Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
It was the morning of December 7th, 2019.
As my flight from Mumbai lands in Munich, I feel a sharp pain in my back. I immediately mentally blame the lack of comfort on this Lufthansa aircraft and sigh at the idea of having to cope with back pain until I get home in Vienna. At that point, the pain is present but bearable; I carry my backpack with caution.
The following weeks will be a nightmare.
A quest for a diagnosis
The pain gets stronger, I have difficulty sitting, and laying in bed is torture.
I sleep in 30 to 45 minutes chunks for close to two weeks. I moved to the living room, partially to allow my wife to sleep, partly because binge-watching Mr. Robot while pacing around the sofa is the only way I found to cope. Milk and cookies disappear every night from the kitchen.
Of course, I see my doctor.
Not surprisingly, we start tests and analysis.
Blood work, MRI, stress tests, ultrasounds all show no damage, structural or chemical. I am given some meds for the pain. I don’t like the idea. It’s never a good sign when the Doc says to “ease in and out of your dosage progressively.”
I am still in pain.
An unexpected answer
“I was in such much pain that I had to lie down on the floor, I read a book, and it went away forever,” – said my friend and coworker, Yvonne.
I ask if I have first to wire all my savings to the author, but she promises that no, it’s legit, and I only need to read it: no diet, no medication, no strange exercise, or ceremonial dance.
I went on Amazon and ordered “Healing back pain – The mind-body connection” by John Sarno, MD.
Within days, the pain was gone and has never come back.
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