Research Brief
A study published this month in the journal Pain Medicine supports earlier findings that noninvasive cortical electrostimulation may be somewhat effective against fibromyalgia symptoms.
In noninvasive cortical electrostimulation, a practitioner attaches electrodes to the outside of the head and delivers an electric current to the cerebral cortex (outer layer of gray matter on the upper part of the brain.)
In this study, researchers say participants had modest improvements in pain, tender point count, fatigue and sleep without significant side effects. They're recommending it as a part of the fibromyalgia treatment regimen, not as a stand-alone treatment. (It's rare for any single treatment to adequately manage all fibromyalgia symptoms.)
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Have you tried this form of electrostimulation for fibromyalgia? How did it work? Leave your comments below!
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Adrienne, I know you don’t normally respond to questions posted here, but I’m really curious and I wonder if you’d know…the NFA was really talking a study similar to this up, (right before they stopped being advocates for us, and started selling our email addresses and other info to highest bidders, but that’s beside the point) do you think it’s the same study?
The NFA was touting that this could be THE cure, but then I heard nothing after that. Got any idea if it’s the same thing? Just curious.
From Your Guide: It’s certainly possible. The NFA has traditionally publicized recruiting for studies, but I can’t say for sure whether this is the one they mentioned. ~Adrienne
I’ve used this kind of vehicle (SOTA Bio-Tuner) for years. Now I take a treatment with it about once a week and it’s really working! After using it I can sleep much more deeply and my condition is thereafter quite much better. There are really no side-effects, so it’s very safe. If I have not used it for too long I’m getting worse again.
Just curious…if I wanted to look into this sort of treatment what sort of doctor administers this sort of therapy? I would not know where to look in regards to specialists.
Very interesting! I imagine one would ask for a referral to a neurologist. Easy enough to ask my doctor about it. She’d find out for me and we’d go from there.
Problem is, who pays for it? Would my health insurance cover it? Very unlikely. So therein lies the rub, right? Potentially excellent treatments for FM that very few can even try because we all know how beat down and run down we already are with ill health and poor finances.
It is what it is. Nevertheless, it’s good to know about new treatments!
Is the Alpha-Stim a cortical electrostimulation device? If so, here is my story of how it has helped with my FMS pain:
I use an Alpha-Stim that my doctor gave me to try after I was diagnosed with FMS two years ago. He keeps some Alpha-Stim units in his office for patients to try. I understand some sleep study labs or clinics also carry Alpha-Stim machines to ‘check out’ for a month trial, to see if it helps with your pain before you buy one. I have heard if you call Alpha-Stim they can tell you who near you carries the Alpha-Stim machines so you can try one or buy one You can buy directly from the company, too, I believe, with a doctor’s prescription.
Here are links to two studies on the Alpha-Stim web site about FMS and using the Alpha-Stim for FMS pain:
http://www.alpha-stim.com/abstracts/lichtbroun/
http://www.alpha-stim.com/media/webmd-fibro/
For myself; my pain was at about a 6, on a 1 to 10 pain scale (10 being the worst pain). After only a few days of using the Alpha-Stim, my pain level was at a 3! As long as I remember to use it every day, it keeps the pain down to about a 3, and if I forget it for a day or two, I can feel the pain begin to creep back up to a higher level again!
I use the Alpha-Stim along with a lot of the other things you are supposed to do for FMS pain (exercise, stretching, warm water baths, supplements, medications, good diet), and as the study above suggests, for me it is a good supplemental treatment.
Earlier this year I heard about a new and exciting drug-free treatment option for those who suffer with chronic fatigue,depression, anxiety and insomnia. Since my husband Mike has suffered with CFS and insomnia for years, I did some further research.
Turns out The Fisher Wallace Stimulator is a small portable electronic device which runs on AA batteries. The user simply wets the sponge pads, places them at their temples and switches on this machine for a pre-programmed amount of time.
This FDA-approved electronic device has been proven to stimulate the brain’s production of serotonin, GABA and endorphins, and can be used while you are also taking antidepressants, Ambien and other prescribed medications.
Mike has been using the stimulator daily for at least two months now and he says, “I’ve started sleeping nine to ten hours compared to five to seven in the past, but it’s the quality of the sleep which has improved dramatically!
I use an Alpha-Stim device I got from my doctor’s office to help with my FMS pain. My pain was at a 6 on a 1 to 10 pain scale (10 being the worst pain) and now it is down to a 3!
I have severe insomnia, CFS, and resulting anxiety/depression/cognitive difficulties. NeuroFeedback (another name for this procedure) has definitely improved my symptoms, I’ve been going to a local practitioner for weekly sessions over the last several months. I have sleep study verified no stage 3 sleep and constant Alpha intrusions – these treatments have added on an extra hour of sleep (of some kind) and acts as a mild anti depressant type effect. If I miss some treatments I know it, and will regress. Unfortunately my insurance won’t cover it (I believe some will if it’s shown to be used for body pain, administered by a medical professional and for not cerebral use) and it’s getting too expensive to continue. So I recently purchased a Fisher Wallace machine , after googling I saw a study somewhere showing labs before and after treatment that showed neuro transmitters and hormone levels do actually change. (No, I don’t work for any of these companies).
There are a couple of things to know –
a) any of these machines for home purchase usually require a doctor’s prescript, two of my doctors refused to write one (they never heard of this treatment so refused to comply), before a found a third one, a sleep doctor, who would.
b). There are varying hz frequencies with each machine – the lowest is 15 hz (as I understand it) on F/W machine – which may be too high for sensitive patients, as myself (I could tell as a I got a tension headache after treatments and no alleviation of symptoms. It seems to have good results for some, just not for me). They do have a 2 mo return policy, but my fault wasn’t able to take advantage of it.
I am planning to ask my doc to write another script this week to rent the Alpha Stim as I understand they have a .5 hz lowest setting which is similar to hz setting my practitioner uses. Am hoping this machine will work!