why me

been struggling with numbness that began in one foot, then foot drop, and now have complete numbness in both legs. have read Sarno's books, and i am currently working the program - struggling as i am not seeing results as quickly as i would like - and my ego gets in the way thinking all of this is due to a structural problem (t9/t10 herniation).

Some days i am strong and breathe through my doubts - other days i think i am going to permenately damage my body...

journaling a lot, breathing deeply, recognizing past stress. any encouragement and help is greatly appreciated.

 

I'll try to put your mind at ease. I have lots of pain issues as a result of TMS. I also have FIVE thoracic herniations as a result of an auto crash. Other than at the time of the accident, and for about 1.5 years afterwards, I've NEVER had any thoracic disk pain. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about rushing success. You won't be better tomorrow, but you'll probably be better by Labor Day.

 

music321 - thank you so much. I so need to hear about someone similar. My Dr.'s keep calling and think I am crazy for trying alternative treatments. I am going to breathe deeply and just live my life...

 

Hi dawnn,

Welcome to the forums! Glad you found us and TMS healing! Without knowing the specifics of your situation it definitely sounds like your symptoms are likely to be TMS...as a PT i'm familiar with this so feel free to ask any questions. A herniation of T9-10 is in your trunk and definitely would not begin with foot drop (nerves that control the foot are L4-5ish) or cause complete numbness in your legs slowly over time unless there was a serious impingement to your entire spinal cord....and trust me the doctors would have caught that as it is SUPER RARE! Read Sarno and other TMS books, ask anything you want on here and work on strengthening your belief that your symptoms do not correlate with the "structural abnormality" to help convince your brain that you really have TMS.

 

thank you so much for reaching out. I have a "significant buldge" and the very TMS thing about all of this is from what I understand some sort of Trama would have to cause what is happening, and no such thing has occurred.

Since I last wrote I am beginning to have more mobility, pulling my foot up a bit more, strength is coming. It is a slow process, and struggling to walk has been humbling, but I am convinced more and more each day that this is TMS.

Do you think I will need physical therapy to help me to learn to walk unassisted again, or one morning am I just going to wake up and this is all going to be over?

 

Wonderful! I'm glad you've been making progress with your strength and mobility. You don't have to have experienced severe trauma to get TMS. I never had any traumatic incidents in my adulthood or childhood yet still got it! Many on this forum are similar. It is simply repressed rage and other emotions, as well as stress and personality traits that can cause it...so many reasons. Everyone gets some kinds of TMS, it is truly a universal experience in this modern world.

In terms of your progress...TMS healing does take time. If your symptoms are all TMS they could eventually clear up without PT. However it sounds like you have some significant mobility impairments. I have actually worked with people who have what they call in the field "conversion disorder" (this is just a bad case of TMS, where it significantly affects your mobility). The cause for the loss of strength and mobility is truly just TMS but PT can actually help them to get more confident with moving and walking while the strength is returning. You'd need a good PT who understood this concept and could help you in conjunction with "thinking psychologically" and using TMS/psychological methods to get the strength back, rather than thinking of doing exercises to heal.

My approach with this patient I mentioned was to mostly help her do functional tasks like walking, standing and balance and get her more confident. She was working with a psychologist to address the emotional causes of her TMS/conversion (basically her TMS mimicked a stroke). This patient had great success with the multidisciplinary approach and was walking unassisted without a cane last time I saw her! So it depends what you're comfortable with.

Let me know if you have questions on that long answer