The TMS has returned

It's been a pretty long while since i have been on here to post. As of last Feb I started having tight squeezing at the base of my sternum. It came on at work during a very stressful week and it hasn't really left, it's gone down but it hasn't gone away completely. I'm doing the TMS work once again because I can tell there is fear associated with the pain. Some days I am confident this is just TMS again but other days not so much because I spat very light pink. This could be a coincidence since I am working on healing my gums, I have gingivitis. I am trying to resolve the gum issues and since I finally have a job with insurance I have been to the dentist for deep cleanings. Still it's a work in progress and I am trying to be diligent about it.

Neither symptoms happens at the same time always but sometimes they do. So this has me a bit worried. Anyway I am making an appointment with a GI to rule out anything gastric. Id rather deal with healing my gums and be able to take my mind off of the gastric issues and treat them like TMS.

7 years back I had an endoscopy, that found nothing, not even inflammation or irritation, which was wild because I had what felt to me like really intense pain and unbearable squeezing. I was sure it would be an ulcer but no, nothing.

Since I am not new to TMS I will list that there have been stressors for sure. New job and being reviewed for the position. I love the job, I am finally making a livable wage but as you know the pressure of work, and worry and etc that comes with performance evals. Second, I live in a fairly rural place now, and it can be isolating at times. The weather can make that worse. My wife struggles with being here at times and I feel guilty sometimes for bringing us to this place. The place isnt horrible she's just hasn't built community as fast as I have. Then there have been some deaths in the family over the span of a year, I would think that in itself would be TMS in the gas tank.

I feel like I need to relearn some things here.

 

Sorry that pain is arising again for you but I am glad that you have found your way back here.

It sounds like you have a great foundation for this and have identified some stressors - big ones in fact: new job, moving to a new place, performance evaluation, deaths in the family. These are all fuel for the TMS fire and it makes a lot of sense why a symptom would be arriving again.

Also, the fact it came on during a really stressful week is a great indicator of TMS - a recent symptom of mine came on during a silent retreat where I felt in fight/flight for the whole time. Took a while to be fully confident that it was TMS (I had to see a doctor friend who said it is fine) but once I did the pain dissipated pretty fast. I am happy to hear that you are going to a GI to rule stuff out - nothing better for the confidence and removal of doubt.

And the fact that you had nothing on an endoscopy 7 years ago for the same symptom also shouts out TMS - hello pain as a distraction from the raging inner conflict!

For the relearning process, I recommend diving back into the structured educational program - it is especially good for fear of symptoms which you mentioned here and is just overall a fantastic, free resource.

 

Does this occur after you've eaten a meal that contains fats (it can be hours afterwards)? If so, as part of your medical clearance before assuming it's TMS, I suggest considering having an ultrasound to see if you have gallstones, if you haven't already done so. The gallbladder can give this kind of tight squeezing feeling when it's pumping out bile (and pressing against the stones) to digest fats in food. Gallstone pain is usually described as being on one's right hand side under the ribs, but my GP said that it's actually more often in the region of the base of the sternum which is where I get my gallstones discomfort and pain (squeezing etc).

I've had gallstones that seemingly started to 'grumble' way back in 1998. I was offered surgery at that time, but by the time I'd got to the top of the waiting list (on our National Health Service; I'm a Brit) the symptoms had subsided, so I declined. Some people have gallstones and never know it as they never have symptoms and never need surgery. And, of course, my symptoms back in 1998 may actually have been TMS and the gallstones just an 'incidental finding'. However, now, after 27 years, the squeezing pain at the base of my sternum occurs after every time I eat a meal with moderate and sometimes even low fat content (and my gallstone has gone from being just 10mm to 35mm and is lodged in the 'neck' area of my gallbladder like an ill fitting cork in a bottle) so, unfortunately, I'm heading down the surgery route, as following a low fat diet no longer keeps my symptoms at bay.