updates etc.

westb · Sep 14, 2019

lowella said: ↑

Following a hot water pipe burst and 10-day flood event at our historic home while we were in Florida with our family, there was a 6-month cleanup period during which I max’d out my restoration efforts and stress while minimizing sleep. I spent little time with friends and loved ones and accepted little help in the clean-up, as I felt responsible. The day after we sold the “new and improved” version of the house, I started having strange symptoms such as burning fingers/toes, then neuropathy, which quickly escalated to joint pain, random electric jabs etc. This was my body in fight/flight, sending me messages in an effort to protect me from something I couldn’t see. My unconscious brain had gone rogue, but I knew nothing about brain science at that point. All I knew is that it was extremely uncomfortable, and I would have to find a way out for the security of my family.

During the first confusing year, I tried an extremely strict vegan diet (minus nightshades, seeds, legumes, soy, butter, oats, eggs, onions, nuts, meat, etc etc), being informed by many books and websites that was the way to reverse autoimmune disease, as well as all sorts of other techniques from Chinese medicine to $1,000 worth of supplements. I lost 50 pounds off of 170 even while trying to continue workouts. I had muscle wasting and was stuck in bed a few times with dizziness. I had persistent low level viruses such as Epstein-barr, accompanied by anxiety/depression and possibly even some mild paranoia/schizophrenia (now known to be caused by Epstein-barr). It took me a year to realize that my conscious sense of smell had been masked from living in high smells, and any chemical exposure would be detected only by my subconscious, leave me with severe joint pain for several days at a time, in addition to many other symptoms (all falling under the MS - Multiple Sclerosis, umbrella). It is estimated in scientific papers that only 5% of MS patients know that their sense of smell has been masked (note this can be triggers other than smell, like wifi or other unseen triggers when you become sensitive to sensory elements of the environment you’re in).

The only way I figured this out was noticing that anytime I was outdoors, like at our camp for an extended period, I was in remission. This took several weeks away one summer to determine. Then, once I realized the connection to being in remission while away, I was able to think about what was different at work and home. We had moved into a new home with high chemical smells (the same paint I used to fix up the old house where I spent 6 grueling months, in addition to a lot of formaldehyde in our Amish cabinets that we never allowed to vent) but I could no longer smell anything. I had also sprayed mold regularly after the flood in the old house, which is known as a serious biotoxin… but also has a distinct smell. After linking my pain to VOC’s (volatile organic carbons – basically anything that smells, including chemicals and mold), I did mold tests at home and work and outfitted our house with a high velocity air exchanger as well as filters for the rooms, thinking that avoidance was key and we needed to pull chemicals out of the air. I was able to keep my job and get my work done because at work, we have a second building with lower VOC’s and I have a supportive boss. Along the way, I was diagnosed with gout (due to pain in toes), CIRS (mold illness) lyme, PTSD, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, poison ivy (due to rashes), Arsenic/lead poisoning, cyanobacteria poisoning, Sjogren’s disease, and finally, multiple sclerosis (by blood test only, as there would not have been enough evidence of brain lesions by MRI this early on).

My symptom list just during onset included: Blurry eyesight/contrast issues, restless leg, sciatica, tinnitus, neuropathy, burning in extremities, electric shocks, soreness in joints, bruised tailbone, eyelid twitches, temperature deregulation, low sleep (many nightly wake-ups), urticaria (rashes), migraines, Raynaulds, dizziness, dry skin, cramps in hands/feet, lyme “cracks” in joints leading to excruciating pain, inflammation of one foot, and stiffness of joints. The only thing evident on blood tests until the M.S. test was an odd T3/T4 adrenal ratio and the increased viral titers of Epstein-barr. I had many negative experiences at various doctors and truly understand why now. They can’t see into your unconscious brain, where even you can’t see. There are actual biological changes that take place in the brain when this happens, in an effort to protect you – it associates the foreign chemical smells (or other trigger, conscious or unconscious) as bad, and may think there is a tiger (etc) in the room, and warn you appropriately of the danger. This doesn’t only happen with smells. It can happen with any of the senses or pseudo-senses – it has been proven that people can detect wifi waves and become just as sensitive to those as other senses. While I do have to blame some of the methods and procedures the doctors used, they are imperfect by nature - I can’t put a lot of blame on the general doctors as they just tested me and referred me out. Finally, after a few more months of investigating and reading in the evenings, I found that some people were healing their smell issues (and thus, the symptoms that go with it) through neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to change. All chronic pain and disease begins in the brain, and all autoimmune diseases or others can be reversed in the same way. This is of course much easier said than done, but no Jedi mind tricks are involved. Just a willingness to be repetitive, accept your condition and expose yourself to the very things your brain is afraid of while visualizing the best moments you can think of. I spent the next year gradually increasing my tolerance to smells by subjecting myself to higher areas of smell than ever while visualizing (which would cause pain, but it would lessen over time, which helped me know I was improving). I also realized that due to an accident when I was 12 (falling off a ladder at roof level of a 2nd story house, breaking my femur and laying in a pool of paint for 40 minutes trying to get help) - I had "primed" (pun intended) myself for paint smell issues later in life.

Once I worked back my MS symptoms and regained a normal olfactory sense (this took another year), I found myself with a lot of more “normal” chronic pains that roamed, such as plantar fasciitis, carpel tunnel, back pain, stiff neck, knee, hip & ankle pains, and as I healed, lesser things like a tickle in the ear, itching, sore throat etc. I continued reading and found that many people were reversing these by expressing their emotions more regularly. I knew that I was a “repressor” in an effort to keep my issues away from others, that I took on others' issues, being an empath, and that I have perfectionistic tendencies due to childhood events etc. (as well as some abuse). These traits are in our subconscious and make up our personality, which we cannot readily change. As we repress our emotions we are filling a “bucket” that may overflow when under stress and cause chronic pain at some point. This may escalate very quickly to autoimmune and be diagnosed inaccurately as “chronic lyme” or any one of the many other diseases including anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue and ALS. This was detailed by doctors beginning with John Sarno, a back pain specialist, in the 1970’s and was termed TMS (First “Tension Myositis” or a lack of oxygen to a random part of the body, and then changed to “The Mindbody Syndrome” which also fit very well with the TMS acronym).

Throughout my experience, I didn’t feel anything was wrong other than the physical. I didn’t feel much of anything, to be honest. And that is precisely the problem. When your emotions stop, they “clog” the brain and begin to shut down system functions because the energy they create is overwhelming. They ping your pain centers over & over, saying there’s something dangerous in your environment, when there isn’t, and it is exhausting to our systems. When I talk to people now with these problems, I notice they are severely unemotive. One last thing to mention is the power of suggestion on your unconscious brain. Sarno notes that carpel tunnel was ironically not in existence back when people violently moved the typewriter carriage over & over from one side to another. Does anyone remember shin splints? Ulcers? Whiplash? These basically don’t exist today, while they were common a couple decades ago. Where was EDS even a decade ago? It sure seems popular today, with all the ads. Why did I get back pain when I read Sarno’s “healing back pain” books?

It turns out we have a lot more control over pain and disease than we think, and certainly more than we would be led to believe by modern day sources and doctors. It takes some focused, regular work, whether it’s journaling, boxing, or whatever other way you can let your emotions out (anger, sadness, grief, guilt, etc.) and thinking about your life and your own insecurities and perfectionism, but is well worth the effort knowing that you may not need surgery or high powered biologic meds for the rest of your life. My goal is to let people know that this is in their control, and it may just help reduce their pain immensely to think psychologically about what may be bothering them and learn about those personality aspects that may be a bit extreme. We know we blush uncontrollably when embarrassed, we know we get butterflies before public speaking, and yet we won’t acknowledge that pain may be an outcome from strong emotions in the brain. This is an unfortunate disparity. Many people are even aware that pain can be worse when they are going through an emotional difficulty such as loss of a loved one. As an empath, my aim is to redirect my energy and help others as my time allows. Confidence is #1, and I’ve got mine back!
Click to expand...

Wonderful. Thank you. Clear and beautifully written and inspirational as I move forward on my own journey.

Indiana Girl · Sep 14, 2019

lowella said: ↑

Yes, you know it now, but it's not the best idea to do those tests (a lot of people naturally have mold in their urine, and there is zero proof that those tests actually work!) You are doing great and you've seen the progress, so let that keep you moving.
My only advice would be any habits you can get rid of, especially those that don't serve you, would help immensely - I still struggle with mindfulness but instead of yelling at my kids and then feeling guilty, I go hit stuff in the basement.
There are also programs you could check into such as DNRS. Keep us posted, the forums here are great for updates etc.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the reply! I'll keep going

Indiana Girl · Sep 14, 2019

lowella said: ↑

Following a hot water pipe burst and 10-day flood event at our historic home while we were in Florida with our family, there was a 6-month cleanup period during which I max’d out my restoration efforts and stress while minimizing sleep. I spent little time with friends and loved ones and accepted little help in the clean-up, as I felt responsible. The day after we sold the “new and improved” version of the house, I started having strange symptoms such as burning fingers/toes, then neuropathy, which quickly escalated to joint pain, random electric jabs etc. This was my body in fight/flight, sending me messages in an effort to protect me from something I couldn’t see. My unconscious brain had gone rogue, but I knew nothing about brain science at that point. All I knew is that it was extremely uncomfortable, and I would have to find a way out for the security of my family.

During the first confusing year, I tried an extremely strict vegan diet (minus nightshades, seeds, legumes, soy, butter, oats, eggs, onions, nuts, meat, etc etc), being informed by many books and websites that was the way to reverse autoimmune disease, as well as all sorts of other techniques from Chinese medicine to $1,000 worth of supplements. I lost 50 pounds off of 170 even while trying to continue workouts. I had muscle wasting and was stuck in bed a few times with dizziness. I had persistent low level viruses such as Epstein-barr, accompanied by anxiety/depression and possibly even some mild paranoia/schizophrenia (now known to be caused by Epstein-barr). It took me a year to realize that my conscious sense of smell had been masked from living in high smells, and any chemical exposure would be detected only by my subconscious, leave me with severe joint pain for several days at a time, in addition to many other symptoms (all falling under the MS - Multiple Sclerosis, umbrella). It is estimated in scientific papers that only 5% of MS patients know that their sense of smell has been masked (note this can be triggers other than smell, like wifi or other unseen triggers when you become sensitive to sensory elements of the environment you’re in).

The only way I figured this out was noticing that anytime I was outdoors, like at our camp for an extended period, I was in remission. This took several weeks away one summer to determine. Then, once I realized the connection to being in remission while away, I was able to think about what was different at work and home. We had moved into a new home with high chemical smells (the same paint I used to fix up the old house where I spent 6 grueling months, in addition to a lot of formaldehyde in our Amish cabinets that we never allowed to vent) but I could no longer smell anything. I had also sprayed mold regularly after the flood in the old house, which is known as a serious biotoxin… but also has a distinct smell. After linking my pain to VOC’s (volatile organic carbons – basically anything that smells, including chemicals and mold), I did mold tests at home and work and outfitted our house with a high velocity air exchanger as well as filters for the rooms, thinking that avoidance was key and we needed to pull chemicals out of the air. I was able to keep my job and get my work done because at work, we have a second building with lower VOC’s and I have a supportive boss. Along the way, I was diagnosed with gout (due to pain in toes), CIRS (mold illness) lyme, PTSD, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, poison ivy (due to rashes), Arsenic/lead poisoning, cyanobacteria poisoning, Sjogren’s disease, and finally, multiple sclerosis (by blood test only, as there would not have been enough evidence of brain lesions by MRI this early on).

My symptom list just during onset included: Blurry eyesight/contrast issues, restless leg, sciatica, tinnitus, neuropathy, burning in extremities, electric shocks, soreness in joints, bruised tailbone, eyelid twitches, temperature deregulation, low sleep (many nightly wake-ups), urticaria (rashes), migraines, Raynaulds, dizziness, dry skin, cramps in hands/feet, lyme “cracks” in joints leading to excruciating pain, inflammation of one foot, and stiffness of joints. The only thing evident on blood tests until the M.S. test was an odd T3/T4 adrenal ratio and the increased viral titers of Epstein-barr. I had many negative experiences at various doctors and truly understand why now. They can’t see into your unconscious brain, where even you can’t see. There are actual biological changes that take place in the brain when this happens, in an effort to protect you – it associates the foreign chemical smells (or other trigger, conscious or unconscious) as bad, and may think there is a tiger (etc) in the room, and warn you appropriately of the danger. This doesn’t only happen with smells. It can happen with any of the senses or pseudo-senses – it has been proven that people can detect wifi waves and become just as sensitive to those as other senses. While I do have to blame some of the methods and procedures the doctors used, they are imperfect by nature - I can’t put a lot of blame on the general doctors as they just tested me and referred me out. Finally, after a few more months of investigating and reading in the evenings, I found that some people were healing their smell issues (and thus, the symptoms that go with it) through neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to change. All chronic pain and disease begins in the brain, and all autoimmune diseases or others can be reversed in the same way. This is of course much easier said than done, but no Jedi mind tricks are involved. Just a willingness to be repetitive, accept your condition and expose yourself to the very things your brain is afraid of while visualizing the best moments you can think of. I spent the next year gradually increasing my tolerance to smells by subjecting myself to higher areas of smell than ever while visualizing (which would cause pain, but it would lessen over time, which helped me know I was improving). I also realized that due to an accident when I was 12 (falling off a ladder at roof level of a 2nd story house, breaking my femur and laying in a pool of paint for 40 minutes trying to get help) - I had "primed" (pun intended) myself for paint smell issues later in life.

Once I worked back my MS symptoms and regained a normal olfactory sense (this took another year), I found myself with a lot of more “normal” chronic pains that roamed, such as plantar fasciitis, carpel tunnel, back pain, stiff neck, knee, hip & ankle pains, and as I healed, lesser things like a tickle in the ear, itching, sore throat etc. I continued reading and found that many people were reversing these by expressing their emotions more regularly. I knew that I was a “repressor” in an effort to keep my issues away from others, that I took on others' issues, being an empath, and that I have perfectionistic tendencies due to childhood events etc. (as well as some abuse). These traits are in our subconscious and make up our personality, which we cannot readily change. As we repress our emotions we are filling a “bucket” that may overflow when under stress and cause chronic pain at some point. This may escalate very quickly to autoimmune and be diagnosed inaccurately as “chronic lyme” or any one of the many other diseases including anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue and ALS. This was detailed by doctors beginning with John Sarno, a back pain specialist, in the 1970’s and was termed TMS (First “Tension Myositis” or a lack of oxygen to a random part of the body, and then changed to “The Mindbody Syndrome” which also fit very well with the TMS acronym).

Throughout my experience, I didn’t feel anything was wrong other than the physical. I didn’t feel much of anything, to be honest. And that is precisely the problem. When your emotions stop, they “clog” the brain and begin to shut down system functions because the energy they create is overwhelming. They ping your pain centers over & over, saying there’s something dangerous in your environment, when there isn’t, and it is exhausting to our systems. When I talk to people now with these problems, I notice they are severely unemotive. One last thing to mention is the power of suggestion on your unconscious brain. Sarno notes that carpel tunnel was ironically not in existence back when people violently moved the typewriter carriage over & over from one side to another. Does anyone remember shin splints? Ulcers? Whiplash? These basically don’t exist today, while they were common a couple decades ago. Where was EDS even a decade ago? It sure seems popular today, with all the ads. Why did I get back pain when I read Sarno’s “healing back pain” books?

It turns out we have a lot more control over pain and disease than we think, and certainly more than we would be led to believe by modern day sources and doctors. It takes some focused, regular work, whether it’s journaling, boxing, or whatever other way you can let your emotions out (anger, sadness, grief, guilt, etc.) and thinking about your life and your own insecurities and perfectionism, but is well worth the effort knowing that you may not need surgery or high powered biologic meds for the rest of your life. My goal is to let people know that this is in their control, and it may just help reduce their pain immensely to think psychologically about what may be bothering them and learn about those personality aspects that may be a bit extreme. We know we blush uncontrollably when embarrassed, we know we get butterflies before public speaking, and yet we won’t acknowledge that pain may be an outcome from strong emotions in the brain. This is an unfortunate disparity. Many people are even aware that pain can be worse when they are going through an emotional difficulty such as loss of a loved one. As an empath, my aim is to redirect my energy and help others as my time allows. Confidence is #1, and I’ve got mine back!
Click to expand...

Hello Again, I was wondering if you could also say a little more about DNRS. I've recently considered doing a program. But I've also come to really believe in the importance of feeling all the emotions. I have a friend who said its focus is a lot of only feeling "positive" emotions and if im trying to learn to feel it might not be good.
Did you do the whole program or did you just adopt some of the practices (learned elsewhere - wondering if a book exists) when in symptom trigger situations?
I gathered that when you were triggered you would visualize something happy and that's basically the gist of it? Thanks again for your time!

lowella · Feb 6, 2020

Hey IndianaGirl, just seeing this now, sorry. Yes, check into DNRS if you haven't. I did it for 1 year, then found Sarno and realized I had to really work on some personality traits that I hadn't addressed yet. There is a lot more to it than happy thoughts Also let us all know how you're doing sometime if you're not posting updates somewhere here.
Best wishes!

Indiana Girl said: ↑

Hello Again, I was wondering if you could also say a little more about DNRS. I've recently considered doing a program. But I've also come to really believe in the importance of feeling all the emotions. I have a friend who said its focus is a lot of only feeling "positive" emotions and if im trying to learn to feel it might not be good.
Did you do the whole program or did you just adopt some of the practices (learned elsewhere - wondering if a book exists) when in symptom trigger situations?
I gathered that when you were triggered you would visualize something happy and that's basically the gist of it? Thanks again for your time!
Click to expand...

lowella · Dec 4, 2020

Kelly, to me TMS is about embracing and not avoidance. For example, those on gluten go through the rest of their lives with a high degree of frustration and intolerance. Likewise, if a person with mold illness wanted to travel, they would not be able to due to the fear that they could encounter something and ruin their trip. Even a walk in the woods exposes you to plenty of mold. Therefore, I feel it's much better to embrace via TMS so you can get on and enjoy life, as ultimately this is all emotion-based. (It's also extremely expensive to remediate mold). The thing to remember is the "fumes" are only poisonous to you - not everyone else. So the problem isn't a widespread thing and we could ever eradicate any mold population. An effective way to deal with it (assuming you don't have asphyxiation problems etc) is think of it as a smell sensitivity/association in the brain (which is really what it is) and that you can retrain it.

The easy way is not always the right way (and does not usually end up being the easy way, either).

kellywet20 said: ↑

I don’t know why many simply don’t remove the mold, but try to fight it, it is enough to get rid of it and its influence so that you don’t feel bad, you don’t just remove the symptoms, you just delay the time of the influence, because you will feel bad from the influence of mold spores ...
Imagine that they would give you one pill to get rid of the symptoms, and then they suggest just forgetting about the case when you were poisoned by mold, these are poisonous fumes, what would you do? Personally, it's easier for me to buy some Damage Control 911 and forget about everything like a bad dream.
Why don't you just move or make major repairs to recover faster, all the more focusing on other things helps morally.
Click to expand...

lowella · Dec 7, 2020

You can say/do what you'd like, but I don't think this gels with TMS principles to recommend it to other people. Sensitive mind = sensitive body. Not everyone is sensitive to mold. Therefore, you can change your reality of being smell-sensitive. If you cannot stand the smell but your spouse can, the issue is you, I'm sorry to say. There is no proof that I can see of bad chemistry in the body, just different people's reactions to mold, which is held in the brain. I would say it's ok to remediate if sleeping next to mold all night or if it's really thick mold, but if you're worried about spores you can't see etc, you will be sensitive even with a walk in the woods. Let me ask you this, are you healed for some time now? Generally if you have removed the trigger but haven't worked on TMS principles, other issues will remain - which is why I still recommend TMS.

mugwump · Dec 8, 2020

lowella said: ↑

Following a hot water pipe burst and 10-day flood event at our historic home while we were in Florida with our family, there was a 6-month cleanup period during which I max’d out my restoration efforts and stress while minimizing sleep. I spent little time with friends and loved ones and accepted little help in the clean-up, as I felt responsible. The day after we sold the “new and improved” version of the house, I started having strange symptoms such as burning fingers/toes, then neuropathy, which quickly escalated to joint pain, random electric jabs etc. This was my body in fight/flight, sending me messages in an effort to protect me from something I couldn’t see. My unconscious brain had gone rogue, but I knew nothing about brain science at that point. All I knew is that it was extremely uncomfortable, and I would have to find a way out for the security of my family.

During the first confusing year, I tried an extremely strict vegan diet (minus nightshades, seeds, legumes, soy, butter, oats, eggs, onions, nuts, meat, etc etc), being informed by many books and websites that was the way to reverse autoimmune disease, as well as all sorts of other techniques from Chinese medicine to $1,000 worth of supplements. I lost 50 pounds off of 170 even while trying to continue workouts. I had muscle wasting and was stuck in bed a few times with dizziness. I had persistent low level viruses such as Epstein-barr, accompanied by anxiety/depression and possibly even some mild paranoia/schizophrenia (now known to be caused by Epstein-barr). It took me a year to realize that my conscious sense of smell had been masked from living in high smells, and any chemical exposure would be detected only by my subconscious, leave me with severe joint pain for several days at a time, in addition to many other symptoms (all falling under the MS - Multiple Sclerosis, umbrella). It is estimated in scientific papers that only 5% of MS patients know that their sense of smell has been masked (note this can be triggers other than smell, like wifi or other unseen triggers when you become sensitive to sensory elements of the environment you’re in).

The only way I figured this out was noticing that anytime I was outdoors, like at our camp for an extended period, I was in remission. This took several weeks away one summer to determine. Then, once I realized the connection to being in remission while away, I was able to think about what was different at work and home. We had moved into a new home with high chemical smells (the same paint I used to fix up the old house where I spent 6 grueling months, in addition to a lot of formaldehyde in our Amish cabinets that we never allowed to vent) but I could no longer smell anything. I had also sprayed mold regularly after the flood in the old house, which is known as a serious biotoxin… but also has a distinct smell. After linking my pain to VOC’s (volatile organic carbons – basically anything that smells, including chemicals and mold), I did mold tests at home and work and outfitted our house with a high velocity air exchanger as well as filters for the rooms, thinking that avoidance was key and we needed to pull chemicals out of the air. I was able to keep my job and get my work done because at work, we have a second building with lower VOC’s and I have a supportive boss. Along the way, I was diagnosed with gout (due to pain in toes), CIRS (mold illness) lyme, PTSD, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, poison ivy (due to rashes), Arsenic/lead poisoning, cyanobacteria poisoning, Sjogren’s disease, and finally, multiple sclerosis (by blood test only, as there would not have been enough evidence of brain lesions by MRI this early on).

My symptom list just during onset included: Blurry eyesight/contrast issues, restless leg, sciatica, tinnitus, neuropathy, burning in extremities, electric shocks, soreness in joints, bruised tailbone, eyelid twitches, temperature deregulation, low sleep (many nightly wake-ups), urticaria (rashes), migraines, Raynaulds, dizziness, dry skin, cramps in hands/feet, lyme “cracks” in joints leading to excruciating pain, inflammation of one foot, and stiffness of joints. The only thing evident on blood tests until the M.S. test was an odd T3/T4 adrenal ratio and the increased viral titers of Epstein-barr. I had many negative experiences at various doctors and truly understand why now. They can’t see into your unconscious brain, where even you can’t see. There are actual biological changes that take place in the brain when this happens, in an effort to protect you – it associates the foreign chemical smells (or other trigger, conscious or unconscious) as bad, and may think there is a tiger (etc) in the room, and warn you appropriately of the danger. This doesn’t only happen with smells. It can happen with any of the senses or pseudo-senses – it has been proven that people can detect wifi waves and become just as sensitive to those as other senses. While I do have to blame some of the methods and procedures the doctors used, they are imperfect by nature - I can’t put a lot of blame on the general doctors as they just tested me and referred me out. Finally, after a few more months of investigating and reading in the evenings, I found that some people were healing their smell issues (and thus, the symptoms that go with it) through neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to change. All chronic pain and disease begins in the brain, and all autoimmune diseases or others can be reversed in the same way. This is of course much easier said than done, but no Jedi mind tricks are involved. Just a willingness to be repetitive, accept your condition and expose yourself to the very things your brain is afraid of while visualizing the best moments you can think of. I spent the next year gradually increasing my tolerance to smells by subjecting myself to higher areas of smell than ever while visualizing (which would cause pain, but it would lessen over time, which helped me know I was improving). I also realized that due to an accident when I was 12 (falling off a ladder at roof level of a 2nd story house, breaking my femur and laying in a pool of paint for 40 minutes trying to get help) - I had "primed" (pun intended) myself for paint smell issues later in life.

Once I worked back my MS symptoms and regained a normal olfactory sense (this took another year), I found myself with a lot of more “normal” chronic pains that roamed, such as plantar fasciitis, carpel tunnel, back pain, stiff neck, knee, hip & ankle pains, and as I healed, lesser things like a tickle in the ear, itching, sore throat etc. I continued reading and found that many people were reversing these by expressing their emotions more regularly. I knew that I was a “repressor” in an effort to keep my issues away from others, that I took on others' issues, being an empath, and that I have perfectionistic tendencies due to childhood events etc. (as well as some abuse). These traits are in our subconscious and make up our personality, which we cannot readily change. As we repress our emotions we are filling a “bucket” that may overflow when under stress and cause chronic pain at some point. This may escalate very quickly to autoimmune and be diagnosed inaccurately as “chronic lyme” or any one of the many other diseases including anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue and ALS. This was detailed by doctors beginning with John Sarno, a back pain specialist, in the 1970’s and was termed TMS (First “Tension Myositis” or a lack of oxygen to a random part of the body, and then changed to “The Mindbody Syndrome” which also fit very well with the TMS acronym).

Throughout my experience, I didn’t feel anything was wrong other than the physical. I didn’t feel much of anything, to be honest. And that is precisely the problem. When your emotions stop, they “clog” the brain and begin to shut down system functions because the energy they create is overwhelming. They ping your pain centers over & over, saying there’s something dangerous in your environment, when there isn’t, and it is exhausting to our systems. When I talk to people now with these problems, I notice they are severely unemotive. One last thing to mention is the power of suggestion on your unconscious brain. Sarno notes that carpel tunnel was ironically not in existence back when people violently moved the typewriter carriage over & over from one side to another. Does anyone remember shin splints? Ulcers? Whiplash? These basically don’t exist today, while they were common a couple decades ago. Where was EDS even a decade ago? It sure seems popular today, with all the ads. Why did I get back pain when I read Sarno’s “healing back pain” books?

It turns out we have a lot more control over pain and disease than we think, and certainly more than we would be led to believe by modern day sources and doctors. It takes some focused, regular work, whether it’s journaling, boxing, or whatever other way you can let your emotions out (anger, sadness, grief, guilt, etc.) and thinking about your life and your own insecurities and perfectionism, but is well worth the effort knowing that you may not need surgery or high powered biologic meds for the rest of your life. My goal is to let people know that this is in their control, and it may just help reduce their pain immensely to think psychologically about what may be bothering them and learn about those personality aspects that may be a bit extreme. We know we blush uncontrollably when embarrassed, we know we get butterflies before public speaking, and yet we won’t acknowledge that pain may be an outcome from strong emotions in the brain. This is an unfortunate disparity. Many people are even aware that pain can be worse when they are going through an emotional difficulty such as loss of a loved one. As an empath, my aim is to redirect my energy and help others as my time allows. Confidence is #1, and I’ve got mine back!
Click to expand...

This is indeed a nice story! I really love reading it and congratulations!

Wishfulthinking · Apr 1, 2023

lowella said: ↑

Following a hot water pipe burst and 10-day flood event at our historic home while we were in Florida with our family, there was a 6-month cleanup period during which I max’d out my restoration efforts and stress while minimizing sleep. I spent little time with friends and loved ones and accepted little help in the clean-up, as I felt responsible. The day after we sold the “new and improved” version of the house, I started having strange symptoms such as burning fingers/toes, then neuropathy, which quickly escalated to joint pain, random electric jabs etc. This was my body in fight/flight, sending me messages in an effort to protect me from something I couldn’t see. My unconscious brain had gone rogue, but I knew nothing about brain science at that point. All I knew is that it was extremely uncomfortable, and I would have to find a way out for the security of my family.

During the first confusing year, I tried an extremely strict vegan diet (minus nightshades, seeds, legumes, soy, butter, oats, eggs, onions, nuts, meat, etc etc), being informed by many books and websites that was the way to reverse autoimmune disease, as well as all sorts of other techniques from Chinese medicine to $1,000 worth of supplements. I lost 50 pounds off of 170 even while trying to continue workouts. I had muscle wasting and was stuck in bed a few times with dizziness. I had persistent low level viruses such as Epstein-barr, accompanied by anxiety/depression and possibly even some mild paranoia/schizophrenia (now known to be caused by Epstein-barr). It took me a year to realize that my conscious sense of smell had been masked from living in high smells, and any chemical exposure would be detected only by my subconscious, leave me with severe joint pain for several days at a time, in addition to many other symptoms (all falling under the MS - Multiple Sclerosis, umbrella). It is estimated in scientific papers that only 5% of MS patients know that their sense of smell has been masked (note this can be triggers other than smell, like wifi or other unseen triggers when you become sensitive to sensory elements of the environment you’re in).

The only way I figured this out was noticing that anytime I was outdoors, like at our camp for an extended period, I was in remission. This took several weeks away one summer to determine. Then, once I realized the connection to being in remission while away, I was able to think about what was different at work and home. We had moved into a new home with high chemical smells (the same paint I used to fix up the old house where I spent 6 grueling months, in addition to a lot of formaldehyde in our Amish cabinets that we never allowed to vent) but I could no longer smell anything. I had also sprayed mold regularly after the flood in the old house, which is known as a serious biotoxin… but also has a distinct smell. After linking my pain to VOC’s (volatile organic carbons – basically anything that smells, including chemicals and mold), I did mold tests at home and work and outfitted our house with a high velocity air exchanger as well as filters for the rooms, thinking that avoidance was key and we needed to pull chemicals out of the air. I was able to keep my job and get my work done because at work, we have a second building with lower VOC’s and I have a supportive boss. Along the way, I was diagnosed with gout (due to pain in toes), CIRS (mold illness) lyme, PTSD, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, poison ivy (due to rashes), Arsenic/lead poisoning, cyanobacteria poisoning, Sjogren’s disease, and finally, multiple sclerosis (by blood test only, as there would not have been enough evidence of brain lesions by MRI this early on).

My symptom list just during onset included: Blurry eyesight/contrast issues, restless leg, sciatica, tinnitus, neuropathy, burning in extremities, electric shocks, soreness in joints, bruised tailbone, eyelid twitches, temperature deregulation, low sleep (many nightly wake-ups), urticaria (rashes), migraines, Raynaulds, dizziness, dry skin, cramps in hands/feet, lyme “cracks” in joints leading to excruciating pain, inflammation of one foot, and stiffness of joints. The only thing evident on blood tests until the M.S. test was an odd T3/T4 adrenal ratio and the increased viral titers of Epstein-barr. I had many negative experiences at various doctors and truly understand why now. They can’t see into your unconscious brain, where even you can’t see. There are actual biological changes that take place in the brain when this happens, in an effort to protect you – it associates the foreign chemical smells (or other trigger, conscious or unconscious) as bad, and may think there is a tiger (etc) in the room, and warn you appropriately of the danger. This doesn’t only happen with smells. It can happen with any of the senses or pseudo-senses – it has been proven that people can detect wifi waves and become just as sensitive to those as other senses. While I do have to blame some of the methods and procedures the doctors used, they are imperfect by nature - I can’t put a lot of blame on the general doctors as they just tested me and referred me out. Finally, after a few more months of investigating and reading in the evenings, I found that some people were healing their smell issues (and thus, the symptoms that go with it) through neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to change. All chronic pain and disease begins in the brain, and all autoimmune diseases or others can be reversed in the same way. This is of course much easier said than done, but no Jedi mind tricks are involved. Just a willingness to be repetitive, accept your condition and expose yourself to the very things your brain is afraid of while visualizing the best moments you can think of. I spent the next year gradually increasing my tolerance to smells by subjecting myself to higher areas of smell than ever while visualizing (which would cause pain, but it would lessen over time, which helped me know I was improving). I also realized that due to an accident when I was 12 (falling off a ladder at roof level of a 2nd story house, breaking my femur and laying in a pool of paint for 40 minutes trying to get help) - I had "primed" (pun intended) myself for paint smell issues later in life.

Once I worked back my MS symptoms and regained a normal olfactory sense (this took another year), I found myself with a lot of more “normal” chronic pains that roamed, such as plantar fasciitis, carpel tunnel, back pain, stiff neck, knee, hip & ankle pains, and as I healed, lesser things like a tickle in the ear, itching, sore throat etc. I continued reading and found that many people were reversing these by expressing their emotions more regularly. I knew that I was a “repressor” in an effort to keep my issues away from others, that I took on others' issues, being an empath, and that I have perfectionistic tendencies due to childhood events etc. (as well as some abuse). These traits are in our subconscious and make up our personality, which we cannot readily change. As we repress our emotions we are filling a “bucket” that may overflow when under stress and cause chronic pain at some point. This may escalate very quickly to autoimmune and be diagnosed inaccurately as “chronic lyme” or any one of the many other diseases including anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue and ALS. This was detailed by doctors beginning with John Sarno, a back pain specialist, in the 1970’s and was termed TMS (First “Tension Myositis” or a lack of oxygen to a random part of the body, and then changed to “The Mindbody Syndrome” which also fit very well with the TMS acronym).

Throughout my experience, I didn’t feel anything was wrong other than the physical. I didn’t feel much of anything, to be honest. And that is precisely the problem. When your emotions stop, they “clog” the brain and begin to shut down system functions because the energy they create is overwhelming. They ping your pain centers over & over, saying there’s something dangerous in your environment, when there isn’t, and it is exhausting to our systems. When I talk to people now with these problems, I notice they are severely unemotive. One last thing to mention is the power of suggestion on your unconscious brain. Sarno notes that carpel tunnel was ironically not in existence back when people violently moved the typewriter carriage over & over from one side to another. Does anyone remember shin splints? Ulcers? Whiplash? These basically don’t exist today, while they were common a couple decades ago. Where was EDS even a decade ago? It sure seems popular today, with all the ads. Why did I get back pain when I read Sarno’s “healing back pain” books?

It turns out we have a lot more control over pain and disease than we think, and certainly more than we would be led to believe by modern day sources and doctors. It takes some focused, regular work, whether it’s journaling, boxing, or whatever other way you can let your emotions out (anger, sadness, grief, guilt, etc.) and thinking about your life and your own insecurities and perfectionism, but is well worth the effort knowing that you may not need surgery or high powered biologic meds for the rest of your life. My goal is to let people know that this is in their control, and it may just help reduce their pain immensely to think psychologically about what may be bothering them and learn about those personality aspects that may be a bit extreme. We know we blush uncontrollably when embarrassed, we know we get butterflies before public speaking, and yet we won’t acknowledge that pain may be an outcome from strong emotions in the brain. This is an unfortunate disparity. Many people are even aware that pain can be worse when they are going through an emotional difficulty such as loss of a loved one. As an empath, my aim is to redirect my energy and help others as my time allows. Confidence is #1, and I’ve got mine back!
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My gosh! I really needed this. Your story has given me so much hope. I’m currently experiencing MS symptoms and have a pending MRI. I am scared for my life. Reading your story has allowed me to take a deep breath and stay optimistic and determined about my future. Thank you!!!

Just curious, what blood test was done to confirm you MS diagnosis?

lowella · Apr 2, 2023

None! This was my problem with blood tests: "While there is no definitive blood test for MS, blood tests can rule out other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of MS, including lupus erythematosis, Sjogren's, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, some infections, and rare hereditary diseases." (top line in google) They were not able to verify any others, and my doctor who is one of the top autoimmune guys insisted that after 3 years of none of the other things, it had to be that, and the next test would be to watch for brain lesions within a couple more years. That was right about the time I found all the solutions and worked my way back. You can do this!!!

JanAtheCPA · Apr 3, 2023

Gosh, @lowella, apparentlyI wasn't active enough in the summer of 2019 to congratulate and thank you back then on your story - it's wonderful when anyone takes the time and effort to give the gift of success to the rest of the community, and your story is a terrific example of the twists and turns and ups and downs and blind alleys and diagnosis misdirection - in other words the non-linear journey that occurs in this work. Your response yesterday is so fascinating, because it speaks to the complexity, and even the chicken-vs-egg nature of physiological diagnoses.

Thank you for your continued participation!

~Jan

PS - just in case someone is wondering, one of your older responses quoted someone whose posts are gone - that's because they posted a second time with a hyperlink to the product, clearly marking them as a spammer - and poof!

lowella · Apr 5, 2023

Thank you, Jan! Although I don't participate a lot, I truly appreciate your encouragement and your role and efforts here!

theacrobat · Apr 10, 2023

That’s an amazing story! I’m glad you’re well now.

Five doctors, an osteopath and an acupuncturist all thought I had autoimmune disease (crohn’s, AS or celiac, they couldn’t agree). Click on my profile if you want the full story. I went down the extreme diet road too and wound up on 1000 calories per day of mushrooms, cucumbers and almond milk. One doctor told me I was ‘the worst autoimmune patient I have ever seen.’ But I was never diagnosed by a specialist, so it was not ‘official.’ This may sew a seed of doubt as to whether the Sarno method can work for autoimmune, but because you were diagnosed that might be more convincing. I’m writing a book about my recovery and am trying to show some success stories from people who used the mindbody method to treat autoimmune diseases. It was hard for me to make the leap from Sarno and chronic pain treatment to what I had. Success stories like yours could make all the difference and save a lot of unnecessary suffering.

Can I use your success story post in my book?

You can remain pseudonymous or anonymous – all I need is a yes.

Btw, I agree with you that ALS is probably caused by the unconscious. It killed my dad.

theacrobat · Oct 11, 2023

With your permission @lowella this success story is included in my recently released book, The Mind Solution: Healing TMS Pain with Doctor Sarno, about my recovery from various symptoms. Thanks! Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFZ9DGGF

JanAtheCPA · Oct 16, 2023

theacrobat said: ↑

Btw, I agree with you that ALS is probably caused by the unconscious. It killed my dad.
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And Dr Gabor Mate would agree with you. I believe that ALS is his first topic/case study in When The Body Says NO.

theacrobat · Oct 17, 2023

JanAtheCPA said: ↑

And Dr Gabor Mate would agree with you. I believe that ALS is his first topic/case study in When The Body Says NO.
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Yes that is referenced in The Mind Solution!

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