Symptoms after tooth extraction and TMS

Hi. I'm new to this forum, though I first heard of Dr. Sarno and TMS several years ago. I'm convinced that a lot of what I've experienced over the years can be attributed to TMS, though I have other non-TMS health issues.

I wrote a post earlier that I think may have been poorly communicated due to some anxiety I am experiencing right now. I decided it would be best to edit it and try to start over later when I am in a better frame of mind since this is my first post here, and I don't want to get off on the wrong foot.

I have benefited greatly from Dr. Sarno's work and from reading the forums here before. I look forward to discussion in the very near future.

 

Hi @Louise D
It sounds like you have a LOT of anxiety happening right now.
Please stop and take a breath.
Do you have any favorite self-care tactics to calm down? Warm bath, meditation, slow breathing… anything? These would be great to do.
You are so worried about what is going on with your teeth, you are missing what is REALLY happening. Your anxiety is simply provoking the fight or flight response because it is convinced something is “wrong”. Stop and think about what the professional, who is very experienced has said to you.. healing can take 6-8 weeks.
That is not tms.
TMS is a chronic, long term symptom or set of symptoms which are pervasive after 3 or more months without any structural cause.
Your pain is the direct result of a dental procedure. It simply seems like something more because your mind is making it more.
To truly understand what TMS is, I suggest you read a book by Dr. Sarno. For now, simply follow your Dr.’s orders and find a way to calm yourself from the panic, and anxiety.
I suggest you observe the anxiety, accept when it comes and goes. Let it be. If you find it hard to calm down, Claire Weekes books can be of great help. There are audios of her reading her books on youtube “hope and help for your nerves” addresses anxiety. She has such helpful advice and a calm demeanor.
What do you enjoy doing? Riding Ferris wheels? Clog dancing? A good movie? A loud rock band.. GO DO IT this weekend! Go have fun!

 

Cactusflower, I wrote a reply, and then decided to edit my original post and delete the reply. I did not communicate myself well due to my current state of anxiety and think that may have led to misunderstanding where I am coming from and my history with TMS. I will try not to write when I'm upset again so I don't miscommunicate. Thank you for your encouragement!

 

People who have tms also get normal
Pain.
The difference is once again, long term chronic pain vs true medical stuff.
The great thing is, it doesn’t much matter - tms “work” helps the anxiety around the pain.
Take a look at the two free programs on this site that guide you through the real work of TMS self-treatment. They are free, and will take you back through the work of inner stressors, fear etc. to get you through this
I suggest seriously looking into treatment for your dental fears. I also have had dental fear, but suffer from a fear of weather that is getting phobic. Pretty soon I need to get some EMDR help to conquer it. Bad weather and I have a relapse.. but I try and recognize a relapse and do the work I need to do to calm my nervous system and deal with the emotions that trigger.

 

It can certainly be part of the issue to learn to distinguish TMS from non-TMS issues. I did read Dr. Sarno's books several years ago. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to go back and re-read them and give myself a bit of a refresher course. I discovered Dr. Sarno when I was experiencing TMS in the form of pelvic pain. It was such a relief when all the light bulbs starting going on. When I think of all the time and money wasted on health care professionals, so much PT, extended suffering, and more, I wish I had discovered what was really going on sooner. I think for those of us who know we have dealt with TMS in the past, it must always be a consideration when something new arises that is surrounded by similar issues with emotion in our lives at the time as well as surrounding the situations that immediately precede the onset of symptoms. If we always had to wait 90 days to even begin to recognize what is at the heart of the issue, much time would be wasted in getting to resolution. I do understand that people without a history of TMS might need to wait that long to look through other causes and proper testing before concluding that TMS is at the heart of things.

I have spoken with a counselor at length about my dental phobia. In my case it is related to complex-PTSD. The complex-PTSD is the result of childhood abuse followed by an abusive marriage. I am now out of that marriage, but complex-PTSD is a difficult issue. It was a specialty of my counselor (who recently retired). We used to discuss EMDR as an option, but there continue to be situations in my life involving my adult children that keep me in a place where EMDR would not be wise. I won't be able to explain it all here, but in a nutshell, according to her (and she's the expert), it is not wise to use EMDR unless the person is in a relatively "safe" place in their mind. I'm not doing it justice, but basically if there are still traumatizing things going on, EMDR can do more harm than good. She was resolutely of the mind that the stress level in my current relationships (though there is no abuse) disqualifies me for EMDR at this time. Of course, I am not going to distance myself from my children. They also experienced abuse at the hands of my ex-husband, their father, and I will not leave them to deal with their issues alone. So often in life, there are just no good answers. Now that my children are no longer minors and my ex-husband can't force himself on them or me, I am in a place where I am finally able to face the phobia and simply take it along with me and force myself to go to the dentist. I did, however, recently have an unsettling experience at the oral surgeon's the day my teeth were extracted, as well as another very emotional life event the same week, and they brought my emotions, including fear and anger into play just when I needed to be healing. I have no doubt that what is going on right now is more than strictly physical or just non-TMS garden-variety anxiety. I was not able to communicate all of this yesterday. It was certainly the wrong moment to choose to post. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

@Louise D I, too, have complex PTSD and have found very helpful lately the work of Dr. Nicole LePera. She calls herself the holistic psychologist and is on all social media. I discovered her on Twitter where her posts kind of blew me away. She explains C-PTSD and it's effects better than anyone I've read on the topic. She's also on Instagram and has a podcast called the Self-Healer's Soundboard. Her book is a NYT bestseller called "How to do the Work" and is excellent also.

You have a lot going on and I hope you are able to get the support you need to get through it.

 

Ellen, thank you so much for commenting and sharing that. I have not heard of Dr. LePera. I will look her up for sure. Thank you!