I recently began neurofeedback for PCS. I've had 20 sessions and can already tell there has been improvement. Here are some very important things to know about neurofeedback.
1. Know your practitioner. Experience is critical to effectiveness. The more the better. Confirm that your practitioner is licensed and participates in ongoing education.
2. Who is actually working with you? Many pracitioners hire techs to do the neurofeedback. In other words, you may think you're going to be seeing the named guy, but in fact, the person actually treating you is a hired "tech" working under the "name practitioner." This includes Dr. Walker in Dallas, TX. You MUST ask who will actually be working with you.
2. The most advanced neurofeedback system is called LORETA. This system is able to do things that older, less sophisticated systems are simply incapable of doing. For example, the LORETA system is constantly doing a qEEG during neurofeedback sessions. It evaluates the entire brain, and can work many parts of the brain during every session. It can treat areas of the brain that the older systems cannot, e.g., deeper areas of the brain. (Compare to older systems, which are limited in the number of areas that can be addressed and do not allow the practitioner to concurrently monitor overall progress).
3. Unfortunately, there are only 50 or so LORETA practitioners in the U.S.
4. My suggestion is to see the best practitioner possible, even if it means traveling far away. If you think it's too expensive to travel, then think again. Nothing is more expensive than paying for something that doesn't work! I saw 3 local practitioners before traveling 1400 miles to get what I feel is the best treatment. One of them (a respected man who has been practicing for a very long time - not Dr. Walker) told me that I "have a good brain." The problem is that the old system he uses couldn't detect some of the problems. AND he farms out his work to techs because he's burned out.
5. Neurofeedback is real. It can do things that nothing else can. It is useful for a variety of issues, including depression, anxiety, seizures, migraines, autism, head injuries, autoimmune diseases, ADHD, and more.
Frank Duffy M.D., Professor and Pediatric Neurologist at Harvard Medical School wrote about Neurofeedback: "In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy it would be universally accepted and widely used (p.v) It is a field to be taken seriously by all" (Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, January, 2000.
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Originally Posted by sariah.crandall@gma
I was reading some of the posts on here. I am so sorry that neurofeedback didn't work for some of you. As for me, it was a huge blessing and life changer for me. I was in a car accident and suffered a brain injury. It was a very difficult time as I was trying to function as a "new" person.
Among other things, I suffered from migraines almost everyday, I no longer could be in crowded areas, I became agitated very easily, and I wasn't able to make decisions on my own without a huge anxiety attack. After seeing many doctors with no avail, I started taking more of a natural approach.
I was on high doses of Omega 3's and as long as a was very diligent in taking them, along with a couple other natural supplements I was able to function much better. However, if I missed 1 day, I was a mess and it took me a few days to "stabilize" and feel "normal" again.
I was introduced to EEG about 4 years ago. It took me about 5 months before I was able to do a full session because my brain had been so overworked and sensitive that I could not handle the protocols. We listened to my body and took babysteps starting out with just 5 minutes. We also stopped working on the cognitive side of the brain and focused on the subconscious part of the brain first.
I was only able to handle 5 minutes of that as well. I experienced a lot of the symptoms that have been mentioned on the board also, but they slowly subsided, which I believe was because my brain was becoming "healthier" and creating new pathways. I did a year of vigorous neurofeedback and I can now do simple tasks with no anxiety, I can be in a crowd for a limit time without having a panic attack, and I am on a normal dose of omega 3's for health purposes and not so that I can function and get through the day. It was a lot of hard work and time, but I have my life back for the first time since 2000. The BEST investment I made.
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