I decided to resume last night since my back was much better. Took my 6 PM meds but decided to skip the 8 PM (last of day) and wait for first signs of wearing off. Then I would do the Estim to see if it would extend my on time.

Noticed first signs at 9 PM. Began Estim at 9:15 and ran it until 9:25. Waited half an hour. No effect that I could see so went wearily to bed.

Woke at 4 AM in unusually good shape for that time of day. Except for my back. Definite setback on that score. I suppose that that should come as no surprise since the little machine is designed to make your muscles twitch and jerk.

So, I am going to take a break on doing the back. But I will make notes here on what I think is going on. I think it is a mistake to use the Estim when you are going down. I suspect it may work better when used as part of the day's regular routine instead of a replacement or a rescue.

I will get back to it in a couple of weeks.

This is exciting, Rick! There are good prices here:

http://www.medicalproductsonline.org...FRYpFQodqwPr9Q

And they accept PayPal!!

I may get this one:

http://www.medicalproductsonline.org/meprdi701mai.html

What do you think, Rick? And what size electrodes are best?

http://www.medicalproductsonline.org/elel.html

I need this for nerve pain in my legs, too. It's been very bad and neurontin doesn't help.

Now I'm confused. This unit has both tens a muscle stimulator:

Digital TENS & Muscle Stimulator System

http://www.medicalproductsonline.org/twditemustun1.html

"TENS Unit Stimulation – stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. Pain, whether chronic (long-term) or acute (short-term, often from surgery or trauma), can be relieved through a variety of methods including drugs, topical ointments, surgery, and electrical stimulation. T.E.N.S. devices deliver mild electrical pulses through the skin to stimulate the cutaneous (surface) and afferent (deep) nerves to help control pain. Unlike drugs or topical ointments, T.E.N.S. does not have any known side effects."

I think the muscle stimulator sparks your muscle to contract without you doing any of the work? Is that correct? EMS?

What is a Muscle Stimulator?:

http://www.medicalproductsonline.org/whismust.html

What Is T.E.N.S.?

http://www.medicalproductsonline.org...stensunit.html

More info:

http://www.medicalproductsonline.org/frusmoel.html

I've had one for several years, which I've used for an ornery s.i. joint. Found it at a garage sale for $10. Works great. Now it looks like it might serve a dual purpose. Called a Comfor-Tens. Made by Analgesic Healthcare in Tampa, FL. If it's useful for pd, it might be worth a try to track one down on e-Bay or craigslist.

Jon

ZF-

The short answer to your question is "I don't have a clue!" The one I am using has a peanut shaped gel pad about 4" long that the leads clip onto. As to TENS vs EMS, no idea.

I want to emphasize that this is all new territory and there may be dangers, so be cool. I have had both positive and negative experiences in the day or two following each experiment but cannot say either is linked. Not enough data. Just be careful.

Has there been any more experimenting with the stimulator on the spine? My dad has a tens unit , I wonder if it is the same thing that revereet was trying out? Any new discoveries or good results from your trials ? Aunt Bean

As I said earlier, I overdid it and, while I will return to it eventually, I am still a little averse to repeating the experience just yet.

Translation- I scared the wee-wee out of myself. Should have read the directions first. Fifteen minutes was way too long. Read the research and they were dealing in 30 second intervals.

But it did seem to work. Moderation in all things, etc.

So, start out at 30 seconds, skip a day and observe. Next day do two 30 sec sessions five minutes apart. Skip a day and observe. Keep repeating until you are up to five 30 sec sessions five minutes apart and see how things are going.

One thing that I did establish is that there is a good safety factor when you start low.

i bought a posture stability brace at a medical supply store. it wraps around your abdomen and lower back , but has a supported extension covering the whole back and shoulder straps. It can all be closed and adjusted all around the abdomen.

I live in the brace unless I am eating and don't wear it when I sleep or just need a break. It really helps and my husband says I look straightened out.

But the exciting part, is when I first wake up, I take meds and put this brace on immediately and it actually reduces and has even eliminated the 40 min. of dystonia that I have to suffer every morning.

It was more that $80, I wonder if it could be prescribed and paid for by medicare. It's too late for that for me but I'm finding it worth every penny for my entire back and painful shoulders.


paula

your neck and entire spinal cord in line - you can get better blood circulation to everything...

An interesting paper with links to a number of current threads.

With a frequency of 80 Hz, pulse width 700 microsec, two channels at up to 25 mA:

"Only a few significant effects of a single session of surface electrical stimulation using different electrode positions in dysphagic Parkinson patients could be observed in this study. Furthermore, significant results for temporal and spatial variables were found regardless of the status of the electrical current in both groups suggesting placebo effects." [1]

More work required.

[1] "The Effect of Surface Electrical Stimulation on Swallowing in Dysphagic Parkinson Patients"
Laura W. J. Baijens • Rene´e Speyer • Valeria Lima Passos • Walmari Pilz • Nel Roodenburg • Pe`re Clave´

http://www.springerlink.com/content/...u/fulltext.pdf

John

Could anyone tell me where I can find such a device?