why I think urinary urgency is the worst TMS problem

after years of dealing with and getting over various chronic pain problems, I have a theory why urinary urgency is the worst of all of them, ....and why my brain has settled on this symptom to perpetuate my TMS crisis.

because you HAVE to interact with the physical symptom.

you can't ignore it because you have to use the bathroom...and in my case I have to decide how often. When it's not bothering me I go every 60-120 minutes (always have). When it IS bothering me I feel like I have to go again immediately after being in the bathroom. So I can't tell when to go again. If I go, there's momentary relief but then the irritation comes back in minutes, starting a new cycle. So I constantly have to choose between the more frequent trips and momentary relief, or letting it build up over an hour to extreme discomfort just on principle or something.

with my shoulder pains, it was (for me) basically constant. granted it was hard to ignore, but I wasn't being forced to interact it with it by a) making a decision when to pee and b) creating an ebb and flow to the cycle of the symptom through my own activity (of going at a certain time).

 

I've had UU and it can be a pain in the azz, or elsewhere. It's gone now and I don't give it a thought anymore. I'm sure I've advised you about taking some meds like Flomax for females. The meds helped me control the symptoms and with time it faded to the point that I now look forward to pulling over to the side of the road under a tree to commune with nature while facing downwind. If you search my posts about it here and at the TMS HELP site I've written about my UU dribblings. Did you get any symptomatic relief from female Flomax meds?

 

I've tried at least two medications. one made my face hurt in a nasty way, like pain around my eyes. the other one did nothing, bad or good. hesitant to keep trying meds....but then again suicide is nasty

 

I'd keep trying the meds, maybe you can find one that will help with the symptoms. I've heard that women have taken men's Flomax off-label. Just having it in the glove box helped banish the anxiety.

But if it's TMS, and you "cure" it symptomatically, but haven't accepted that it was TMS and started thinking psychologically, dealing with the emotional dynamics causing it, you may just get a symptom substitution, morphing into the next distraction.

 

I take Oxybutynin for my urgent bladder. I have heard some who didn't like it, but it works for my sister and me.

 

I think we could have quite a contest on the Forum for "worst TMS problem".

I believe for the most part, our unconscious brain delivers an individually-designed "worst TMS problem". It is the symptom that will be the hardest for us to ignore, especially when the symptom imperative is at work. For me the worst TMS symptom I had was insomnia, and I've had many. It took longer for me to treat because I had a harder time getting to a place of outcome independence. This is, unfortunately, how TMS works.

 

Lol, true enough!

 

These symptoms were called interstitial cystitis 25 years ago and I had hellacious treatments with DMSO instilled into my bladder numerous times to burn away the bladder lining so a new lining could heal. No one put 2+2 together re Mindbody for years.
I was given 10 and then 20 mg baclofen with excellent results. I want to be off the meds but have learned from older, wiser folks to take my time. There is no destination with TMS. It's truly One Day at a Time.
I felt suicidal at the peak of pain.
I avoided lemons, tomatoes, sparkling water. The only food I haven't reintegrated are tomatoes - they cause fear. The last awful relapse I had was after eating my own homemade lasagna and I still remember walking with my husband in a store with tears streaming down my face.
The less fear, the less tension. I hope you are using the new program Alan has put together. I find the video demonstration incredibly healing.
Take care! Breathe a lot. Meditate with unceasing regularity. Laugh and breathe some more!
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