Sudden - unexplained flare-up

Today, I had an almost pain free day. This morning I went for a hard cycling session with my husband. He went to work, I stayed home till I went to my parents house for Christmas Eve lunch. My husband came at 1pm. We all had lunch, laughed and ate well. We left around 4pm. Got home, had a friend over for coffee, showered, ate and we chilled in front of the tv. ALL of a sudden out of nowhere my hips starts burning, my thigh starts aching, and glutes are hurting. I was half asleep, why would this just suddenly happen..

 

It is Christmas Eve. It is perhaps the most 'pain-body' impregnated day of the year for a lot of people. I am surprised there aren't a LOT more posts like yours. That's a good place to start.

 

Just wanted to chime in and say that nearly the same thing happened to me today.
Had a nice day, everything was chill and suddenly i got hit with a flare with no prior warning.
Just wanted to say you're not alone.

 

Agree with you, so true. Would love to hear other people’s thoughts too.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

The way TMS works--this rundown of your day doesn't provide the details to figure out what's going on (most importantly, for you! but for us as well, since you're asking). It makes logical sense to think about what happened today when pains and aches show up.

But, the aching thighs and hurting glutes are there to keep you away from the stressful stuff, the repressed emotions, the past hurts, anger, the triggers that come up during high-expectation days like holidays.

Instead of looking at the activities and nice times you had today, take a look under the hood for the difficult stuff that's being pushed down...Journaling and getting it out on paper could be helpful.
Best in getting past this!!

 

I think that just the thing or the reason I am confused by these flare-ups… I can’t pin point what is triggering it. I journal, reflect, self-assess, and I just don’t get it. I think I am having trouble accepting that I am at that point in my life where stuff apparently bothers me to such an extent (sub-consciously) that I get pain in my body. I truly understand TMS, I understand where pain comes from, but what could possibly be so worrisome on a normal day that I flare-up.
My chronic pain comes from an injury a few years ago, overuse, overtraining, overthinking combined with stress, so I get it, I need to retrain my brain, that I am safe. I just don’t see what I am clearly not seeing. Just thinking out loud. Not expecting a solution or anything..

Thanks for taking the time to respond

 

There ya go!
“overuse, overtraining,” no!
Your chronic pain comes from the perfectionistic thinking in the form of self-pressures that creates overuse and overtraining. The pushing oneself beyond your limits, the physical tension created by a rigid mindset of what you must do to attain goals etc. (I know, I’ve been there!)
My TMS coach is a competitive rider and this is pretty much where she has every flair. Focusing on enjoying her ride, having 0 expected outcomes, not subtly looking for pain after rides (sometimes we aren’t aware when we do this), being aware and feeling disappointments, patting yourself on the back even for the smallest victories (in TMS and in sport) and not worrying or focusing on the sensations of using your body vigorously (not interpreting those sensations as being TMS symptoms, but viewing them simply as a body well worked) is how she has overcome many TMS things around her riding.
Are you pressuring yourself to “figure out” your triggers? One thing Jessica had me stop doing is figuring anything out. Instead replace it by kindness, compassion and knowing that things are temporary. You might enjoy her blog: https://www.thepfathlete.com/blog (The Pain Free Athlete)

 

It's likely to be all to do with what @Cactusflower has mentioned in her imo excellent reply to you above. (I have to say that when I read about your 'normal' day... it sounded very demanding to me!) Anyway, other than that, my suggestion is to look for things that as an adult you don't like but put up with or have to accept or do (or not do) because 'that's what adults do' to be polite and amenable and socially acceptable... stuff that would likely be annoying and enraging to your inner child who actually wants to throw a tantrum and chuck her toys out of the pram. These things are likely to be or to include irritations that are petty and small and therefore 'unreasonable' that you 'shouldn't' as an adult be angry about. Even just small irritations and annoyances can cause the TMSing brain to create big symptoms.

 

Definitely not unexplained! I’ve been running around yesterday and today visiting friends and family. Holidays can be fun but too much! I know the constant hustle and bustle enrages me because I sure feel it. The best thing we can do is to take extra care of ourselves this week and being kind to ourselves.

 

TMS is like that. It just appears. Sometimes—especially—when I’m falling asleep or during sleep, I think the subconscious has free rein. And out come the symptoms. For me, TMS is a mixture of what am I angry about (plenty!) and anxiety and getting my body to calm down from being strung out on adrenaline for so long. This takes a lot of time and patience to fix.

yes! I had a tough day. My symptoms have been on an upgraded warpath for a week. And today, in front of my family my TMS brain wanted to shut me down. I mean, can’t walk at all. The good news is, I’m getting much better at literally commanding it to stop. I defy it with everything I have. And it’s working. Do the symptoms leave? No. But I AM able to walk somehow. Not pretty. But I’m moving. I think the idea is to show your TMS you are going to persist. Through anything.

 

This is one of those things I should read every day! Thanks so much, Jan!

 

Elaine- you're not alone- I had a flare start yesterday and into today. Baseball's right about Christmas and today's my birthday so that all makes sense! I was about to start writing/journaling and thought, I'll pop in here and voila! Here's a discussion that I needed to read!
Thanks everyone.

 

I suggest going back here:
https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/day-1.28922/ (Day 1)

That was just 6 weeks ago or so, and you describe researching the mind-body syndrome for close to 2 years. With that in mind, give yourself a break--you've done lot of work and reflection--you may even be right at the edge of letting go of these current symptoms.
Look back on the discoveries you made when you were working on the SEP. What parts of that really made sense for you? What practices nailed it for you personally?
There are also many good suggestions above, including the very clear way @JanAtheCPA describes 'reflective journaling'.

Also, trying to identify what exactly is causing the pain is obviously frustrating b/c you can't get there. But, that frustration over not being able to figure it out--and that it's ridiculous that the pain is even there because life is good right now--might be perpetuating the symptoms.

What if it's not really what is going on on this normal day that is driving your symptoms? What if it's something buried or repressed or difficult to accept--and that there's been a cup filling up within you, and that cup was just over-filled? Or, something today reminded you about something you weren't even consciously thinking about? Some folks even struggle when things are going really good (for various reasons--it's too good; there's guilt there; crazy perfectionism where it was to be not just really good, but perfect.)

 

it is very kind of you to actually take the time to go and look into something i have written and reminding me of it. Because I tend to forget that I have made some progress. 2 years ago I couldn’t sit (not even on a soft couch) I couldn’t sleep. Now I can function, I can ride my bike again, walk, etc. but I am never without pain, burning, stabbing, aching, it’s always there, as with most people suffering from TMS. Most days I can manage it and my thinking around it, but other days it overwhelms me, and that is where the spiral begins…. The what ifs, the why me, the how long still, the FEAR takes over. However, I must be truthful, I don’t consistently journal, I start, it goes well, but then life happens, and I stop. I have only myself to blame.

 

Happy very very belated Christmas. How are you doing?

 

Thanks for this x like i said in my reply to @Bonnard I haven’t yet created a healthy lasting habit of journaling - this really inspired me to go at it again.

 

@Diana-M so relieved to hear someone else also has pain during sleep, before or just waking up. Not that I wish this on anyone, but does make me feel not so alone. I am always like, “how can I possibly have pain in the middle of the night”, aren’t I suppose to be relaxed. Clearly not. Thanks for sharing