HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

How I beat 4 years of chronic pain - Dr Sarno

Support Forums
>
Chronic Pain
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 1/12/2014 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Everyone,

I recently overcame a 4 year battle with chronic back pain that disabled me and forced me to leave my job. I was in pain 24/7 and I had tried everything to make it go away. Physical therapy, chiropractics, accupuncture, osteopathy, massage therapy etc. None of these treatments provided help except for temporary relief.

Several months ago on a sleepness night where I could not sleep due to my pain I stumbled upon this site and discovered Dr. John Sarno's book Healing Back Pain. Like thousands of others, I read his book and experienced 100% relief of my symptoms in about a month! All this from reading a book??

I know it sounds so crazy, but if you are desperate for a solution and have tried everything and failed you must read this book! If you don't believe me his book has over 700, 5 star reviews on Amazon.com with success stories just like mine, from people who made incredible recoveries after years and years of suffering.

I want to keep this post short, so if you are curious about what this magic book is all about the best place to start is to watch this 15 minute Newsclip that aired on 20/20 about Dr. Sarno's work.

[url]http://www.youtube.co

I also just recently posted my success story on Youtube, so if you want a more comprehensive explanation I encourage you to check it out. This forum allowed me to find Dr. Sarno and get my life back. I hope this knowledge inspires you during your recovery. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment. I will make sure to answer.

[url]http://www.youtube.

Post Edited By Moderator (nvrthesame98) : 1/13/2014 12:09:43 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/12/2014 11:56 PM (GMT 0)
Link removed per HW rules . The name has been mentioned enough i believe folks can find the book without all the links .
Posted 1/13/2014 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
I know many people will be resistant to the idea that their is iniated by their minds and not from physical problems with their bodies. I too was resistant to this idea and I was convinced there was something wrong with my body. Resistance to these ideas are normal so I wanted to share a few facts with you that may allow you to see things in a different way. You may not agree with them but consider them as food for thought.

After years of treating patients with traditional physical diagnosis and physical therapy, Dr. Sarno quickly grew frustrated by the lack of success he was seeing in his patients. Despite the treatment, too many of his patients were falling through the cracks and not getting better. Exploring further he was troubled by three facts that the physical model of pain did not explain.

1) If you take 100 people off the street who DO NOT HAVE PAIN and take MRI's and Xrays of their spine, you will see that they also have herniated discs and bulging discs. But they don't have pain! These are normal abnormalities and have been falsely accused as the root cause of pain. (I also have a bulging disc and thought this was the cause of my pain)

2) Also, if degenerative processes are actually the true cause of pain, people should have more pain as they get older since their joints/spines should have worn away. Doctor visits should peak for people in their 60's, 70's and 80's. However, the data does not observe this trend. Chronic pains peaks and is most common for people in their 30's and 40's, not in the later years of life.

3) Finally, chronic pain is a growing epidemic. It is growing at 14x the rate of the population. What can explain this? After millions of years as the dominant species on this planet, what has suddenly happened to our backs? If our backs were so fragile, there is no way we could have evolved into the dominant species that we are.

After scientifically looking at the data Dr. Sarno was not convinced that the physical model of pain was adequate. The data did not add up, and even more importantly, the treatment programs were not successful. People were still in pain and not getting better.

This eventually led him to discover that for most, our chronic pain is iniated by our minds, and not in physical problems with the body. His success rates skyrocketed to well over 90% with his new treatment program, and since then has helped thousands of patients return to normal.

Hope this helps :)
Posted 1/13/2014 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
I think it's books like this that threaten to send us back decades or more in time, as far as medical treatment for people in chronic pain. Doctors used to tell people with fibromyalgia that it was in their heads, and that's just one condition. There's a certain religion that thinks you can "read" away any illness, and that being sick with anything is a sign of weak faith. Bah. If it helps one person get rid of their pain, great - but if all doctors buy into this pseudoscience, how many chronic pain patients will be harmed?
Posted 1/13/2014 1:35 AM (GMT 0)
Trix - thank you for sharing your feedback but your reply seems to be based on a personal bias rather than the facts I have shared.

1) Firstly, a common misconceptions is that doctors are saying the "pain is all in your head". This is not the case. All of the doctors acknlowledge the pain is REAL. The root cause of the pain though is stemmed by unconscious processes and not physical ones. Our minds are incredibly powerful and have the ability to affect our physiology. (The placebo affect, or why we get butterflies in our stomach when we are nervous are other examples of how our minds/emotions can affect our physiology)

2) This approach has not worked for just one patient. Sarno himself has healed thousands, and the doctors who have followed in his footsteps have helped thousands more. There is REAL clinical data here and ten's of thousands of lives have been transformed, including many of those diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

While you may not agree with this appraoch, you cannot just throw out generalizations and ignore the pile of data that exists. That is not very scientific.
Posted 1/13/2014 2:47 AM (GMT 0)
Perhaps the true source of your pain was different than others on this board.
Posted 1/13/2014 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
Mercy&Grace - Yes you are right, there are many sources of pain.

My only intention is to share my success and the knowledge I have gained from my journey as I know many others can benefit from it.
Posted 1/13/2014 3:51 AM (GMT 0)
Exactly what is the source used for stats as well as the years referenced ? For example that there are more people in their 30's & 40's that suffer from chronic pain than those older ?
Posted 1/13/2014 4:01 AM (GMT 0)
I'm glad it worked for you! My pain is not a result of repressed anger but I also don't suffer with back pain. I have a friend that was treated by Dr. Sarno and his methods didn't work for her... But she learned a lot from him! She does have many positive things to say about him even though he was unable to help her and there are quite a few folks (and celebrities) that sing his praises. I'm glad you are no longer in pain! I wish it were this simple for all of us!
Posted 1/13/2014 5:09 AM (GMT 0)
Mercy&Grace - Dr. Sarno initially took a poll of the age ranges of the patients with chronic pain who were visiting him. 77% of his patients who were visiting him for chronic pain were between 30-36. 9% were in their 20's and only 11% were of age 60 or above.

Since this is a small sample that may not necessarily be representative of the bigger picture here is a link to a Gallup study with a sample size of 353,000 patients.

www.gallup.com/poll/154169/chronic-pain-rates-shoot-until-americans-reach-late-50s.aspx

The study quotes "chronic pain conditions increase rapidly from about ages 25 to 60, after which reports of chronic pain increase only slightly or decrease."
Posted 1/13/2014 1:27 PM (GMT 0)
They don't increase after 60 because drs tend to associate pain in the elderly as age related or the population of the over 60s find themselves in Nursing facilities where pain is rarely treated aggressively. Therefore in my experience which by the way is vast in the elderly population is polled incorrectly .

If you throw those numbers out it tips the entire poll in a much different light .

I too am glad you found help with your CP if in fact that's what you actually suffered from. Im of the opinion that many forms of illness arise from mental health issues such as depression . Treat the underlying depression the symptoms or rather pain in this case dissipates .

The majority of us at one time or another have been assesed for mental health issues such as depression and having either been treated for or cleared of still suffer . That brings many back to the point that their pain issues are in fact physiological in nature .

Theres not much that those of us longtime CPers havent attempted or tried my friend . I can in all honesty assure you that if at certain points in my journey someone assured me eating garbage would take away my pain issues? Well i would have been a dumpster diving fool !!

I would truly love for this life of mine to have been as simple as reading a book and changing my way of thinking.
Posted 1/13/2014 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
Personal experience tells me that it is way way to easy for Doctors to say, your pain is all in your head, instead of trying to track down the true source that is causing the persons pain, and then treating it! Most Doctors would not tell a cancer patient that their pain was all in their mind. But yet if your not a cancer patient, that is often the case! As for myself I have been told I was a malinger, and it was all psychological, all in my head! That is until they finally did the right test and found out what was really going on, and ended up having to do surgery!! After the surgery other problems arose, and of course the surgeon swore up and down, that it had nothing to do with the surgery he preformed! But it did!

Just last week I talked at length with my PM doctor about the change in attitude about treating chronic pain, and how none of the doctors want to use narcotic pain medications any more! I explained how they keep the stats on people that overdose on prescription pain medications, and use them as an excuse not to treat chronic pain patients with these medications. But they don't seem to keep the stats on how many people take their own life, because of the intolerable pain they suffer from, because they can not get adequate treatment for it!!!!. I also told him I don't have allot of sympathy for those that abuse prescription pain medications, for recreational reasons. My opinion might sound cruel and harsh to some, but I feel if a person is deliberately abusing prescription pain medications and they OD they did it to themselves! and so be it!!! But to let someone suffer with chronic pain, because of someone else's stupidity, in my opinion is cruel and inhumane!!! In the end are we not all responsible for our own actions???

My PM doctor told me he totally agreed with me, but the BIG BIG difference was,...... if as a doctor, you don't treat a chronic pain patient with medications, you will not be sued and taken to court! But if you prescribe a pain med to a person, and that person then deliberately abuses it and OD's on it, then the prescribing Doctor may very well have a law suit against him, and be sued, and possibly lose his lively hood! So sadly,....... it comes down to DOLLARS and CENTS!!!! And unfortunately most Doctors care about the $$$ more than treating the pain of their patients ! It is unfortunate, but a reality, and it is spreading within the PM community! But they cannot, ( or will not) admit to it!! So they push it back off on the patient, and claim that the pain is all in the patients head! It keeps them from looking bad, and uncaring, and saves them from possible law suits from prescribing known effective pain medications! Even as a chronic pain patient, I am not sure that I blame them for that! It is unfortunate though, but in the end they are just looking out for themselves, and deep down in our inner being we all do that! Don't we?? or at least feel that way? I just wish they would be more open an honest about it, and admit to it!

So books can be written, and testimonials can be given about the effectiveness of this or that new treatment, and who knows??? Maybe for some they actually work! But make no mistake, as of right now, and possible for ever, there is no blanket fix for chronic pain, and it is Ludacris to think that there is! Heck even with proven effective pain meds there is not one that will work for everyone! That is why they make so many different ones, and even then, there are some people that pain meds just are not effective on. But to do away with an proven, affective treatment, just because a few in society, choose to abuse it for there own gratification is absurd and inhuman!

That's my take on it, and I am sorry if anyone takes offense to what I have written it was definitely not intended to offend anyone!

White Beard
Posted 1/13/2014 6:35 PM (GMT 0)
yeah yeah yeah yeah Applaud It could not have been said any better than that WB.


Glad your back up and running !!
Posted 1/13/2014 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
I'm familiar with the book, and have read it.

That being said, I want to chime in and ^^ditto^^ what WB and Vickie have stated.

CP is much too personal an issue to expect any one approach to effectively work for us all.




M.
Posted 1/13/2014 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
Rock on ,WB!

"So books can be written, and testimonials can be given about the effectiveness of this or that new treatment, and who knows maybe for some they actually work! But make no mistake, as of right now, and possible never, there is no blanket fix for chronic pain, and it is Ludacris to think that there is! Heck even with proven effective pain meds there is not one that will work for everyone, that is why they make so many different ones, and even then, there are some people that pain meds just are not effective on. "
Posted 1/13/2014 7:16 PM (GMT 0)
White Beard, I totally agree with you. And frankly, I don't believe that the number of those that over OD is as high as we are being told. The reason I don't is because the info, minus identifying info like names, is no where you and I can find. Do they do autopsies ? What are the ages and medical conditions of these that we are told have ODed ? What meds were found in their systems and at what levels ?

Also, Thank You for saying what you did about those that abuse drugs, I Totally Agree. It is their choice to abuse the meds and if they OD, it is their responsibility. So many people think that a Dr has to treat chronic pain, but the reality is no, they don't have to. There is no Law that says you must give a pain patient pain meds if they suffer from chronic severe pain. But, there is a law that says of you give a patient a rx and they die, as a Dr you can be held liable. And frankly this is why the drs are allowing patients to suffer. If a Dr could be sued for allowing a patient to lose the ability to function due to chronic several pain and not rxing pain meds, then we would see change.

Basically, I'm the type person that believes in live and let live. But, when someone wants to drink and get behind the wheel of a car and risk another persons life, I draw the line. If they want to die, let them stay home and die. If someone wants to abuse drugs and OD, that is their choice, let them stay home and die. But, do not interfer with my ability to live my life and do the most basic things like take a shower or fix a meal it takes 10 mins to prepare.
Posted 1/13/2014 7:17 PM (GMT 0)
Please Note : I have again removed your links to utube. They inevitably lead to Dr sarno web site or places selling the book . This violates HW rules as i said before.

If you wish to continue your crusade then I suggest you follow rules of the forum and more importantly HW. If not your risking your account being banned or locked and all the valuable posts here lost.

If you disagree with this decision feel free to notify our Admin by clicking on said at the top of the page and ask his permission to run your links to.

Thanks
Posted 1/13/2014 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
mithamansaid:
Trix - thank you for sharing your feedback but your reply seems to be based on a personal bias rather than the facts I have shared.

In the past four years I have researched a slew of treatment options, on medications, alternative therapies, or any little thing that will provide even a small amount of relief. I don't and never have suffer from depression, anxiety, etc. So rather than personal bias, my original reply was based on the knowledge gained these past years, personal experience, and the common sense to know that a book claiming that almost ALL cases of back pain originate from unconscious processes is likely not accurate, and - as I stated previously - doing a great disservice to those who struggle with chronic pain

mithamansaid: 1) Firstly, a common misconceptions is that doctors are saying the "pain is all in your head". This is not the case. All of the doctors acknlowledge the pain is REAL. The root cause of the pain though is stemmed by unconscious processes and not physical ones. Our minds are incredibly powerful and have the ability to affect our physiology. (The placebo affect, or why we get butterflies in our stomach when we are nervous are other examples of how our minds/emotions can affect our physiology)

Saying the pain is real, but caused by psychological problems, is just a matter of semantics in many cases. Yes, some pain conditions are caused by or exacerbated by depression, etc. but in your statements, you say the book teaches that almost ALL are - I believe there is far more evidence of pain being caused by true physical causes than by mental disease.

mithamansaid: 2) This approach has not worked for just one patient. Sarno himself has healed thousands, and the doctors who have followed in his footsteps have helped thousands more. There is REAL clinical data here and ten's of thousands of lives have been transformed, including many of those diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

There is also a lot of REAL clinical data that shows the placebo affect causes some to become healed or have alleviated symptoms. Probably as many or more cases than were helped by this book or the doctor who wrote it. If someone can be healed by the placebo effect, then I think it's great - who cares why they got healed? But I'm not going to spend my money hoping for it!

mithamansaid: While you may not agree with this appraoch, you cannot just throw out generalizations and ignore the pile of data that exists. That is not very scientific.

This is a pot and kettle situation… the book itself is throwing out generalizations (that all back pain stems from pshychological/unconscious factors) and ignoring the pile of data that exists (all those who have been healed/helped from surgeries, therapies/medications).

Post Edited (Trix007) : 1/13/2014 4:36:14 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/14/2014 12:57 AM (GMT 0)
I totally agree with White Beard. If someone wants to OD and kill themselves, then it's their doing. White Beard thanks for saying what I have been thinking for so long.

love and hugs
Loretta
Posted 1/14/2014 5:22 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you to all for sharing your thoughts and learnings from your own experiences. These are my parting thoughts.

1) Firstly, thank you to the administrators of HealingWell.com. It is because of this site that I discovered Dr. Sarno's book and found the solution to my chronic pain that destroyed my quality of life for four years. Without this site, I would very likely still be in a tremendous amount of pain everyday. THANK YOU! :)

2) Secondly, it is awesome to see that you guys have created a community here to share knowledge and support eachother. Living with chronic pain takes a tremendous amount of courage. I sincerely wish you all the best and hope that you too find a solution to your problems.

3) Finally, I have found that there can be tremendous benefits from taking a step back from traditional thinking which seems to focus on the machine, the body, and learning more about what makes the machine work –the mind.

Wishing you all good health
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply