| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| HellNY |
Posted - 07/31/2007 : 07:53:42
Hello All-
I spoke with Dr. Sarno this morning. I will be going there on Monday. At first he was not too keen on it when I told him I was a NYS resident that lived a few hundred miles away, but I told him I was very motivated to go there. And he asked if I would be abel to come down once per week if necessary (I think this is if I need further treatment past the lexture)< I said definitely. Im hardly letting a few hundred miles stand between me and getting better.
So that changed everything and he seemed upbeat about seeing me. So I will be going down. When I told him how I had a discectomy and and artificial disk earlier in the conversation you could tell he was just shaking his head.
I will keep you posted |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| h2oskier25 |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 15:59:21
quote:
Originally posted by Singer_Artist
Beth,
You so often have very helpful and valuable things to say to sufferers on here, including me..Just wanted to say I appreciate that very much..:)
~Karen
Thanks, Karen. That feels good ! 
Beth |
| skizzik |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 15:45:48
Thanx Mark, I may try that.
thanx waterskier, I too was cured by Sarno's book 4 years ago, my latest relapse has been triggered by quite the so called "impressive physical incident" that is a bitch to get past.
Stanfr, tell me more, your'e not close to him either?
|
| stanfr |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 10:08:02
Yeah, Mark's got the right idea--when i called a few weeks back i just left a lengthy message on the machine, and Sarno called me back several days later. |
| MarkD |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 09:46:07
Skizzik,
try calling Dr. Sarno after hours and leaving a detailed message. He will probably call you back. He is an amazing person with an amazing heart. I would be shocked if he didn't call you back. This may be the best way for you to get past his secretary.
Good luck.
|
| Singer_Artist |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 09:36:15
HellNY,
First off I miss NYC! I am sorry you are hurting..Just a reminder..in Sarno's videotapes he specifically tells a man who had back surgery that his post op lingering pain is TMS..
Hugs,
Karen |
| HellNY |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 09:11:28
quote:
Originally posted by shawnsmith
HellNY
Now Dr. Sarno looked you right in the eye and told you that you have TMS. Your brain will tell you otherwise and attempt to fill your with doubts. It is essential - via self talk- to answer back to your brain and deconstruct all of the arugments for having a physical problem it presents before you. This is not easy because the same mind that initiates the pain and leads you to believe that you have a physical problem, is the same mind you will have to use to defeat the pain. There will be a constant tug of war within you as your brain will tell you one thing yet all of your reading and diagnosis from Dr. Sarno will tell you something altogether different. There is a war taking place inside of your for your conscious attention. Your unconscious / repressed emotions VS your physical symptoms. It is up to you which one will win, but make no mistake about it you are in for a fight and your brain will try every vicious trick in the book. Keep up with the daily reading and self- talk.
*******
Sarno-ize it!
Read chapter 4 of Dr. Sarno's "The Divided Mind." It's all you need to know in order to recover.
Thanks Shawn I needed to hear that. What you describes is sort of whaat already happened. I had thing this today where Im like "Ok I can see hwo this pain in my llegs is TMS, but this perineal numbness really seems heavily neorological and was brought on by a certain strecth 2 years ago and I may never get rid oif that."
SEE?!?!
My God you are right. My problem is Im a fairly bright person (dont want to sound arrogant not my intent) and I have LIVED AND BREATHED spinal information for 8 years. I know so much about teh spine its silly. I had 2 minor (endoscopic) and 1 major (artificial disk) surgeries. My "analytic mind" has already deduced "inflammation:" as to why the nerve pain moives around, "hypertrophied ligaments and tendopns' that explains why I get leg pain when I typer, and "collosal scarring curing off teh blood supply to my pudendal nerve."
Another part of my brain believes the artifical disk itself, as a foreign object. is causing more problems. My mind just AUTOMATICALLY GLOMS ON to any sort of physical idea then embellishes it to the point where I have a whoel belief structure in my head...one that makes the most logical sense as "backwards calculated" based on the symptoms. Its horrid.
But I plan on doing evrything I can. Tonight O start the journaling thing. |
| HellNY |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 09:05:34
Well there is one thing that Dr. Sarno said during his lecture that may clarify some of teh debates going on here. He clealry stated that the whole "return to physical activity" thing was a gradual thing, "when you are ready." He specifically stated that if you try to do it all at once, it could "overwhelm your psyche" and I think result in discouragement and setback. The idea was smaller steps. Very much like in Fred Amir's book.
On the other hand, I was a bit dissapointed when I told him I had also read Amir's book and Brady's book, and Sarno felt that those two were "way out there." I thought this was odd because essentially they are spreading Sarno's ideas and, fundamentally, are saying exactly what Sarno is saying excepting some trivial procedural things. |
| shawnsmith |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 09:04:05
HellNY
Now Dr. Sarno looked you right in the eye and told you that you have TMS. Your brain will tell you otherwise and attempt to fill your with doubts. It is essential - via self talk- to answer back to your brain and deconstruct all of the arugments for having a physical problem it presents before you. This is not easy because the same mind that initiates the pain and leads you to believe that you have a physical problem, is the same mind you will have to use to defeat the pain. There will be a constant tug of war within you as your brain will tell you one thing yet all of your reading and diagnosis from Dr. Sarno will tell you something altogether different. There is a war taking place inside of your for your conscious attention. Your unconscious / repressed emotions VS your physical symptoms. It is up to you which one will win, but make no mistake about it you are in for a fight and your brain will try every vicious trick in the book. Keep up with the daily reading and self- talk.
*******
Sarno-ize it!
Read chapter 4 of Dr. Sarno's "The Divided Mind." It's all you need to know in order to recover. |
| Singer_Artist |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 09:03:21
Beth,
You so often have very helpful and valuable things to say to sufferers on here, including me..Just wanted to say I appreciate that very much..:)
~Karen |
| h2oskier25 |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 09:00:22
Skiz,
I could see where it would be frustrating to be so close, and turned away, but this forum is made up of 95% of people who couldn't see Sarno, and have gotten better.
I remember during the beginning of my healing, I thought I HAD to see a TMS DR.
I never did, and I don't have pain now.
Take heart, Skiz,
Beth |
| skizzik |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 04:42:37
Thanx for that hellny. It w/b cool if you could post any other tidbits that you remember as you go on. I hope your recovery is on track now. |
| HellNY |
Posted - 08/07/2007 : 19:39:46
WELL I saw Dr. Sarno in NY City. My experience fell dead center between ShawnSmith's and DianePs descriptions. He did spend almost an hour with me. He did diagnose me with TMS and I did see teh workshop.
I did not have one of those miraculous "one lecture and presto Im cured" but I must say that at one point during the lecture...when he was really hammering hos pain during sitting was conditioned, how it wasnt harmful, I briefly, for a few minutes, felt my feet getting "warm." Ive felt that before...thats hwen blood is flowing to my feet and my nerve pain drops. Its didnt last but I take that as possibel good sign.
I have a lot of work I have to do (home work stuff). He suggested I see a psychotherapist even before we did the workshop. I dont know what I said to make him recommend that but it came right after I told him that I was actually partially aware of the "rage" and not all if it was unconscious.
When I first saw hium he looked so diminutive and old to my eyes, but once he started talking to me I realized this guy was 1000% alive and was the same man I saw in the archived 1999 video from 20/20. Well worth it all. |
| JohnD |
Posted - 08/02/2007 : 19:37:08
HellNY-
Since you are a PhD and probably a very smart person, you are probably very logical by nature and that may possible lead to your thoughts on the conditioning in nervous system of tms etc...
Its been my experience that without analyzation or judgement (like how conditioned it is etc...), just by stepping over that and doing the work of TMS, and other techniques one can achieve way better results than she/he expects |
| skizzik |
Posted - 08/02/2007 : 18:11:48
quote:
Originally posted by JohnD
Skizzik
HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK A PHYSICAL THOUGHT!! now you are doomed to pain for the rest of your life! hahaha jk.....
 hehe |
| HellNY |
Posted - 08/02/2007 : 18:07:58
My artifical disk operation went without incident, but as a possibel TMS patient, you can predict teh results. It seemed to get rid of my right leg S1 pain. But what sjust ouitrageous is that in the months leadiing up to the surgery, I started getting left leg pain as well. Now, since teh surgery, my right leg pain in S1 distribution is gone but now I have l4/5 type distribution pain in my legs. It moves around.
This, coupled with a history of migraine headaches, irritable bowel, heartburn, neack and arm pain, makes me think I have Tension Myositis Syndrome.
To be honest, my main fear at this point is that its so ingarined in my nervous system that it will be difficult to eradicate. On teh other hand, gradual conter-conditioning can extinquish even the most heavily conditioned responses. |
| shawnsmith |
Posted - 08/02/2007 : 16:53:54
Sarno was willing to see me, but that was two years ago. He is 83 and maybe now he is overwhelmed
*******
Sarno-ize it!
Read chapter 4 of Dr. Sarno's "The Divided Mind." It's all you need to know in order to recover. |
| JohnD |
Posted - 08/02/2007 : 16:51:06
Skizzik
HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK A PHYSICAL THOUGHT!! now you are doomed to pain for the rest of your life! hahaha jk..... |
| skizzik |
Posted - 08/02/2007 : 15:36:40
ahhh, good stuff.
In hopes of the others not getting mad about the structural, the artificial disc...do you still have flexibility unlike a fusion? Does it have cushioning capabilities as well as flexible ones? And a fusion recovery can take 6mos for recovery, a yr for full recovery, whats the rehab for a artificial disk? Does your back still have the same pain symptoms or different than b4?
I'm asking out of pure curiosity, not to get it done myself. I think its an interesting phenonmenon. Whether you thought you needed it or not, I suppose it's still essential for severe rare spinal abnormalities (so relax shawnsmith, just inquiring).
Also, you will be a cool inspiration once you're pain free on this board since you've had it done and seem to be accepting the TMS diagnosis. -Thanx |
| HellNY |
Posted - 08/02/2007 : 12:10:21
Im speculating here, but when I always I introduce myself using my professional title, which is Dr. (lastname). I am a Ph.D. Psychologist and a professor, so for whatever its worth, I dont mind using it. They know Im not an MD, but maybe being a "doctor so and so psychologist" helped. But im completely guessing.
The secretary defense shield also insisted at first that where I lived was "not in NY." I firmly but politley said that indeed it was, and that there were several area codes in Upstate NY. I never said how far I was.
Once I got past that defense layer, Dr. Sarno and I talked and he did express concern about the distance. But I told him I was very motivated to go and would be there 1/week if necessary.
Hell, I travelee to Germany for an artificial disk and spent 25K for an operation, only half of which was reimburned. Im hardly going to let a short hop to NYC interfere with my recovery.
|
| skizzik |
Posted - 08/01/2007 : 19:56:44
Thats fine, thanx, but how did you get past the first level of secretary defense sheild? |
