anything else i can try?
it makes me just want to lie down and sleep the day away...... not really helping me get back into working again....

quote:

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Originally posted by beachcomber:
Advil softgels.

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Wow, I'd would've needed about 10 at the height of my pain!

NY is a hot bed for Babesia (and Bartonella)..and I had excruciating neck and shoulder pain that required narcotics..
nothing made it go except treatment for Babesia.

It is so upsetting to me to hear about your condition, cause it reminds me so much of my own situation 5 years ago.

And I'm so sorry you're going through this right now.

I have, or actually had, neck/shoulder pains for 5 years. Kept coming back to me. Once I collapsed in the staircase at work screaming in pain.

I took turodol, flexeril, hydrocordone in big quantities to deal with this pain. Had an MRI done. A bulging disc was identified. Considered operation (but didn't thank God.) Learned something called the Alexander technique to teach myself to relax in the neck and keep proper posture. Went to doctors office 4 or 5 times to get a turodol shot in my butt. But it kept coming back.

Then I saw an interview with John Sarno on Larry King live back in August 2000 time frame (I think). And he was also on 20/20 at some point.

Anyway, Sarno has been healing backpain for some 20 years now using a sort of radically different treatment program, or method if you will.

Most people however can't be helped by his method. Not because they don't suffer from the particular type of pain his healing method treats.

No, most people can't be helped because they are not susceptible to the principle behind his treatment method...

which is that your pain is created by your brain and you simply think the pain away.

NO KIDDING.

It is not unlikely that you suffer from what Sarno denotes as TMS (Tension myositis syndrome.) A condition where your brain (your subconscious more specifically) can starve nerves in the spinal cord region from oxygen. This causes pain similar to pinched nerves, sciatica, herniated discs, etc.

And why does your subconscious do this crap?

Because, says Sarno, your subconscious would rather deal with physical pain than emotional pain.

In other words, if you suffer from TMS, it's because you have some sort of significant emotional pain in your life. This kind of emotional pain can range from work related stress, to family problems, and to dealing with a troublesome illness such as Lyme.

So do you suffer from TMS?

I asked myself the same problem 5 years ago. I didn't know. But after reading Sarno's book and totally believing what he had to say, since it made so much sense in my life with all the pressure and stresses I had, I decided to use his method to literally think the neck/shoulder pain away.

It works like a charm for me.

Will it work for you? I can't tell.

But what I do know is that you have nothing to loose by looking into what Sarno has to say.

And if you have an open mind and can absorp some radical thinking AND if you indeed to have TMS, then you are IN LUCK!

Cause you can think your pain away all by your self.

You can say bye bye to all those pills and heating pads and so on....if, but only if, you actually do suffer from TMS AND have an open mind.

And only you can find out.

I believe that you can actually make an appointment to see Sarno. He's down in NY City.

Good luck.

Btw, also see the thread about sciatica:
http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/031114.html

I have several posts in there about Sarno, including links to his book and some reviews of his work.

marblenose , tony z, - i haven't tried muscle relaxers yet. I'm wondering if I should try them. my massage therapist worked on me very hard (I saw stars) and it did nothing. She said she'd never seen anything like it.

I've got a hot tub and that brings about 10 minutes of relief.

MO - I am being treated for Babesia AND both both strains of bartonella. I didn't know that could be the cause. Good info!

quote:

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Originally posted by artbyjessie2:
i haven't tried muscle relaxers yet. I'm wondering if I should try them. my massage therapist worked on me very hard (I saw stars) and it did nothing. She said she'd never seen anything like it.

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That's exactly the same reaction my physical therapist had. He was using a technique where acupuncture needles are put into your muscles to release myofascial trigger points. For most people, the treatment hurts but the next few days they feel great. I never had relief and, one day, my muscle inflammed so quickly he said he had never seen anything like that.

We switched to hands on myofascial relief (no more needles). Once I started a muscle relaxer, we finally saw progress. I have improved more since starting Lyme treatment. But it was a long road to get there.

The lidocaine completely numbed everything and helped bust up the muscle spazms. It's effects are temporary (about 7-10 days), but when done repeatedly and used in combination with Flexeril at bedtime, I got through it. (and oh, the sigh of relief of immediate pain relief.)

I've been told Prolotherapy is a more effective solution.

I still use Flexeril at bedtime only. In the beginning, they make you sleepy and maybe a little dizzy (hence, take at bedtime). You gradually build up a tolerance to it.

And IMHO - the difference between real Flexeril and generic is like night and day. Go for the real thing if you can.

I do have trouble waking up on the Flexeril. It's the worst part of every day. And I feel hung over if I sleep too much. But it's all worth it. As soon as I hit 20mg, I felt a difference, and when I got to 30mg it was incredible.