Quote:
Originally Posted by voner
TDCS trial update.
To start off -- for those who have not read anything I posted, I'm well researched on tdcs and its techniques and methodologies. I did plenty of research and consultation before I went into these trials.
I did three 7 to 10 day tdcs trials with no improvement in pain & increase in sleep disturbance.
then I pulled back for 10 days or 2 weeks and did some rereading of research & techniques, and did some outside consultations with some of the users on this forum and other “experts” (if there are such people)….
I could find nothing I was doing going into any reasons that I would not be a responder, with the exception of the fact that I have a pretty darn angular head and a unusually shaped head….. something that didn't bother most others -- but kept popping up in my mind….. I also determined from discussions with other experienced users -- and that my sponges were either not wet enough or the sponges were not getting exposed to enough of my skin area & that was causing a little burning and tingling sensations and flashing of lights -- nothing that was unduly bother some him a side effect manner -- but just indicated the methodology I was using was anomalous…
Anyway -- I ordered some different electrodes -- I'm using the flexible carbon electrodes that you will see in the tdcs JOVE video. The square AMREX metal/sponge electrodes that ballerina and most others are using on this forum -- they just would not lay against my head and make good contact.
These new electrodes slip into sponge pockets that I had made up. They conform to my very angular head quite nicely and are much easier for me to use and the sensations I experienced during tdcs are different --much less flashing of lights and no burning sensations -- just some slight tingling.
So I started another trial (number 4). I'm a little over 10 days into the trial. Once again -- no change in pain levels that I can discern. I can discern a slight change in pain levels immediately after the 20 minute, 2 milliamp session --- but it doesn't stay around. I'm still doing 20 minutes, 2 milliamps, once a day. The one symptomatic change is that I do not get any sleep disturbance anymore. I'm sleeping very well.
The location I'm using currently is C-3. I guess since I have not had any changes in pain levels -- I will change the location down to the area that ballerina is using. And see if that changes.
I am happy that ballerina, CRPSjames, and Catra121 are responding. I'm curious if you 3 have any kind of suggestions. Yesterday I think I hit the frustration point.
this may seem like a silly question -- but.... how are you 3 determining that your pain levels are lowered? I'm not questioning that they are. I'm just wondering how long after the tdcs treatment do you notice the lowering of pain levels, how long it lasts, or am I just getting into more detail than I should and that one the pain levels change -- I'll know it.?
thanks in advance...
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I'm sorry that things have been so frustrating for you and I hope that they get better.
For me...the pain reduction was a fairly gradual thing. Mostly I notice it in the form of a reduction in my sensitivity to touch and a lessening in the pain flares that really jack up the pain level. With the placement I am currently using it took a good month or so before I felt any pain reduction in my left ankle where the pain was the worst...but I am now feeling an improvement there as well.
My pain is not gone by any stretch but I think that because there is less sensitivity to touch and the pain flares are less and last a short amount of time that this leads me to feel that my pain levels overall are lower than they were before. Not sure how it is for the others...but I know I can use my hands for longer periods of time, I don't feel like I want to die when something or someone brushes up against me, I can wear closer fitting clothes for longer periods of time, I don't have to wear gloves every single time I go outside (just when its cold or particularly windy), I can sometimes wear a short sleeved shirt and not want to cry every time a WARM breeze touches my skin (cool or cold ones still do though)...stuff like that. Or how long I can hold something in my hands before resting (I do cross stitching and I can now usually hold the stitching in my hands for longer periods before needed to rest them because the pain level starts to get too high). Those are the sorts of things that I use to judge whether the pain levels are more tolerable and lower than before.
But all of these things have been gradual. I noticed some effect pretty early on but it wasn't until a good two weeks in that I really felt like I could FEEL the effects on a bigger scale. I do treatments twice a day and I write down how I am feeling every day...but I don't look over what I write every day. Instead I wait a good week before reviewing everything. By doing it this way I was able to really see a bigger difference.
Also wanted to mention that the first placement I tried (the C3/C4 position that you are using now) I felt the pain reduction immediately after the treatments but that it didn't last very long and then within an hour or so would be back up to really high levels. I didn't like that because it felt worse to me than just having high levels constantly and dealing with them. The elevation of the pain so quickly really made me nuts and was sort of horrible for me. I know...sort of crazy because wouldn't everyone love just a little bit of relief...but it really messed with my coping techniques and threw me off.
I also amped up my other pain relief techniques after this first electrode placement. I take two warm baths with epsom salts every day now instead of just one, use the ultrasound twice a day (right after each bath), been walking and doing my exercises more, and have been using the lidoderm patches more strategically in areas where I anticipate flares (for example on the parts of my arms where I tend to get elevated pain after walking or where a particular bit of clothing might rub against me wrong or where my shoes might hit me wrong, etc) and only use them in the same area once or twice a week. Could these things also be partially responsible for the pain reduction...I suppose it's possible but I've done all this in the past before without much luck in lowering the pain levels over all...and certainly not the sensitivity to touch and all that. So I feel pretty confident that it is the tDCS that is making the big difference and the other stuff is just helping that along.
I think that using the different electrodes may be a very good idea for you. I am glad to hear that you are not experiencing those side effects anymore. Even if they were minor...still is good to not go through it. And glad you are sleeping better now. I hope a new placement will see you with better results.