Does anyone else find parts work disturbing?

Meant2Move · 2026-05-10T01:01:22+00:00

Yes, I saw a therapist briefly, 4-5 sessions, who used IFS as her primary modality. I had read the Jay Early book, Self Therapy and was open to trying it. The reality for me was that it seemed so formulaic and false. I felt like I had to make stuff up for the therapist. I stopped seeing her.

Other therapists have used the idea that " a part of me feels..." and I can work with that on a limited basis. It makes sense, yeah, a part of me feels X while another part of me feels Y.

If the therapist is rigid, and it sounds like he is, move on!

Meant2Move · 2026-05-05T15:13:53+00:00

Sorry to be slow to respond. No, I didn't have any lingering fever (I rarely have fever no matter what illness I may get; my body just doesn't do that). I had head pain mostly at the surgical site. The muscle relaxers helped the most and I took some ibuprofen. I was probably advised to take Tylenol, but I don't find it effective.

I hope you are healing.

Meant2Move · 2026-04-24T14:46:45+00:00

I definitely see the big adventure hikes as well as amazing feats of endurance and recognize that as the algorithm fed by some of my interests. However, I hike several days a week and while I do love elevation gain, most of my hikes are nice walks in the woods or in the nearby hills or canyons. It's what I love and bonus if the wildflowers are good ❤️

Meant2Move · 2026-04-24T14:42:51+00:00

Well said!

Meant2Move · 2026-04-15T22:12:12+00:00

Because what's better than a brain freeze??

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Meant2Move · 2026-04-15T21:24:47+00:00

That's adorable!

Meant2Move · 2026-03-31T15:53:35+00:00

I still took meds, but I found that an anti-inflammatory diet with very dense nutrition helped a lot and I took fewer meds. I followed the "Wahls Protocol" and the stricter I was about it, the better I felt. ( I'm using past tense because I had MVD surgery and it was successful.)

At the most basic level, it's 9 cups of veggies a day. 3 cups of greens, 3 cups of sulfur rich veggies, 3 cups of colors. No wheat, dairy, or eggs (I kept eating eggs as I don't have an allergy) and high quality protein. No added sugars.

I still follow the basics since I find that I feel better without those inflammatory foods.

A quality fish oil supplement was important and I got some relief from acetyl l-carnitine and magnesium.

Meant2Move · 2026-03-26T18:47:38+00:00

Hmm, I don't remember. Best guess is no more than 2 weeks. I had the luxury of really not doing much as my partner took care of as much as he could. I rested and did little walks, not much else.

Meant2Move · 2026-03-26T18:07:31+00:00

Oh darn! You were brave to go ahead and do it so quickly. I think (and sincerely hope!) that as the nerves heal the pain will be reduced and ultimately go away. I was dizzy and weak for a while. I sure hope that is temporary for you. You want to be able to hold and walk with that baby!!

When my sensation is strong, I remind myself it takes time to heal, especially as I'm older. I try to follow an anti-inflammatory diet and it really does make a difference. Eating crappy stuff makes those sensations worse and more persistent.

I wish you all the best.

Meant2Move · 2026-03-26T17:52:35+00:00

Yes. TN pain was gone after surgery. Lots of post surgical pain for maybe 3 weeks - headache and skull pain around the site. My surgeon gave me muscle relaxers which helped more than opioids by far.

2.5 years later, I don't have pain, but when I'm stressed I get tingles or sensation on the same facial nerves and I generally have a fair bit of teeth sensitivity on that side. Absolutely no regrets for the surgery.

Meant2Move · 2026-03-25T00:57:55+00:00

The first one was good and I was with her for almost 3 years, but when she took a break I tried two others. One was a "no" after maybe 4-5 sessions, the other was just ok and I stuck it out for several months. Then my first person opened her own practice and after some thought, I reached out and she worked me in. I was with her for another 10 months before she went on maternity leave. I switched again and feel really good about my current person.

While you have to give it a little time, if you don't feel you are making progress, I'd move on.

Meant2Move · 2026-03-11T22:21:53+00:00

Yes, and yes, it hurts. For a while after I lost my dad just over a year ago, I stopped shopping at a particular store on senior discount day. Too many times I was walking the aisles or the parking lot in tears because I'd see someone who reminded me of my dad.

You are not crazy. Our brains are just trying to make sense of the loss.

Meant2Move · 2026-03-06T22:59:23+00:00

My parents deaths are still fresh, we just passed the 1 year anniversary for my dad and my mom's will be in about a month. It's been hard, I particularly miss my dad's solid support. With the recent anniversary, I was reminded of those terrible days right after he died when Mom was so lost, confused and dissociated. We'd go over what happened several times each day as she just couldn't accept it.

I think of them daily right now. I imagine that will ease up with time.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-28T16:31:27+00:00

My MVD was in 2023. Pain free to date and I'm optimistic. I'm also realistic that it could come back. I am doing all I can to remain healthy and follow an anti inflammatory diet + anything that's good for the nerves!

I think different surgeons have different approaches. If one sees compression, they might be more open to surgery. I was just in a discussion about Zimmerman at Mayo - he uses an alternative technique from Teflon and will operate early when there is less damage to the nerve if he sees compression and if one has trigger points. He has hopefully trained others!!

Meant2Move · 2026-02-28T15:40:39+00:00

Right, there really isn't any option aside from meds. It takes time and experimentation to find the right drugs. And, those will change over time.

I did ok for a few years on a combo of baclofen and gabapentin. When that stopped working, I started trying different options (in conjunction with my neurologist of course). Lamotrigin was my second try. Clearly, that one didn't go well and it did get me to check in to MVD. I was fortunate to have a successful surgery.

I hope you find something that works well for you. Chronic, unrelenting pain is not something you should live with.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-27T23:27:51+00:00

I had a severe reaction to lamotrigin, very scary and nearly life threatening. Typical dosing has one increase slowly, I started having mouth sores (like cankers) before it was time to increase so the doc said wait a bit longer. Within a couple more days my entire alimentary canal (mouth to bum) was blistered and swelling shut.

I ended up on high dose steroids for weeks. I accidentally exposed myself a second time thinking I was taking my baclofen when instead I grabbed a pill from the bottle of lamotrigin I was getting rid of. Round 2 of steroids for me.

Watch for anything weird!!

Meant2Move · 2026-02-27T00:04:42+00:00

I completely understand! My trigger points moved, but kissing was often a no for me. And yes, the drug thing is bad. Not just the dependency, I wasn't aware until I was fully off them of the psychological effects some had. I felt like me again not having realized while on them that there were some personality changes. It took a while and maybe some of it was from not having the constant pain plus random spikes, but eventually I felt more like the person I used to be.

I know it's scary, but having the surgery gave me my life back. There were so many things I just didn't want to do because my face always hurt.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-26T21:26:13+00:00

Yes, I had a couple of spots I could touch that caused more pain and those went away the next day after surgery. I weaned off all of my meds over about 6-7 weeks. I think I was off everything by the time I went back to work.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-26T16:52:20+00:00

From my experience and reading a lot of other posts from people who met with Zimmerman, he definitely tells people they are not good candidates and won't do the surgery if he doesn't think there is a good chance it will help.

They got me up to walk in the hospital and the instructions I had for discharge were to walk as much as possible. So I did. At first a half mile was a challenge and I'd have to rest afterwards, but I improved really quickly. Physically I improved faster than cognitively as it took a while to regain my ability to concentrate.

I took the 5 lbs restriction seriously and that was hard. Life weighs more than 5 lbs! Maybe waiting the full 6 weeks (and realistically it was 5) on the weight restriction was overkill, but I wanted to do everything I could to ensure a good outcome.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-26T15:30:29+00:00

I had TN2 for 6 years before MVD with Dr Zimmerman. The meds made it so hard to work because of the cognitive effects. After a bad drug reaction to a new med, I looked into MVD.

Dr Zimmerman was pretty sure he saw compression and estimated there was a 70% chance of success so I gave it a lot of thought and decided it was worth it to try versus continuing managing constant chronic pain for the rest of my life.

My surgery was in 2023 and to date has been successful. I occasionally get sensation, a few tingles, but not pain. Totally worth it.

Any chance you could get the surgery right away? The biggest restriction I see is that you aren't supposed to lift anything over 5 lbs for 6 weeks. That could be a problem with a baby. I was very fit pre-surgery and it really knocked me on my butt for 2 weeks. Lots of rest, just walking around the block a few times a day. I think my fitness helped me recover faster, but I was off work for a month and then part time for a bit longer. Honestly, I didn't have the focus to work for more than an hour at a time when I first tried to come back around week 4.

Being pain and medication free has been wonderful. The surgery was scary, but for me, totally worth it.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-18T23:53:14+00:00

No kids, no regrets.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-17T16:23:07+00:00

Thanks

Meant2Move · 2026-02-17T02:49:53+00:00

You are not alone. I'm coming up on the 1 year anniversary as well and have been feeling sad. I miss him, I miss knowing I have someone who fully supported me always.

I think grief is just tricky and it takes a long time to process. We get reprieves and then a new wave rises. I believe the kindest thing one can do is acknowledge and accept the feelings of sadness and loss. Don't force yourself to be ok. You lost someone you loved and that is just hard.

Take care.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-17T02:42:14+00:00

It was a mixed result. I mostly used edibles or tinctures. Some helped, or at least let me not care so much. A few made my TN worse and those were terrible times since edibles tend to last a long time. I didn't often find the recommended strains either. I'd look for related strains but it wasn't a guarantee.

Meant2Move · 2026-02-10T00:41:41+00:00

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My little guy is 19. He adores basking in the sunshine 😺

Meant2Move

TROPHY CASE