It might be worth a trip to a cranio-sacral therapist to get your own
choice "tennis ball" locations, but you could probably figure it out on
your own, just being careful to observe for side effects.
Odds and ends (from reading the archives and recent posts):
I think the Chinese have much better treatments for neurological problems.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs helped enormously with my bladder and
intestinal problems. Chi gong helped my balance, even though I started out
barely able to do some of the steps. There's also chi gong that doesn't
involve movement of the limbs--"the six healing sounds" for those working
towards movement.
Last summer while attending a week-long seminar, my back started aching
terribly at T5. I was miserable. I finally realized that the stress was
actually on my lower back because I'm used to sitting with a slanted foot
rest (relieved lower back pain I had before TM), which I didn't have at the
seminar. I started bringing a foot rest from home so I could sit through
the entire week. I thought it was interesting that I couldn't feel any of
the problem in the lower back itself. My sensations seem so variable:
some parts are hypersensitive to touch, some seem not to feel cold very
well, the lower back feels no pain. Do other people have similar
variations? It also seems like cuts (like cat scratches, for instances)
don't heal as well in my lower body.
Someone mentioned that their wife's TM came on relatively soon after
childbirth. There was a woman in rehab with me whose TM was brought on by
childbirth.
Someone wondered about a possible relation with measles (I had them at age
8). Someone thought B12 might help with symptoms, but since I normally
take B12 sublingually (1,000 to 5,000 mcg/day), I didn't see a benefit.
I used to have leg spasms at night, too. The doctor put me on Baclofen (I
think) because the spasms were waking me up all the time. He said I was
releasing that energy during the day by walking around and moving, but that
the nerve impulses at night didn't have a release. Eventually, the spasms
quit.
I was heartened to hear that others have the girdle symptom. When I
brought it up in rehab, they just asked me if it didn't hurt before. When
I said it didn't, they just blew it off. The best thing I've found for the
girdle pain is doing a meditation called the inner smile. It's based on
focusing on different body parts, so you can direct energy anywhere in the
body. The meditation also helps the pain in my legs, although acupuncture
is also very effective for reducing that, too.
Reading about other people's bladder problems reminds me that I DO actually
still have bladder problems; I just don't like to think about them or admit
them (fortunately, it's not too bad).
Sorry for rambling around so much.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Aurore
ableck(AT)nas.edu