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I was lying flat on my back for the third straight day. Lower back pain. There was a great amount of pain when I just rolled over, and standing up to go get wat

I was lying flat on my back for the third straight day. Lower back pain. There was a great amount of pain when I just rolled over, and standing up to go get water or to relieve myself was barely at the edge of possible. This wasn't the first time I had gone through this, and it seemed to be happening more often. So I remember lying there and wondering if the politest way to commit suicide would be on a plastic tarp in my car in the parking lot of the coroner's office. If I could make it there. There's a tablet mounted on an arm on my headboard that I can read on my back. I got to an Ask HN item asking what books had most changed your life. The top post at the time was about Dr. John Sarno's book, Healing Back Pain. I've read a lot of books in that genre, but I was desperate and figured, if it helped one guy it might help me. So I surfed over to Amazon. The book ad pressed all my skeptic buttons. No drugs or exercise. Talk therapy for back pain. This isn't all in my head damn it! But I saw so many hundreds of positive reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, and the book was $6.99 on Kindle, so I bought it and downloaded it immediately. Maybe an hour later I had finished the intro and chapter one. I slowly and painfully got up out of bed and started waddle/stomping around as best I could. Collapsed into bed a few minutes later. Got up again, rinse, repeat. A few hours later I was basically functional again. A week later I had to pay attention to notice the pain. Now a couple of months later I still get twinges, especially when doing heavy yard work. But the fear has subsided. I've been able to work through it. That doesn't mean the pain won't come back. And I'm positive that this approach won't work for everyone. But I'm doing great. And my yard looks much better. That one HN post lifted me up and saved me, not quite literally, but almost.

superasn 8y ago
Wow the very same thing happened to me too. 20+ years of back pain fixed in few weeks. Now I always tell everyone about Dr. Sarno's as a means of helping others even if it sounds to good to be true. His books have given me my life back too.
- hyeomans 8y ago
  I never thanked you for the mp3 recordings!! Thank you!
  - superasn 8y ago
    You're most welcome. Reading the comment about your recovery made me very happy. Let's hope we can all help more people who are struggling with this issue :)
twistedanimator 8y ago
Funny you should mention seeing a book recommendation on HN that changed your life. I have experienced the same thing, but with a different book. A month ago I read a comment[0] about the book This Naked Mind and how it helped him/her with their alcohol consumption. Getting serious about my alcohol consumption has been on my todo list for a while, so after seeing it had 4.7 stars on audible I bought it. I listened to it in its entirety in 3 days during my commute and haven't had a drop of alcohol since. To give you an impression of my level of drinking. I'm not a heavy drinker, but I am a habitual drinker. I drink either 2 or 3 high alcohol beers or a bottle of wine almost daily. I've always been worried about the sheer amount of empty calories I'm consuming and if just by cutting out alcohol I'd lose weight for free. Today is day 25 since I've had any alcohol and I'm just so pleased with the outcome. Maybe the book can help you too! [0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17834081 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17834081
- justsomeguy3591 8y ago
  This is kind of crazy... I think I saw that same comment when it was posted. Added it to my to-read list and recently decided to get the audiobook and listen through it. About 90% through and I have to admit - it has given me a lot to think about. My consumption is generally on the weekends, 4-5 drinks per outing with friends. I've gone out for drinks twice since then and couldn't bring myself to order more than one drink. There's a lot of reason behind her arguments against it and I never really realized just how much of the perceived "benefits" of it are simply placebo effects or misattributed to other factors entirely. I'm not sure what the extent of my behavioral change will be after but it's safe to say I'll never look at alcohol the same way. For anyone else on the fence - read it! At the very least, entertain a different perspective on the pervasive drinking culture we find ourselves surrounded by.
hyeomans 8y ago
Oh man, my life changed a month ago and I’ve shared this with a close family member that already went through cirgury. I will say, this works better if you’re on the edge and just want to try anything. Keep it strong.
wingerlang 8y ago
Could you share a TL;DR of the tips? I don't have back pain but I am curious still
- hirundo 8y ago
  It's the difference between a broken bone and a charlie horse. If you try to walk off a broken tibia you can quickly cause serious permanent damage. If you try to walk off a cramping calf muscle you can infuse it with oxygen and return it to normal function. Sarno's theory is that just like the brain can make the cheeks flush with embarrassment or go white with fear, via the autonomic nervous system it can constrict the capillaries and deprive various tissues of oxygen. He thinks this deprivation is minor and doesn't cause permanent damage, even though it can cause much pain. The solution, as for a charlie horse, is the opposite of immobilization, which is what I was doing. Mobilization heals via oxygenation. He also believes that the ultimate source of the problem is the brain's reaction to sublimating emotions, that it deprives these tissues as a strategy to distract you from the sublimated feelings. That simply by raising this gambit to consciousness you can defeat it. I don't find this part of his theory as convincing, but I think the rest holds up without it. There are lots of back problems that are more like a broken bone than a charlie horse, where mobilization is dangerous. I took the risk and got lucky. Even so it may have been a stupid move. It's a really good idea to get examined by a specialist first, which Sarno emphasizes.
  - dawidw 8y ago
    > Sarno's theory is that [...] What do scientists say about that? Is there any research regarding that? If it's so well working solution, why doctors seem to be not aware of that? I don't have back pain, I'm just interested in topic.
lilbobbytables 8y ago
Had something similar this year with back pain. Was having manageable lower back pain when my pack suddenly froze up. It feels like your body is just stuck, and moving it will cause your spine to rip out - all from just muscle spasm tightening it. It causes this mortal fear to rise up inside you. wondering how long you'll be incapacitated, living in pain, and useless. Fortunately it was about 3 days like yourself, but you don't know that when it starts.

superasn 8y ago

Wow the very same thing happened to me too. 20+ years of back pain fixed in few weeks. Now I always tell everyone about Dr. Sarno's as a means of helping others even if it sounds to good to be true. His books have given me my life back too.

hyeomans 8y ago
I never thanked you for the mp3 recordings!! Thank you!
- superasn 8y ago
  You're most welcome. Reading the comment about your recovery made me very happy. Let's hope we can all help more people who are struggling with this issue :)

twistedanimator 8y ago

Funny you should mention seeing a book recommendation on HN that changed your life. I have experienced the same thing, but with a different book. A month ago I read a comment[0] about the book This Naked Mind and how it helped him/her with their alcohol consumption. Getting serious about my alcohol consumption has been on my todo list for a while, so after seeing it had 4.7 stars on audible I bought it. I listened to it in its entirety in 3 days during my commute and haven't had a drop of alcohol since. To give you an impression of my level of drinking. I'm not a heavy drinker, but I am a habitual drinker. I drink either 2 or 3 high alcohol beers or a bottle of wine almost daily. I've always been worried about the sheer amount of empty calories I'm consuming and if just by cutting out alcohol I'd lose weight for free. Today is day 25 since I've had any alcohol and I'm just so pleased with the outcome. Maybe the book can help you too! [0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17834081 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17834081

justsomeguy3591 8y ago
This is kind of crazy... I think I saw that same comment when it was posted. Added it to my to-read list and recently decided to get the audiobook and listen through it. About 90% through and I have to admit - it has given me a lot to think about. My consumption is generally on the weekends, 4-5 drinks per outing with friends. I've gone out for drinks twice since then and couldn't bring myself to order more than one drink. There's a lot of reason behind her arguments against it and I never really realized just how much of the perceived "benefits" of it are simply placebo effects or misattributed to other factors entirely. I'm not sure what the extent of my behavioral change will be after but it's safe to say I'll never look at alcohol the same way. For anyone else on the fence - read it! At the very least, entertain a different perspective on the pervasive drinking culture we find ourselves surrounded by.

hyeomans 8y ago

Oh man, my life changed a month ago and I’ve shared this with a close family member that already went through cirgury. I will say, this works better if you’re on the edge and just want to try anything. Keep it strong.

wingerlang 8y ago

Could you share a TL;DR of the tips? I don't have back pain but I am curious still

hirundo 8y ago
It's the difference between a broken bone and a charlie horse. If you try to walk off a broken tibia you can quickly cause serious permanent damage. If you try to walk off a cramping calf muscle you can infuse it with oxygen and return it to normal function. Sarno's theory is that just like the brain can make the cheeks flush with embarrassment or go white with fear, via the autonomic nervous system it can constrict the capillaries and deprive various tissues of oxygen. He thinks this deprivation is minor and doesn't cause permanent damage, even though it can cause much pain. The solution, as for a charlie horse, is the opposite of immobilization, which is what I was doing. Mobilization heals via oxygenation. He also believes that the ultimate source of the problem is the brain's reaction to sublimating emotions, that it deprives these tissues as a strategy to distract you from the sublimated feelings. That simply by raising this gambit to consciousness you can defeat it. I don't find this part of his theory as convincing, but I think the rest holds up without it. There are lots of back problems that are more like a broken bone than a charlie horse, where mobilization is dangerous. I took the risk and got lucky. Even so it may have been a stupid move. It's a really good idea to get examined by a specialist first, which Sarno emphasizes.
- dawidw 8y ago
  > Sarno's theory is that [...] What do scientists say about that? Is there any research regarding that? If it's so well working solution, why doctors seem to be not aware of that? I don't have back pain, I'm just interested in topic.

lilbobbytables 8y ago

Had something similar this year with back pain. Was having manageable lower back pain when my pack suddenly froze up. It feels like your body is just stuck, and moving it will cause your spine to rip out - all from just muscle spasm tightening it. It causes this mortal fear to rise up inside you. wondering how long you'll be incapacitated, living in pain, and useless. Fortunately it was about 3 days like yourself, but you don't know that when it starts.