Ms

First, you should be examined by your doctor. But I do want to ask you if you have been through a major trama in your life, maybe like parents divoriced, sexually abused or molested, orsomething else that you can think of. All of that being said, I have been doing research for my aunt who has MS. I had read a book called The Mindbody Prescription by John E Sarno and a book by a christian author called Deadly Emotions. Both of these books weigh heavy on the fact that human emotions play a big factor in one;s health. I believe this to be 100% true. I had chronic back pain, that was said was structural abnormalities, but I now know it was caused by emotions, such as repressed anger, rage, worry, etc. My advice is to read the books and take an active approach to your health. I am not saying not go to the doctor, because you need to. I will post this from a message board I go to called tmshelp.com. I know of one person there who has used the mindbody method and is cured. I will post his testimony. Feel free to visit the site and ask questions.

Multiple Sclerosis

Please refer back to the Old TMSHelp Message Board, at the hyperlink www.tmshelp.com/bin/tmsboard.pl View Earlier Posts at about previous page 9, where Gwenieve had MS Scare on 12/21/2003. JosephB responded about his MS experience in great length on 12/23/2003 and 12/25/2003. Others also responded on the subject of MS at that time.

In answer to your question about Dr. Sarno’s thoughts on the subject of Multiple Sclerosis, I repeat here what I posted on 12/23/2003:

I (JosephB) have now come to the conclusion that my permanent cure of MS came about through a mindbody process. But I was very disappointed that Dr. Sarno did not elaborate much on this disease in his books. Healing Back Pain mentions MS only briefly on pages 156-157, where he states, “autoimmune disorders (like MS) are among the most problematic and poorly understood of all categories of disease. …. and the brain MIGHT play a role in the treatment of these conditions.”

Furthermore, The Mindbody Prescription mentions MS only briefly in Chapter 8, Disorders in Which Emotions MAY Play a Role, Autoimmune Disorders, on pages 127-129, where he states, “It is beyond the scope of this book to describe these diseases (like MS)”.

Note that my past post on 12/23/2003 coincides with JoeW’s recent post, which states:

There is brief mention of MS in MBP (chapter 8) and HBP, but only as a brief speculation that it, and other auto-immune disorders are emotion related.

I also agree with JoeW’s recommendation to read Norman Cousins’ book, Anatomy of an Illness, since his was a permanent cure of another serious autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis.

The following is my true MS story repeated again (with editing) as further therapy for me for this serious autoimmune disease.

To Gwenieve and other TMSers:

Note that Multiple Sclerosis and Tension Myositis Syndrome must definitely be of the same psychogenic origin, because their acronyms, MS and TMS, have two same letters, look the same, sound the same, and they rhyme. Seriously though, I truly believe that MS and TMS do have the same psychogenic origin and that MS is definitely another form of TMS equivalence, based on my own personal true story which follows. Yes, I had been diagnosed with MS and I eventually overcame it. I would certainly appreciate comments from other TMSers, to reinforce my own thoughts on MS and so that others concerned about MS could draw those same conclusions.

I first experienced MS in early 1967 (37 years ago) with weakness, numbness and tingling in my extremities, both arms and both legs. I went to my family doctor at the time, and he considered my case a medical emergency and ordered me to report to then Wesleyan Memorial Hospital in Chicago for a myelogram. The x-rays showed that I had no structural deformities in my spine, and the “good” news was that I would not have to undergo surgery. Instead, I was immediately referred to a neurologist who prescribed a series of eight daily shots of ACTH, a steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. I was diagnosed as having Demyelinization of the Central Nervous System, now commonly called Multiple Sclerosis (MS). A simple explanation to me was that inflammation of the spinal cord puts pressure on the outer myelin sheath, causing the sheath to crack, and causing irritation to the protruding nerves, which results in the above described symptoms. After the inflammation subsides with anti-inflammatory medication, then the myelin sheath must rebuild itself if it has not been too severely damaged in the process. During the remission period, the healing process may take about six months, since any nerve irritation and damage takes a long time to heal, not as quickly as muscle damage.

After the six month remission and healing period, I then had another MS flare-up. But this time I understood better what was happening and I reported immediately to my neurologist for additional treatment. These flare-ups, neurological symptoms, medical treatments, remissions and healings, then occurred on a cyclical regular basis, like clockwork, every six months thereafter for a period of seven years, between the years 1967 and 1974. Those were certainly trying times for me!

During the year 1974, while I was going to a chiropractor who was giving me spinal adjustments for my chronic sinus headaches, I told him about my periodic MS flare-ups and asked him if he thought he could help me. He told me that he had, in fact, helped two other people in the past to overcome serious MS, and he told me to report to him as soon as I was about to have another flare-up. When it came, I contacted him immediately and he came out on a Sunday, just for me, to give me a spinal adjustment on that day, and repeatedly thereafter for a period of about two weeks. But he also cautioned me and told me to report to my neurologist, who authorized a prescription for Prednisone pills, another steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, but in pill form. That flare-up in 1974 was the last and final MS flare-up that I have experienced.

Two years later, in 1976, I started to have lower back pain and sciatica in my left leg. I went to my chiropractor, who then took new x-rays, which showed that I had a couple of herniated discs, and that this might very well be the cause of my pain. He gave me spinal adjustments, but he again cautioned me and told me to report to my neurologist, since he also thought that I might very well be having another MS flare-up, in addition to herniated discs. I reported to my neurologist, and after a thorough examination, he told me that I was symptom-free of MS, and that I should continue seeing my chiropractor for spinal adjustments in the future. Interestingly, my neurologist asked me if I would be willing to participate in a trial with other MS patients, who would be given raw sunflower seeds to eat in an experiment. I told him that I would certainly be interested, but that trial never came about. But guess what, I then started to eat a handful of raw sunflower seeds every day for many years thereafter, just in case it could help me nutritionally. And I now keep raw sunflower seeds in my freezer and occasionally have a handful as a snack, instead of carbo-loaded cookies.

So for many years afterwards, I have asked myself and I have been asked by others, how was I permanently cured of MS. Note that this was years before Dr. Sarno even wrote his first book and years before his TMS theories came into my life.

Was it the chiropractor’s spinal adjustments, which I now consider a placebo?
Was it the raw sunflower seeds which provided me the proper nutrition for healing?
Was it my constant prayers for healing?
Was it my devoted and caring wife’s support and prayers during those trying years?
Or, was it the combination of all of the above?

But after becoming aware of Dr. Sarno’s three books on TMS, and after reading and rereading all those books numerous times, I have now come to the conclusion that my permanent cure of MS came about through a mindbody process. But I was very disappointed that Dr. Sarno did not elaborate much on this disease in his books. Healing Back Pain mentions MS only briefly on pages 156-157, where he states, “autoimmune disorders (like MS) are among the most problematic and poorly understood of all categories of disease. …. and the brain MIGHT play a role in the treatment of these conditions.”

Furthermore, The Mindbody Prescription mentions MS only briefly in Chapter 8, Disorders in Which Emotions MAY Play a Role, Autoimmune Disorders, on pages 127-129, where he states, “It is beyond the scope of this book to describe these diseases (like MS)”.

In conclusion, I truly believe that MS is definitely another form of TMS equivalent and that it too has a psychogenic origin. Unfortunately, Dr. Sarno only speculates briefly on this theory, but that may be because his medical background has been predominantly in the treatment of back pain, and not in autoimmune disorders. I would certainly appreciate comments from other TMSers, to reinforce my thoughts on MS and so that others concerned about MS could draw these same conclusions.

In answer to Rick (2/1/2004) as to whether I really had MS, since MRIs were not available during those early years 1960s and 1970s, I will explain. My Neurologist, Dr. Joel Brumlik, used a small rubber hammer to tap just below my kneecaps to measure motor response. He also pricked a needle along all my extremities to measure sensual response. He examined my eyes by looking directly at the retina of my eyes, since this is the only place in the human body where inflamed nerves can be seen directly. As a Neurologist, he concluded that I really had Demyelinization of the Central Nervous System, which later became commonly referred to and known as Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Well there is a spiritual side of healing also. Have you sought out Jesus. Are you saved? There is nothing that Jesus cannot heal and nothing he cannot do. Here is my story with TMS.

I have requested prayer on here about my back. I had been having soreness and tightness since I was 16, and I am now 27. Well about 3 years ago he doctor did a Cat Scan, which showed a crack in my L-5 vertebrae and bulging discs. The pain started to get really bad about a year and a half ago, burning pain in low back, down into the legs and into the feet. Me left leg would get weak and throb. I was losing hope, they did an MRI and it showed my disc was shrinking. I tried p.t, chiro, supplements, medication, chiro, neuro, ortho, nothing was helping with the pain. I could not sit for more than 15 minutes, I had trouble bending, running. I became very depressed. I would go to the back chats and hope to find some answers, but there everyone remained in pain, even after surgery. That was my last hope, surgery, and after reading about those who had surgery there was no way I was going to have it. So one day a guy came back to the chat room and said he read a book, and it healed his pain. Well me being the skeptic I was did not believe him, because I became an expert of the cause of back pain. But I got desperate enough and got the book. Actually kind of helped me, so I got another book by the author and it helped. Today I have a little pain, but I have come so far and I soon will be free of pain. I thought I would post this and hope someone could read and identify with it. The books I have read and re-read are "Healing Back Pain" and "The Mindbody Prescription" written by John E. Sarno, I recommend anyone with chronic pain to read these books. I am back to living again. Sarno believes that back pain, tendonitis, bursitis, fibromyalgia, neck pain, acid reflux,etc, are caused by tension, anxiety, depression, stress, etc. He believes these emotions and different personality types cause muscles, ligaments, tendons to become oxygen deprived, therefore causing pain. To some this may sound crazy and to me at first it did also. Sarno calls it TMS(Tension Myositis Syndrome). There is a message board that I go to called tmshelp.com. God introduced a christian man to me there, who has been healed of low back pain for twenty years, and he has helped me out so much. I have felt led to post this thread because I know so many people are out there suffering and you may be one yourself or you may know smeone out there here is suffering from chronic pain. I would be glad to help anyone out.