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sf0789
Korea
8 Posts |
 Posted - 07/30/2014 : 21:47:52
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Hi all! This is Seraphina, new to TMS forum.
I have a background of having back & neck pain when i was a teenager and knee pain till last year--all presumably TMS (no meaningful diagnosis on MRI that can be matched to the pains, but the pain persisted until I finally "gave up" on it).
Okay. This is gonna be a long story, but I'll do my best to make it as short as possible.
I've been in a cast and crutches for 4 weeks due to the right ankle injury. As soon as I started using crutches, I came to have sore hands and wrists--which I didn't experience at all when I used them in high school years. I was quite nervous if I come to have another health issue, but try to think of it as just due to overuse or maybe TMS.
Last Tuesday, I made my right arm, specifically the inner elbow (funnybone), pressed a little hard on a crutch when I was getting on a car. (I had a fracture surgery right above the elbow 15 years ago, so the skin and nerve there are a little more sensitive than on other areas.) The pain was just for the moment, no swelling, no heat, not much odd sensation. My wrists rather became more painful over the next 2-3 days, not the elbow.
However, after 3 days, last Friday, I had a weird feeling when my inner elbow touched my desk softly. That feeling reminded me of the elbow incident 3 days ago, and I became quite worried. Last Monday Tuesday went okay, but on Wednesday the annoying elbow came back. I was so worried about my wrists and inner elbow, and i searched through all the possible injuries or medical problems I might have. I could feel the annoying sense being developed into a pain while I was doing so. Since these couple of days was really the period of fear, my back pain and knee pain sometimes came back.. I know... not good..
I'm worried if it's a real soft-tissue issue. The internet has so many scary episodes of the people who have painful wrists and elbow while/after using crutches... How do you think about my wrists and elbow? I'll be done with the cast tomorrow, and it will take at least 1-2 more weeks for me to be able not to use crutches--not giving me an option of full rest on hands and arms. What should I do...? Is there anyone who came to have sore wrists after using crutches?
*FYI, I live in Korea, there is no TMS therapist or doctor here yet.
Phina |
Edited by - sf0789 on 07/30/2014 23:05:18 |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2014 : 09:54:28
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It seems you are familiar with TMS, and accepted the back and neck pain. However, you are obsessing over this wrist pain.
Clearly it has grabbed your attention in a big way, and sent you down the path of treating it as a structural problem. If it is TMS, then you are playing right into its hands and perpetuating the attack.
I personally would not be concerned with a "weird feeling" when touching your elbow. Many nerves run through that area. There is a reason they call it the "funny bone."
If you are truly worried then I suggest you see a doctor and get an X-Ray and full examination. It is likely that you simply have some soreness from using the crutches due to using muscles and tendons in a way that you have not used in a long time. It is possible that TMS seized this opportunity to intensify and perpetuate the symptoms. Try to relax and ignore the pain as best as you can and stop obsessing about it. Instead, shift your thoughts to emotional issues going on in your life that you might not be fully appreciating. |
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Peregrinus
250 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2014 : 17:05:25
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quote:
Originally posted by sf0789
I came to have sore hands and wrists--which I didn't experience at all when I used them in high school years.
Last Tuesday, I made my right arm, specifically the inner elbow (funnybone), pressed a little hard on a crutch when I was getting on a car.
on Wednesday the annoying elbow came back.
I'm worried if it's a real soft-tissue issue.
Phina:
Do you know what TMS is? If you do you will realize that your observations are irrelevant. They contain no information that would allow someone on this forum to help you.
If you do have TMS (which seems apparent to me) all these pains are a distraction from psychological stress that you are experiencing. It is working since you mention nothing about that stress.
So tell us, what is really bothering you? |
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sf0789
Korea
8 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2014 : 07:41:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave
It seems you are familiar with TMS, and accepted the back and neck pain. However, you are obsessing over this wrist pain.
Clearly it has grabbed your attention in a big way, and sent you down the path of treating it as a structural problem. If it is TMS, then you are playing right into its hands and perpetuating the attack.
I personally would not be concerned with a "weird feeling" when touching your elbow. Many nerves run through that area. There is a reason they call it the "funny bone."
Hi Dave! Thanks for the kind words. Yes I've read Sarno's three books; Healing Back Pain, The Mindbody Prescription, and The Divided Mind. They helped me a lot in finding myself prone to TMS issue. I had a pain on my left ankle which did not have any structural issue, but almost 80% of the pain has gone after reading Healing Back Pain.
I actually feel those TMS things are happening again as you said. Now that I'm obsessed with the wrist and elbow pain, the TMS on my knee, back, and left ankle comes and goes way time to time.
I went to see an orthopedist yesterday for my right ankle (I'm off-cast now!) and told him about my wrists and elbow, too. Took X-ray for the wrists, get the elbow palpated. He said the same thing as you did for the elbow. He said I should come back and consider a relocation surgery for ulna nerve if the symptom gets too severe to handle. For the wrists, the ligaments seem to have some inflammation and been elongated a little. He said it will get better gradually as I throw away the casts as time goes by (I can't do that yet because the 4 weeks in cast made me muscle-less on my right leg... I need at least 1 week of rehabilitation). I think I put too much weight on my wrists while using cast, caring too much about my painful ankles.
Yes, as you can feel from my writing, I'm quite perfectionist ('everything should go as expected!'), very sensitive, TMS-type of person... Even though I knew about TMS and its mechanims, I literally collapsed as soon as another bodypart came up with unexpected pain--with plausibly assumable reason (i.e., overuse).
I'm taking anti-inflammatory for my wrists, but I'm pretty sure my elbow thing is TMS. Funny thing is my left one is having growing pain, too. I think it can hardly be a real soft-tissue issue because I'm only using 1 crutch and it should give my arms much less weight.
This was another long story, but anyway thank you very much. I now know what to do with my elbow and wrists. It's just hard to keep my attention on my emotions when pain is attacking me :( |
Edited by - sf0789 on 08/03/2014 01:25:30 |
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sf0789
Korea
8 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2014 : 08:02:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Peregrinus
Phina:
Do you know what TMS is? If you do you will realize that your observations are irrelevant. They contain no information that would allow someone on this forum to help you.
If you do have TMS (which seems apparent to me) all these pains are a distraction from psychological stress that you are experiencing. It is working since you mention nothing about that stress.
So tell us, what is really bothering you?
I know what TMS is and have a experience of reducing my pain by reading Dr. Sarno's books. It's just so hard to ignore the little doubt "what if...?" growing inside me. Moreover, I do not have any TMS expert in my area, it's not easy to be sure of my symptoms as TMS. I keep thinking of my childhood stress and the fear that I have for now (the fear of my symptoms). Not so easy... Maybe I'm expecting too quick panacea as Healing Back Pain first did for my ankle pain...
The biggest thing that bothers me is the fact that I still have 2-3 weeks to limp and the worry if I get injured again on the right ankle as it's almost muscle-less after 4 weeks in cast. It aches if I walk more than 6-7 steps at a series, but I have to go to work next Monday via subway, with my crutch. What about my sore hands then? Gosh....
Also the pain and a little structural problem in other areas of my body (the other ankle, both wrists, back, knee, neck) that grew after the right ankle's ligament injury... I think this is the biggest part. I was very scared if I have to live in such pain and disability for longer time. I'm only 26-year-old. Although I know TMS does a sneaky strategy, or "Symptom Imperative," and the pain moves around, the first reaction I have is "You can't do this to me... Why do I get sick again...?"
I keep talking to my brain and try to ignore the pain, but it doesn't work well as it first did.. :( |
Edited by - sf0789 on 08/02/2014 08:04:25 |
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tennis tom
USA
4746 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2014 : 08:42:13
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Hi Seraphina,
I recently had the flu and every part of my body felt achy. With my TMS "KNOWLEDGE PENICILLIN" I related this to TMS. I hadn't injured everything, but my nervous system was making my subconscious feel that way. I was thinking this was a mini-fibromyalgia experience, fibro being the term for a more severe from of TMS where everything hurts. It was a trick my mind was playing on me, perhaps a survival/protective mechanism to keep me in bed and doing further damage like giving myself pneumonia. So, I stayed home for two days with the flu, what Deepak Chopra terms "the Western form of meditation". I didn't fight the pain, instead I saw it as a TMS manifestation that was trying to protect me.
It sounds like you have a good doctor giving you very good allopathic advice. You are in a fear state about going back to work, can you stay home longer? Can you take a cab instead of the subway for some comfort?
Do you recall from reading Dr. Sarno's books his mentioning the Rahe-Holmes list of stressful life situations that can cause TMS out-breaks? Google that list and find what emotional situations have occurred in the past year to you that are amplifying your pain--TMS is the VOLUME CONTROL for the pain.
How did you wind up in Korea? Seraphina doesn't sound very Korean, isn't everyone there a Pak, Park or a Kim?
The Good Doctor's rx is: When you feel the pain, switch your thinking to the emotional, what's bugging you?
G'luck!
tt
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sf0789
Korea
8 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2014 : 19:49:00
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quote:
Originally posted by tennis tom
It sounds like you have a good doctor giving you very good allopathic advice. You are in a fear state about going back to work, can you stay home longer? Can you take a cab instead of the subway for some comfort?
Do you recall from reading Dr. Sarno's books his mentioning the Rahe-Holmes list of stressful life situations that can cause TMS out-breaks? Google that list and find what emotional situations have occurred in the past year to you that are amplifying your pain--TMS is the VOLUME CONTROL for the pain.
How did you wind up in Korea? Seraphina doesn't sound very Korean, isn't everyone there a Pak, Park or a Kim?
Hi TT again
That's the point. I can't take a cab or leave from work :( Taking subway itself is okay (it takes one full hour though) but the area between the subway station and my workplace does not give such a friendly environment for me with a crutch and a weak foot. The inevitable fact that I have to do it from tomorrow is scaring me--what if my weak ankle gets bad again due to sudden overuse? what about my wrists on the crutch...??? I really am in a fear state....
I am Korean! Those monosyllable names are family names. Mine is one of them, too. I have my Korean name, but Seraphina is my other name that I use because my Korean name is a little tricky to pronounce for people who do not speak Korean. I went to college in New York and came back to Korea where my family is after graduated from college.
I got 166 on the Rahe-Holmes test. I think the biggest thing that bugs me is the fear on the near future.. |
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tennis tom
USA
4746 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2014 : 09:32:30
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SFO,
I've been a marathon runner, done 13, I play tennis on one leg due to hip arthritis/TMS? and sprained my ankle too many times to remember. The ankles have all healed with NOT a trace of a problem! The BODY is STRONG and heals wonderfully--it's the mind that's weak due to listening to all the old wives tales and urban myths around us.
If your worried about your ankle get a Koban type of Ace bandage for some support until it's healed. That's what my orthopedist wrapped me up in the first and worst time I strained it in a tennis tournament during a semi-final match that I went on to win after the sprain (probably not the smartest thing to do, but it healed fully with some time}. Jack Sock an up and coming US tennis player, sprained his ankle last year and came back to win the Tiburon Challenger tournament and now plays the Grand Slams like Wimbledon. I'm sure yours is not as bad as those and it will heal. If you want more structural support, use trainer's tape to completely imobilze your ankle. You can google it to see how to wrap it.
Maybe get some mild anti-anxiety meds from your doc to get you through this rough-patch since TMS FEAR seems to be your biggest obstacle at the moment.
You can't do permanent damage using crutches, people use them everyday and I've NEVER heard of a hand injury from using them.
When moving about to work, do so very slowly and TMS mindfully, don't be rushed! I think people will watch out for you and be helpful.
Good luck, look into the anti-anxiety meds short-term to help ease your fear state and get onto the TMS thinking. |
Edited by - tennis tom on 08/03/2014 09:37:19 |
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sf0789
Korea
8 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2014 : 19:46:45
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quote:
Originally posted by tennis tom
SFO,
The BODY is STRONG and heals wonderfully--it's the mind that's weak due to listening to all the old wives tales and urban myths around us.
You can't do permanent damage using crutches, people use them everyday and I've NEVER heard of a hand injury from using them.
When moving about to work, do so very slowly and TMS mindfully, don't be rushed! I think people will watch out for you and be helpful.
TT,
Thank you so much for your advice.
I did come to work! It actually took 2-3 times longer than normal walking (from the subway station to my workplace), but I succeeded anyway. I did use trainer's tape, and I think it helped.
Argh actually i dropped my cell phone on my 4th and pinky toes last night (on the uninjured foot). It hurt so bad. The pain lasted for awhile. Not much swelling at the moment. But there's now a bad bruise between the 3rd toe and 4th toe. It doesn't ache that much when I walk or take a rest, but it hurts so bad when I touch upon the bruise. Gosh.... I need to be more careful. :(
but I trust my body! Human body is strong! I know the toe will recover gradually. My mom told me she had even more severe injury on her toe before, the pain lasted about half a year (she didn't go to see a doctor), but she recovered in the end. I believe myself. I AM STROOONG.
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Edited by - sf0789 on 08/03/2014 19:48:59 |
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tennis tom
USA
4746 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2014 : 20:47:37
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GOOD GOING SFO!!! You made it to and from work, it was your biggest fear. We were on the same page, doing things slowly, TMS mindfully, your confidence will grow about using the crutches with practice. The bruised toe will heal within two weeks. I just banged my toe a few weeks ago, swollen, black and blue maybe broken but what's a doc going to do to for it? My girlfriend did the same, she's over it too-- onto other complaints like swollen sinuses and hot-flashs--she was cured of lifelong asthma through TMS.
You're turning the TMS corner here, believe in your mindbody being your most powerful healing device.
==================================================
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
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"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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Edited by - tennis tom on 08/03/2014 20:48:35 |
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Sore wrists and elbow while using crutches.. HELP!
