Day 1 RSI and other pain

I feel so fortunate to have stumbled across this website and forum. My story: I have suffered from plantar fasciitis for 6 or 7 years now and RSI for the last 2. Like all of you, I have seen countless doctors and specialists and neurologists for both of these, had so many blood tests that I am surprised I haven't depleted my supply, have gone to a naturopath, masseuse, acupuncturist, sports doctor, and Pilates instructor, taken dark cherry juice, turmeric, magnesium and other natural supplements to reduce inflammation, had MRIs, x-rays and nerve tests, bought books on how to cure PF, therapy balls, foot rollers, custom and over-the-counter orthotics, new running shoes, slippers, and walking shoes, wore hand splints during the day and hand splints at night, spent countless hours soaking my hands and feet in hot and cold water, wore a walking cast for 3 months on one foot and 2 on the other, slept in rigid foot splints and/or Strasburg socks for a year on each foot, was in physical therapy on and off for a year, took countless non-steroid pills, etc.. I was told to not walk, not use my hands, not exercise, stop doing yoga and let things heal.

In February I was forced to resign from my job because I could no longer walk great distances or type. I went on short term disability and decided to first fully focus on "curing" my feet (leaving my hands for later). I spent 3-4 hours a day doing exercises, stretches, trigger point massage, and going to PT. I had a whole white board where I would track my daily exercises. My pain got way worse. I decided that I must have overdone it and cut back on my daily regiment. But nothing seemed to work. On top of that, all the blood tests came back normal for everything they tested for, hands and feet. The hand EMG test came back negative but they said I had carpal tunnel and RSI. I began PT for my hands. The leg EMG test came back saying I had something (can't remember what) that probably related to a L5 minor disc bulge in my back. This sent me to PT for my back. (I have suffered on and off from back pain for 17 years.) At one point I was doing PT for all 3 ailments at once.

On numerous occasions my husband would find me weeping in frustration and despair. Was I ever going to be able to walk without pain? Go on a hike with my friends? Open a bottle of water without pain? Work again? Recover my active life style? I just couldn't get better no matter what I did. I finally asked my doctor in April if my pain was all in my head or psychosomatic. She said that no, it was real pain but they just didn't know what was causing it. That's when I just decided to take matters into my own hands and started searching the web for people like me. I stumbled on the Harvard RSI website and from there got to this site and Dr. Sarno's books. I just finished reading the Mindbody prescription and have started Healing Back Pain.

This is my first day of reaching out for help and support, not from doctors, but from people like you who have experienced or are experiencing what I am going through. I just can't waste any more of my time and money on PT, doctors, gadgets, supplements, etc.. I want to get better and am ready to try Dr. Sarno's approach. I absolutely believe in the mindbody connection. In fact, my husband just had his 50 birthday and we wanted to celebrate that and our 20th anniversary so we took a 3 week trip with our 2 teen boys to Italy and Greece in late May and early June. I brought all my foot gadgets and a folding stool so I could continue some foot work and would have a stool to sit on when my feet got too painful. On the first day in Italy, my husband reminded me to bring my stool and I said, "I don't want to deal with my feet on vacation. I am going to forget about them and just walk through any pain and ignore it." And I did. Yes, I iced my feet every night but for 3 weeks I didn't bother doing any foot exercises and walked 5-10 miles a day. At the end of my trip my feet were better than they had been in years. This all happened before reading Dr. Sarno's book, so when I read the book, I thought, "Hmmm. This explains why my feet didn't hurt on my trip."

My feet are not entirely cured but they are so much better. I now want to focus on my RSI (typing this is very painful for my fingers, right elbow and right arm). I am really hoping that I can be as successful with my hands as I was with my feet but I don't know how to start. With my feet, I hit a point where I just said. "The heck with this. You aren't going to control my life." I've tried to do that with my hands but it's not as easy. Maybe I should keep working on my feet and not my hands? Maybe it's not a matter of focusing on one area but just on the whole? Any advice from people who have experienced RSI or PF would be so appreciated.

Well, clearly I needed to share my story because I have written a long story here! Thank you for reading it. I look forward to reading more success stories, getting advice and support from this group, and sharing my journey.

 

Hi, Spunky. Welcome to this community of TMS healing. I'm 87 and healed three years ago from severe back pain after
learning about TMS and Dr. Sarno. Journaling on the SDEProgram was the biggest help for me. I discovered that I had been repressing anger and other emotions since I was seven and my parents divorced. You are already feeling less pain after the TMS reading you have been doing. You don't mention any emotions that apparently cause your symptoms. You have just started the SEProgram, so I urge you to begin journaling about repressed emotions. Don't focus on pain. Focus on the emotions causing it.

 

Thank you for your kind response, Walt. Being a newbie to this forum (and to posting on blogs) I mistakenly posted my story in 2 places and have been responding to people's replies to my other posting in the Support Forum. You will see there that I have begun sharing my emotions and you are so true about the importance of focusing on them and about the importance of journaling. While it is difficult to dredge up some of those repressed feelings of rage, sadness and insecurity, it is in many ways cathartic and I know that it is helping to heal me. I also keep finding more and more evidence that points to all my past (and present) pain being related to very stressful events and the emotions surrounding them. I cannot begin to tell you how empowering it feels to know that I am beginning to reconstruct new neuropathways myself! Thank you for your support.

 

Hi again. I sense your enthusiasm and positive vibes. Journaling to bring up unhappy memories can cause some stress, but it's worth it. Balance that with just finding ways to relax and be happy. Have a real nice holiday.