MARY'S MEDICAL HISTORY (NIGHTMARE) 

The following case history is of a lady who appeared as a guinea pig in one of the Advanced Remedial Yoga Teacher Training workshops late in 2004. She brought with her all her MRI scans and X-rays and medical reports and came armed to do battle. Here is her own story in her own words - including the title!!

July 2000 – bad fall in garden – suspected broken/chipped toe bone. Sat down hard on bottom. No treatment.

December 2000 – found out daughter had been having an affair with a married man and was in debt for £13,000.00. In view of my job (accounts) husband said I should sort it out, which I endeavoured to do, but it caused a great deal of stress. No sleep, living on coffee and junk food and the emotional toll was unbelievable. My husband was very angry and disappointed with her and I was caught in the middle.

February 2001 – car accident. Rolled car and wrote it off. Not concentrating, thinking about my daughter’s problems and the fact that I could not sort them. No apparent injuries.

Spent most of that year battling with Barclays Bank and Barclaycard. Eventually we had to pay off an agreed figure with them in order for my daughter to join the RAF and because my husband realised the mental and physical toll it was taking on me.

Beginning of 2002 my daughter was sorted, but I began to have problems with right hip/groin area when walking and my right foot itched a lot.

June 2002 – problem with right ankle – hurt when walking. Prescribed Diclofenic by GP. Progressed to Cellulitis from ankle to just under knee. Told by Kings Mill I had been bitten by something. Given week’s supply of antibiotics. Problem settled for 2 weeks, then came back, so treated again, this time with two lots of antibiotics. 2 weeks supply. Then further supply by GP. I was really distressed by this, as I had never been ill before. Eventually cleared by end of August. I still had problem with right hip and also itchy feet. Told hip wear and tear, feet Dermatitis.

I thought feet might be Athlete’s Foot, and so treated myself accordingly for couple of months. Things then settled for a while.

January (New Year’s Day) 2003 – felt really ill and right leg swelled up again. Signed off by different GP for 1 week and given double dose of antibiotics again. I was actually quite terrified by the fact that this problem had come back and that I was being signed off work, as I had never had a day off work except for the odd cold in 25 years.

When saw GP again insisted on seeing specialist who diagnosed Athlete’s Foot, which had become infected and attacked a weak spot in my leg just above the ankle. Dermal Cream for legs, Nizoral Cream for feet and Clarithromycin for bacterial infection – all for 6 months. I had gone from being a person who never took pills to having three forms of treatment for an extended period of time, and fear became my middle name. The pain from my leg was excruciating and my back and stomach began hurting as well, and I was terrified that I was going to become a cripple like my mother, who had rheumatoid arthritis for 15 years prior to her death in 1990.

Whilst on the above treatment, the problems with stomach increased, I had groin pains, right hip and leg pains, urinary tract infection and kidney infection. I could not sleep and felt like I was in some kind of nightmare. My husband paid for investigations to be carried out for all problems, i.e. ultra sound, pelvic and back X-rays, blood tests, plus test for kidney problems, but when they all came back clear, it became apparent that he thought it was all in my head. There was no emotional support at all for me and I felt extremely isolated. I was trying to deal with all this and still do my job, which is quite demanding, and be there for my family, even though I felt most days I should just stay in bed and not bother getting up. However, I never did this and kept on going.

I was told the problem with my leg was just a nerve and prescribed Amitriptyline to help me sleep and shut nerve down. This of course just emphasised the fact to my husband that it was a mental problem and not a physical one.

Finished taking Clarithromycin treatment at end of August, but told to keep up with cream treatment for both legs and feet for further six months.

By end of September felt really ill, constantly going to toilet, and back hurt as well as my right leg, ankle and foot. Had MRI scan and ankle X-ray, further blood tests, but these showed nothing, so diagnosed by GP as having IBS and Mechanical Back, also suffering from Anxiety, Depression and Menopause symptoms. Prescribed HRT, Diclofenic, which I consider to be one of the most evil drugs out, and I was still on Amitriptyline plus Dermal and Nizoral Creams. By that time I could walk no distance without pain in leg, which was now from hip to foot. My life was an absolute nightmare and my marriage was becoming a shambles. I could not understand why when I had always been there emotionally for my daughter and husband and always listened to their daily problems why they could not be there for me. On top of the physical problems, it was another blow to be thought of so little after nearly 30 years in a relationship. I felt isolated and, more importantly, betrayed. I just wanted someone to fight my corner.

November 2003 assessed by Nottingham Back Team who agreed with GP, especially about the Depression. Put on 7 week back course held at Hucknall Leisure Centre on Friday afternoons. Hated this. Stressed at having to ask for time off work. Stressed by having to talk about things in front of complete strangers. Tried to do everything they said, but knew that half the exercises were making me worse and cried all the time. Taken off the Amitriptyline and prescribed Gabapentan plus Paracetamol for pain, which by that time was dreadful.

By end of December 2003 taking HRT, Diclofenic, Gabapentan and Paracetamol. Felt ill all the time, could not sit down, or stand for any length of time and the weight, which I had started to lose after coming off the antibiotics began to drop off me even more. My husband was by this time totally unsupportive and said that the only person that could help me was myself and that until I realised that I would never get better.

February 2004 saw Mr Freeman at Spinal Unit, further blood tests, which were clear and so he concurred with GP and also said I was suffering from Psychological and Clinical Distress and recommended Stress Councelling and Pilates. Gave me an out of date leaflet for Pilates and the nursing sister in attendance advised me to accept my age and learn to cope with being 50 and menopausal.

Also at this time diagnosed by GP as having Haemorrhoids, saw consultant, but had to refuse to have them sorted at that time, because I could not stand any further pain.

In total conflict with the medical profession by this time, but having tried to transfer from my GP to another in the practice, who gave me a verbal pasting, I agreed to see the Nottingham Back Team Psychologist again and Physio on a 2-weekly basis at Cedars Rehab Centre. Also saw Osteopath privately, who arranged for further X-ray of back/pelvis, blood tests, which again came back clear and he advised me to moderate exercises for a period and stop taking Diclofenic. Did this and some minor improvement, but mostly just felt better off the Diclofenic.

March 2004 saw GP and refused to continue with HRT, Gabapentan or any other prescribed drug other than Paracetamol. GP agreed with me, as she said I was just not receptive to taking prescribed drugs. Boy, was she correct about that, especially as one of the drugs she tried to prescribe for me had been featured in a Panorama special as having caused suicides.

Kept seeing Back Team, but eventually told Physio to stop giving me exercises as no good and making me worse, plus I think the fact that he did not know what to do with me was actually beginning to affect him. Every time I saw him he had a nervous tic, which did not give me confidence.

May 2004 feet tested for fungal infection – came back clear, so stopped creams. I felt really relieved, as it was one problem out of the way.

July/August 2004 my neighbour took me to Yoga and despite crying the first time I was there, I knew within 2 weeks that it was right for me. My body needed waking up and stretching, and so did my mind. I had always suspected the Nottingham Back Team were getting it all wrong, which is why I spent so much time in conflict with them. Medical people do not like to be challenged. I often felt that my dogs were getting better treatment from our Vet than I had been getting from the NHS people. I withdrew from their program and told their Psychologist that I did not want to see her again as I felt my energies would be better directed at the Yoga.

September 2004 taken to Andy’s group by Rosalyn and met some wonderful people who were extremely supportive. I felt like St. Paul on the road to Damascus when he was struck with the divine light.

I saw Andy four times, who made me laugh even when he was inflicting pain on me and the good thing was that he made me no false promises, but gave me the tools to help myself. I look forward to Rosalyn’s class every week and she is a wonderful teacher and also makes me laugh. My sense of humour has come back and apparently I make her laugh too, which can only be a good thing.

I love my Yoga (it is MY YOGA) and even though I still have some physical and mental problems that need sorting and obviously some down days, I am now able to deal with these in a more controlled and sensible manner. My relationship with my husband is improving, my daughter has a good career and I have stood up for myself at work. I threatened to leave unless my boss took on another person so that I am not constantly propping up another job in the office. He has done this and we now have an extra member of staff.

I am taking no tablets and on an emotional level I can cope better because I feel less alone now and nothing interferes with my Yoga. It brings me peace.

Treatment Applied.

When Mary attended the workshop for yoga teachers who are training in advanced remedial methods, she was clearly fearful and anxious but her mind was receptive. We persuaded her to perform the core postures - forward bend, back bend, side bend in both directions and seated spinal twist in both directions and this showed very clearly that the vast majority of the normal spinal mobility was lost. It was also apparent to the two most experienced practitioners of FMM that she needed a rapid injection of pain reduction and an infusion of confidence so it was decided that we would as a group recommend Mary to attend Andy Thomas' FMM clinic for some further assessment.. This assessment revealed spinal vertebrae seriously lacking mobility so four sessions of gradual mobilisation reduced pain considerably . These sessions gave a good opportunity to listen to all the trials and tribulations that Mary had undergone in her search for a cure, providing further catharsis. The main stimulus, however, came from her enlightenment during the workshop in which we came to realise, by herself, that she had been directing all her thinking at finding someone who would provide a cure . She had never considered that she had created her own problem and therefore had to find a solution herself . This was a complete re-orientation of her thinking. She had considered that it was someone elses job to find out what to do , not hers. The workshop gave her the opportunity to listen to all the students as well as the experienced practitioners in the group, and rapidly she came to realise that she had abdicated responsibility. We directed her to proceed to regain all the mobility in her spine –the loss was estimated at 90%--and focus on this as the solution. The treatment provided her with a rapid movement along this path since so many of the spinal vertebrae heavily immobilised. We explained that this congestive and irritative condition , resulting from great immobility , could not be fully dealt with by treatment , no matter what it constituted. Her own work was needed to augment the process. We explained also how yoga postures work to enable the long accumulated effects of immobility , made worse by pain, to be counteracted. The holding of a stretch lengthens the myofascial structures to enable blood flow to increase and thus cell regeneration rate to increase. Lymph flow is improved by stretching as is nerve trunk integrity and mobility.

Her progress has been very steady and she has dedicated herself to the daily round of yoga which slowly retrieves mobility and thus produces softer and more relaxed myofascial structures.

The patients mental state is directly influenced by this change , not just because of the improvements in pain levels but by way of increases in confidence which lead to further improvements in adventurousness . This loss of fear resulting, produces a person who is now in command of her body and not victimised by it. This is genuine liberation and independence.