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 Help! What does this all mean? Is this still TMS?
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abundance72

Australia
37 Posts

Posted - 03/23/2014 :  20:30:27  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi everyone I haven't been to the board in awhile I have been still experiencing back pain throughout especially thoracic, I also get lower back and more recently been getting left arm (deltoid) pain and now slight tingling in left pinkie and ring finger. Doctor ordered me a cervical MRI to rule out radiculopathy. Here are my results. I'll just get straight to the conclusion as the rest was ok:

Posterior disc bulge containing an annular tear at c5/6.

What does this mean? I know you're not doctors, although Ace may be able to shed some light for me? I know sarno says that disc herniations/bulges are TMS but at the end of the day my spine is degenerating and probably more so than someone who hasn't got a bulge so do I still treat this as tms? I worry that it could get worse over the years. I'm on a waiting list to see the specialist.

My symptoms have been for years:

Pain in upper thoracic area, lower back pain is more recent of say 4 years or so? Lots of pressure headaches which I feel come from my neck as it gets sore. Occasionally get chest pain that really freaks me out but comes and goes thank god. Now I'm wondering whether it's all related to this c5/6? If someone can tell me of any success stories or experience in these areas I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
My body heals quickly and easily

Dave

USA
1864 Posts

Posted - 03/24/2014 :  12:52:53  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
What was the doctor's treatment suggestion?

Assuming it is merely treating the symptom (e.g. physical therapy, cortisone shot, pain killers) then what is the harm in treating the symptom as TMS?

By the way, everyone's spine is degenerating. It's part of our DNA.
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abundance72

Australia
37 Posts

Posted - 03/24/2014 :  14:38:07  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Dave

What was the doctor's treatment suggestion?

Assuming it is merely treating the symptom (e.g. physical therapy, cortisone shot, pain killers) then what is the harm in treating the symptom as TMS?

By the way, everyone's spine is degenerating. It's part of our DNA.



Hi Dave, the doctor didn't really say much. He said the bulge is not touching the spinal cord which is good and all the other structures are fine. It was only the c5/6 disc bulge and annular tear. He has referred me to a specialist and said they'll probably give me a program for some physio? He didn't seem too sure. Would anyone know if an annular tear is in the sarno literature as something that could be treated as tms?

Thanks for your input ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
My body heals quickly and easily

Edited by - abundance72 on 03/24/2014 14:40:59
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tennis tom

USA
4746 Posts

Posted - 03/24/2014 :  18:32:48  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I suggest you SEARCH above "annular tear" and you will find reams of threads on the topic.

G'luck!

==================================================

TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale

Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605

==================================================

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti

"Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." Author Unknown

"Happy People Are Happy Putters." Frank Nobilo, Golf Analyst

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." Mark Twain and Balto

"The hot-dog is the noblest of dogs; it feeds the hand that bites it." Dr. Laurence Johnston Peter

"...the human emotional system was not designed to endure the mental rigors of a tennis match." Dr. Allen Fox
======================================================

"If it ends with "itis" or "algia" or "syndrome" and doctors can't figure out what causes it, then it might be TMS." Dave the Mod

=================================================


TMS PRACTITIONERS:

John Sarno, MD
400 E 34th St, New York, NY 10016
(212) 263-6035

Dr. Sarno is now retired, if you call this number you will be referred to his associate Dr. Rashbaum.

"...there are so many things little and big that are tms, I wouldn't have time to write about all of them": Told to icelikeaninja by Dr. Sarno



Here's the TMS practitioners list from the TMS Help Forum:
http://www.tmshelp.com/links.htm

Here's a list of TMS practitioners from the TMS Wiki:
http://tmswiki.org/ppd/Find_a_TMS_Doctor_or_Therapist


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Wavy Soul

USA
779 Posts

Posted - 03/26/2014 :  00:12:50  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hello Tom, Dave and abundance72 (great name, unless it means you only earn $72 a month!)

Abundance, many of us have been through these apparent crises with our backs. The dire diagnoses. I've had many of them, including fibromyalgia, as they now call it, which was so painful that I didn't want to live. I don't have that pain any more. It used to go everywhere all over my body.

I have a specific diagnosed thoracic abnormality since I was a teenager, with an actual name with the word "disease" in it, that I won't mention because there is no point. I now know for myself that although it isn't pure TMS, like the lower back and other pains that have come and gone, I can work with it and through it. It doesn't limit my life any more, because of working through my fear of my body, and WORKING OUT with a trainer at the gym for the last 7 years.

My trainer, with whom I now do trades for therapy, started getting TMS back and leg and neck pains himself because he got married and his wife is pregnant, and he got over-burdened. He has watched me work through my TMS all-over pain and my actual back condition to the point where I have almost no pain. He used to try to write down what part of my body was hurting, and ask me about it at the next session. Very professional! "STOP THAT!" I said, "I don't want to be doing all this focus on injuries. I'm just here to focus on my increasing strength and wellbeing."

So when his TMS came on, he was very open to reading The Great Pain Deception (Sarno was less effective for him), and is already having great relief.

Yahoo!

Hi everyone.


Love is the answer, whatever the question
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abundance72

Australia
37 Posts

Posted - 03/26/2014 :  04:51:30  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wavy Soul

Hello Tom, Dave and abundance72 (great name, unless it means you only earn $72 a month!)

Abundance, many of us have been through these apparent crises with our backs. The dire diagnoses. I've had many of them, including fibromyalgia, as they now call it, which was so painful that I didn't want to live. I don't have that pain any more. It used to go everywhere all over my body.

I have a specific diagnosed thoracic abnormality since I was a teenager, with an actual name with the word "disease" in it, that I won't mention because there is no point. I now know for myself that although it isn't pure TMS, like the lower back and other pains that have come and gone, I can work with it and through it. It doesn't limit my life any more, because of working through my fear of my body, and WORKING OUT with a trainer at the gym for the last 7 years.

My trainer, with whom I now do trades for therapy, started getting TMS back and leg and neck pains himself because he got married and his wife is pregnant, and he got over-burdened. He has watched me work through my TMS all-over pain and my actual back condition to the point where I have almost no pain. He used to try to write down what part of my body was hurting, and ask me about it at the next session. Very professional! "STOP THAT!" I said, "I don't want to be doing all this focus on injuries. I'm just here to focus on my increasing strength and wellbeing."

So when his TMS came on, he was very open to reading The Great Pain Deception (Sarno was less effective for him), and is already having great relief.

Yahoo!

Hi everyone.


Love is the answer, whatever the question




LOL no 72 is my hear of birth!

I just love reading these recovery stories, they give me so much hope!

I get so many weird symptoms in different areas at times, but the ones in my back and the ones I've suffered for years! Especially the thoracic area.

Thanks Wavy Soul for sharing your journey with me, it's great to see that you've come through the other side and wonderful of you to still be here and sharing your knowledge with others. It's people like you who give us hope, and I mean that to all the TMS posters here, especially the usual ones such as yourself, TT, Balto, Ace1, etc.. just to name a few.

I'm still working on it, I'm really trying to eliminate the fear I attach to my symptoms. I have this problem that I feel something and I immediately think 'what is it?' and run to the doctor as I need that re-assurance.

For all the years i've had backaches, i've had xrays (mainly) and always been told there was nothing wrong with my back which I couldn't understand, and now i've had that MRI and they've finally told me I have this disc bulge with the annular tear, of course my mind starts fearing 'that's what my problem has been all along and no-one picked it up!' also the fear of 'what does this mean for me?'.

I had a good chat with my GP yesterday who reassured me that if I don't have any problems with movement of legs and arms such as the foot drop then don't worry, he said 'just go home and live your life!' I was happy with that and even though i've still got my pains, they just haven't bothered me as much today - it's the fear that I attached to the meaning that made me feel worse the last few days.

I love Balto's story of losing the fear as fear is what keeps the symptoms alive. I will continue to NOT FEAR my symptoms, until this annoyance leaves me. Thanks again!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
My body heals quickly and easily
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Ace1

USA
1040 Posts

Posted - 03/26/2014 :  07:22:30  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi A72,
An annular tear is just a break in the outer portion of the disk that can then let out the disk contents which is called a disk herniation. They say that the annulus is where the nerve fibers are located in a disk. Its formation and the resultant pain are just part of the TMS process in my belief. I am begining to think that the weakness in the disk annulus/disk in general is related to TMS. I think your body tends to degenerate quicker from tms, with the pain from these abnormalities acting as a barometer of strain. The problem can heal and become virually asymptomatic if you continue to fix yourself from a TMS standpoint. However when not fixed from a TMS standpoint, i believe that the pain can persist for even a lifetime, if it doesnt shift to something else. I hope this answers your question.
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abundance72

Australia
37 Posts

Posted - 03/26/2014 :  15:27:48  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ace1

Hi A72,
An annular tear is just a break in the outer portion of the disk that can then let out the disk contents which is called a disk herniation. They say that the annulus is where the nerve fibers are located in a disk. Its formation and the resultant pain are just part of the TMS process in my belief. I am begining to think that the weakness in the disk annulus/disk in general is related to TMS. I think your body tends to degenerate quicker from tms, with the pain from these abnormalities acting as a barometer of strain. The problem can heal and become virually asymptomatic if you continue to fix yourself from a TMS standpoint. However when not fixed from a TMS standpoint, i believe that the pain can persist for even a lifetime, if it doesnt shift to something else. I hope this answers your question.



Thanks Ace1, very interesting, although it doesn't sound too good if I don't treat my TMS! I'm working on it! Thanks so much for your professional advice I truly appreciate it.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
My body heals quickly and easily
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njoy

Canada
188 Posts

Posted - 03/29/2014 :  02:09:12  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Dave said: "By the way, everyone's spine is degenerating. It's part of our DNA."

Thanks for saying that. Can't be said too often! I was in my mid 40s when a doc announced (with unmistakably glee): "You've got arthritis in your spine."

I don't know what his motivation was but nothing good. He wanted to scare me. Luckily, I was already a big Sarno fan so what he said didn't bother me. I researched it and found out that this is completely normal as we get older. More than 20 years later, still no further problems (well, I'm a bit shorter but my back seldom hurts and never for long). Meanwhile I know people 1/4 my age who can't do this and that because of "scoliosis", "bulging discs", etc.

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Back2-It

USA
438 Posts

Posted - 04/12/2014 :  12:34:04  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by abundance72

Hi everyone I haven't been to the board in awhile I have been still experiencing back pain throughout especially thoracic, I also get lower back and more recently been getting left arm (deltoid) pain and now slight tingling in left pinkie and ring finger. Doctor ordered me a cervical MRI to rule out radiculopathy. Here are my results. I'll just get straight to the conclusion as the rest was ok:

Posterior disc bulge containing an annular tear at c5/6.

What does this mean? I know you're not doctors, although Ace may be able to shed some light for me? I know sarno says that disc herniations/bulges are TMS but at the end of the day my spine is degenerating and probably more so than someone who hasn't got a bulge so do I still treat this as tms? I worry that it could get worse over the years. I'm on a waiting list to see the specialist.

My symptoms have been for years:

Pain in upper thoracic area, lower back pain is more recent of say 4 years or so? Lots of pressure headaches which I feel come from my neck as it gets sore. Occasionally get chest pain that really freaks me out but comes and goes thank god. Now I'm wondering whether it's all related to this c5/6? If someone can tell me of any success stories or experience in these areas I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
My body heals quickly and easily




Pain in the thoracic area radiating to the chest can be caused by some of the muscles, like the trap and various neck muscles, that are prone to tightening under chronic stress and then the anxiety over the pain, which keeps the whole cycle going. I was dx'd with a T-7/8 large disc herniation, and I was having upper and mid back stiffness. To make a long story short, the docs condemned me to a life of pain, told me I had to live with it. I went down hill very quickly after that and after reading about thoracic disc herniations. I became a virtual invalid. But...the dx did not make sense. I could still bend over, still jog, still lift whatever, so after about 1.5 years of this, I did more research and found that fully 40% of the population have thoracic disk herniations, and almost all of them are asymptomatic. I suggest the same is for cervical. These same upper back muscles can be the source of your headaches as well.

The one way out of this, the only way, and it is not easy, is to refute your fear. You will hurt and you will be uncomfortable, but you must understand that you are fine. Hard work. I'd suggest studying what Hillbilly and Balto and some others have posted on here. Everybody's spine is degenerating, but unless it is some kind of congentital disease you are normal, buddy. You're just nervous.

It might be a good idea to give the specialists a rest and just get out and enjoy the spring the best you can. If you keep going to doctors they will find something. That's there job. They found a dis herniation on me that had nothing to do with hyper-tight upper back muscles, but what did I know? Anxiety and Depression/TMS is a bugger, and getting back into life is generally very helpful in effecting a cure and reducing the pain.



"Bridges Freeze Before Roads"

Edited by - Back2-It on 04/12/2014 12:35:32
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