The start of a great break trhough re: later effects of TRAM-flap surgery

[Guest guest]

I rejoined this list a couple of weeks ago, asking about problems

with the TRAM-flap reconstruction. I knew about the herniation (or

what the doctors call " the bulge " ) because I have it. I knew about

the lower back problems because I had them for a couple of years, and

then worked through them using the techniques in books by Sarno

MD (Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection) and Fred Amir (Rapid

Recovery from Back and Neck Pain). These techniques worked so well

that I have recommended these books to many people who in turn have

had excellent recovery from back and other pains.

What was happening to me two weeks ago was an issue with the muscle

that was used to nourish the tissue from my stomach and is tunneled

under my skin to cross over from the other side of my abdomen so is

tunneling horizontally. That muscle was feeling heavy and felt like

it was constricting me. When I touch it, it feels quite hard. Reading

the literature, I know there is no undoing this 12 years out from the

surgery, so I went to an alternative health professional. I took in

information about the surgical procedure, including diagrams, so that

this person would know what I was talking about.

Intuitively, I thought that this is something, like the scar tissue

that I suffered from after having two mastectomies four years apart,

that a massage therapist could help me with. My massage therapist

broke all my scar tissue down: it took a year; it was a very painful

procedure; but at the end of the year, all scar tissue was gone or

was not interfering with my movement in any way. However, when I

asked her about working on this muscle, she was wanted to have more

guidance about what was doing what.

And intuitively, I felt that this muscle was trying to do something

it was made to do but couldn't because it is in the wrong place. This

may sound weird, but it is part of the story.

At the same time, since I was having acid reflux (which I have only

had rarely and then only after indulging in something I shouldn't

have eaten), I had this health person check my blood to make sure

that it wasn't a heart issue.

Well, the blood was normal. And then I showed the health guy the

diagram of the TRAM-flap procedure. He looked at it, and immediately

started talking. And what he said has given me the opportunity to

have another break through in dealing with the latent effects of the

TRAM-flap. I do not have his exact words, so what I am going to tell

you is what I now know and what I can now work on.

First, and most amazingly to me, the acid reflux is related to this

issues with this muscle. The muscle still gets its marching orders

from the brain, and those marching orders are for the long abdominal

muscle doing what it is supposed to do. So every time I do something

that requires the use those muscles ( like sitting down, standing up,

etc.), both the intact muscle and the diverted muscle get the same

signals to contract and relax. When the muscle tightens, because of

where it is located, it puts pressure on the diaphram muscle (and he

told me where this is attached, etc. and how this works), which in

turn puts pressure on the muscles of the stomach and esophagus at the

place where they connect, squeezing the valve that keeps stuff in the

stomach closed.

He gave me some deep breathing exercises to help stretch the

separated muscle. And he agreed with my intuition that massage

therapy would be the best thing to help this situation.

I have been doing the deep breating for four days now, and the

discomfort and the acid reflux have been significantly reduced. I am

also more conscious of sitting up straight and standing straighter.

Next Tuesday, I start working with the massage therapist: like the

scar tissue work, this will be painful, but I know the therapist, I

know her low tolerance for hurting others, and I know that we will

work through this the way we did the scar tissue.

I am very blessed to have done a lot of work strengthening and

listening to my intuitive. I am blessed to have health professionals

that see the whole body as integrated and interconnected. And I am

blessed to have a massage therapist who is willing to learn something

new and work through it with me.

Hugs to all,

Joyce

Dallas TX