Just came home from PN Support Group meeting
 

It was a good meeting. Learned quite a bit. Also took my Flip camcorder and with everyone's permission, made a video so all of you can see what the Neuropathy Support Group meeting looks like. I'll post it when I finish editing the mini-movie. I mean it's only about 90 seconds or so.

What I really want to do (maybe at the next meeting) is if we have guest speakers, maybe I'll film some segments that I think you guys would be interested in. Hopefully there will be some NEW info on PN that I can share with all of you. That would be really cool.

Now here's a another reason I am posting here tonight. We just came home from the meeting and one of the men there had a book titled EARTHING. He explained it and we all took a look. What a fascinating concept.

I don't know if I believe all of it, but you have agree that we don't walk on the earth, walk on the grass, well, we all live in a completely different way than man did thousands of years ago.

I went to this website and learned about Earthing. Fascinating stuff

http://www.shop.earthing.net/

And they have earthing products to use if you can't go and walk barefoot on grass or anywhere else.

I have only looked at the earthing bands so far. I can't believe that if we plug ourself into an electrical outlet, it will STOP PAIN.

But that is what many of these products claim to do. They have banding mats, sheets, rods that go in the ground. And the owner of this website says there is science behind all of this. It's about the electricity of the earth and how we can tap into it and HEAL ourselves.

I want to know what you all think of this website.

I'll post the video when I get done editing.

Melody

Hey. Do you feel you benefit from these groups? I wish there were more support groups for chronic pain even. I am interested to see the video.

Yeah, we most certainly do benefit from going to support group meetings. My husband is now more sociable. He realizes he is not the only person on the planet who had this kind of pain.

And when we sit around and discuss, we can ask questions, we can find out the LATEST info on Neuropathy. In December, in Washington, DC, I believe, there is going to be a BIG symposium with all kinds of experts, and it's run by the Neuropathy Association. The leader of our group, Steve, is going to be there.

He is always finding out neat stuff to share with us.

What I find (and I've been going to meetings for 10 years), is even if there is no news to be learned from a particular meeting, we all join up and gab and talk and ask each other, "how are you doing, have you tried this for your pain, have you tried that".

Friendships have been made.

And sure, we have had a couple of odd people come and then they go. There are negative people, there are grumpy people, there are opinionated people, there are compassionate people, ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE.

We usually met (a few of us), one hour before the meeting at a nice place across the street and we have our dinner. You can grab any kid of food you wish because they have various display counters (Japanese, mexican, american, italian), etc, and you can take what you want, go over to a table and join the group.

Alan and I always go Japanese. It's fun to sit around (before the meeting), eat a meal, share some conversation), then we all go across the street to the meeting.

Many of these people are older people and need the socialization. Some are really disabled from their neuropathy. But all have something to share, and we can all learn from each other.

And the coffee and cookies ain't bad either!!!! lol

I shall finish editing the Flip video and post it later. I'm just waiting for approval from some members on the final cut of the 90 second video. It's one thing to say "Sure, I'll be in a video, but it's another thing to see the video and say "oh I don't like the way I look, get me out of this video".

So I'm respectful of the feelings of others.

Be back later. Melody
P.S. why not go to the Neuropathy Association home page, look up Support Groups, put in your zip code and see if there is a meeting near you?

Thanks. I looked and there is one I think in my area. I remember when I was at Cleveland Clinic the support of others helped a lot. Glad you and your husband have benefited.

Hello Melody,

I don't have PN, but do have TOS, RSD, and fibro. My sister just gave me an Earthing kit for an early xmas present.

I am about half way through the book and using the pad a few hours per day. I don't have 3 prong outlets throughout my house, so I am limited to where I can use it.

First night, I swear I felt better.......and that was Thanksgiving night. I usually need extra pain meds after being up and about, but I didn't that night. I also made it to Walmart 4 to 6 am without meds. I went to bed again at 6:30 and woke up later with a miserable cold (my kids were sick earlier in the week. So......it's hard to tell now how/if it's working. I am a skeptic by nature. I'll keep you posted.

Hi.

I have something you might like to try. Before I tell you what it is, let me tell you how I found out about this.

I am a person who grows her own food in the kitchen. I'm a sprouter. This, by the way, is not about sprouts.

It's about drinking a shot of wheatgrass juice every morning.

All my fellow sprouters grow their own wheatgrass and they juice it.

It's cheaper than going to a juice bar and paying $5.00 for a shot of wheatgrass.

I never really know about the benefits of wheatgrass until the other night when I was on the phone with a friend I know and we were talking about wheatgrass juice.

She told me the following:

"I have a friend with fibromyalgia, and she started taking shots of wheatgrass juice before her morning breakfast. Do you know her fibromyalgia stopped bothering her. She so greatly improved in her pain level, that a day doesn't go by that she doesn't take a shot of wheatgrass juice".

See, I never knew this. I just had my sprouts and I have felt great for two years.

But I thought I would have to be growing trays and trays of wheatgrass and then buy a juice, etc. Not for me.

So I went to the various places on the internet that sells the dehydrated wheatgrass powder, that you just take a teaspoon and blend it in whatever you are drinking and it becomes a power-house in your body.

I am now looking on the internet for a wheatgrass juice powder that I can use myself.

I went to Vitacost (they have the best price), and then there is iherb.

Now I have no idea if you have ever tried this stuff, but I'm the kind of person, who when I find something that worked for other people, then I have to share the information.

So go online, look up benefits of wheatgrass juice. (It also helps with skin diseases, keep you bowels up and running, ALL KINDS OF GOOD THINGS.

I'm going to buy some.

Let me know if you think this might be up your alley.

Take care,

Melody

Just starting Earthing.....
 

I decided to go ahead and try Earthing for the both of us. It totally makes sense to do, especially since neither of us go barefoot anymore nor do we live with access to the ocean.

I received the 1/2 bed sheet which came with a copy of the Earthing book, as well as the accessories to hook it up and test it to make sure it's working.

I went ahead and put my feet on the sheet for about 20 minutes when it arrived. It did create some tingling in my feet (I don't have PN) and seemed to relax me.

When John came home from work (he has PN), he took a nap with sheet hooked up at the end of the bed. It caused his feet and calves to throb a bit. So I figured we need to move the sheet up higher off his feet. Solved that problem.

So after our first night on the sheet, we both slept very well but were still tired when the alarm went off this morning. We are up way too early...5:45 am. I am assuming there will an adjustment period. I've had a stiff neck/shoulder for over a week now and finally, today, it feels the almost resolved. And those pesky hot flashes were less intense also.

So the journey begins...I am not very disciplined when it comes to documenting our progress, but will try to report our experience on a regular basis. I'm not expecting miracles, just want to support a healthy environment for our bodies so they can do what they want to do naturally and that is to heal and repair itself with less interference from this highly charged world we live in now.

Marlene

Re: Earthing
 

Would setting yourself up a little spreadsheet (computer type - not the earthing kit type) or something akin to a pain journal help? You might include the weather for each entry, including your local relative humidity. I ask that because weather & humidity have an effect on electrical fields and the static contained in your body (like ststic shocks being more common in cold dry weather than humid summers).

I heard about earthing some months ago before I heard about NT. Gotta admit I'm more than a little skeptable (like with that Rebuilder gizmo), OTOH, I'd never discount the placebo effect - I'm all for it if/when it works.

Doc

I do believe there are electrical fields around our bodies.

I think this is why magnets work at times for some people.

The Chinese have long believed that energy flows thru the body's meridian points.

Thanks Doc...The spreadsheet is a good idea. It would be good to have a list of "stuff" that influences how I feel that I can easily check y/n. My symptoms come and go, and I have yet been able to tie them to anything at this point. Before I started menopause, everything could be predicted based on my cycle. Not so any more.

BTW....I too am a skeptical on many things. But with Earthing, they are not trying to cure you of anything. It's more about restoring a basic need that we've lost. Good nutrition, good sleep, less stress, meditation, exercise and good air/water....and now grounding to the earth. And, you don't need to buy anything to do it.

Now, on the rebuilder...it was a godsend for John in the beginning. Dropped his pain level dramatically. I know it doesn't work for everyone but it did for him. And anything that helps him, helps me :).

Mrs D...I have been working at an acupuncture clinic doing reflexology and the most potent stress reducer for my clients is when I work the Kidney 1 point on their feet. An interesting connection with Earthing, is that they use the K1 point when grounding people. Seems the feet are most sensitive to electrical fields and that point is very potent to the overall production of energy/chi in the body.

It's all very fascinating.

All that may be true & correct, but still have nothing to do with this ear... I can't say it. I read the stuff. It's grounding, plain & simple. They put a fancy name on it for marketing purposes, but you'd get the same effect by wearing shoes with conductive soles, like leather. There are other ways (rain, snow, tools, more) that we're grounded a good part of the time anyway, and that hasn't made any difference.

Show me some science and I may be convinced. (I coulda been from Missouri!) :p

Doc

Hi Marlene

i read your post from february on the earthing sheets. i was wondering what your opinion is of them now. do you notice any relief from pain or swelling?
i have internal RSD and have an aweful lot of swelling on my abdomen...i dont have money to buy the product right now but may save up and buy them based on others opinions.
what do you think?
thnk you
Lori

******************************************

Hi Marlene,

Mrs D just linked your post to another member over in the RSD forum. I've been grounded since Thansgiving and LOVING it. It hasn't solved my pain issues, but I am sleeping soooo much better and that helps my coping with CP 150%

I wasn't planning to assess this yet since, in general, I'm pretty healthy and John is doing well also. I figure any benefits will be gradual and subtle. Which is true for me in most things.

For me, it seems to be calming...kind of takes my edge off. I can work myself up quickly. So it creates a sense of well-being which helps relieve some stress. I have notice that one of my veins in my leg that was bordering on becoming (i guess) a varicose vein has actually improved in appearance.

For John, not sure yet except that he has some increased activity in his feet. In the past, this was a sign of healing where his feet would wake up a bit more. Then when they calmed down, they were improved. He hasn't had jump like this in while so I assume the grounding is helping. We'll see how he does in the summer.

The other thing that I just realized, is that I don't have anywhere as much sinus congestion when I wake up. Hmmmmm...and this is the time of year when my seasonal allergies kick in.

Healing takes time and your body will prioritize what it wants to do first. I know that finding a way to connect with the earth can only help even if it doesn't resolve all my problems. Anything that stops progression or reduces symptoms is a good thing. So many things can be fixed or balanced without us being aware of it since there are no physical, outward symptoms tied to the imbalances in our body. Example....elevated blood pressure. You don't feel bad and it won't cause any "physical" symptom for a long time but it is doing harm.

Lori....I don't know where you live but you can, if possible, naturally ground yourself. Start with 30 minutes/day. Barefeet on the grass, dirt, or concrete will do. Then work up to 2x/day. Also, the straps are more affordable than the sheet. Sleeping grounded is more powerful since that is when your body does a lot of its repair work.

Finz....Sleeping better is a good thing and goes a long way to improving your overall health. I'm glad it's helping.

I will be purchasing something for John to use at the office to help reduce the effects of working on the computer under florescent lights all day.

Hope this helps.... I know it's not a "miracle" testimonial, but then I wasn't expecting a dramatic effect. Sometimes you don't realize the benefits from a therapy until you stop it for a while.

Thank you...
im too ill to stand up, im mostly in bed..i can walk for a minute but thats it.
i will thing about the straps.
why cant there be a cure for this!!! you would think it would be easier to cure than many diseases out here.
thanks again

I checked out that website, and I am so interested in knowing if anyone has tried their products. For years my daughter has been telling me how we are all connected to electricity. I think there might be something to it. I just might save up and do the "Half bed sheet" for my PN, but I'll wait and get some more input on it. Thanks for sharing.....:)

I just learned about Earthing a few weeks ago and have set up a preliminary system with a grounding wrist strap, used for electronics work, plugged into the ground receptacle of an electrical outlet. This device has a 1 Meg-ohm resistor in series so is not ideal. I probably am only in contact with it for a few hours a night. I believe I sleep more soundly. I intend to rig up something better a connection to a rod driven into the ground outside my bedroom, and to stay in contact all night.

Here are links to much of the evidence of the health effects of Earthing:
http://earthinginstitute.net/research/

Also here is a good article with some good references:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3151462/

I would say the concept is in its infancy so there are not large studies. There are small studies with some nice results, but need to be verified by other groups. There is a large amount of positive anecdotal evidence, and a couple of movies have been made. The 2nd one is available on youtube.

Trust me, I am skeptical about any new or unusual claims of healing. As an electrical/software engineer, the science of Earthing seems plausible to me. Free electrons (negatively charged) from the earth could combine with the positively-charged free radicals in the body and neutralize them before they can damage healthy tissue. Earthing proponents suggest that this naturally happened with our ancestors, who had much more contact with the surface of the earth than we do today. The hypotheses is that the quenching of free radicals dramatically reduces inflammation, the cause of many modern diseases that have recently appeared on the scene.

Ron

I use my magnet pads every night. I made them myself.
I am about to make 2 more. They really work well for me.

I bet they work to reset your bioenergy somehow.

Oh wise MrsD.

Are you able to elaborate more on this?

TIA

I have a magnet thread here:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ghlight=magnet

I've used magnets for over a decade. They have to be applied to an area over a nerve path, like the Lidoderm patches.

I finally made 2 pads from knitting needle sleeves...each has 3 very strong neodymium magnets, in a row, stitched in a way so they cannot attract each other. 1" x 1/8" I put in a stiff but flexible plastic strip so they don't fold up (the stuff you get from UPS that holds boxes together. I lay on them mostly at night and use them on my neck.

There are plastic coated ones currently on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B80IR8/...I29EWZ0JL4IRWC

There are two poles and most magnets are not marked. So you have to experiment to find which pole works best for you. One pole will stimulate the nerve...you'll feel it .
The other pole calms the nerve and the pain will stop.

I use anatomical diagrams I find on Google to find the nerve paths so I can place them where I need them. You cannot use them if you have any implanted device like a cardiac pacemaker or SCS spinal stimulator.

These plastic coated ones are a good start, you can tape them down with surgical tape. They are so strong you don't need them more than 20 min to a half hour, usually.
Keep them away from your phones, computer and car dashboard just in case they cause problems there.

These magnets are very strong, and can pinch your fingers if you don't handle them carefully. Keep away from children and pets who might swallow them. They are not toys and much stronger than you have probably ever seen! If you don't think you can manage them, then they are not for you.

For people with global burning all over, I don't think they will work. But if you have back pain, or knee or ankle pain, they work very well. I've been using them this summer on my upper back and collar bones which have been flaring with arthritis (or my lupus).

Some of the links on that old thread may be expired. If you find one please let me know. I don't offer the magnets often because people laugh and don't believe they could work. But they do....if you use them correctly, use only the very strong ones, and handle them carefully.

In your particular case, I don't know if the magnets would interfere with yours spinal cyst. So think about it carefully before you try them. A doctor would not have much or any experience with them to ask. But I discovered my podiatrist uses them, when I broke my big toe with a boulder that rolled onto it... I went in there for X-rays and he saw a small one taped on my toe and was surprised! LOL

Thanks so much and yes, I know am having burning pains almost all over my body now. Hope someone else can use them.

:hug:

We've been using a grounding sheet on the bed for a few years now. I know when I first put it on, it had to be placed so that it hit above John's ankles. When his feet rested on it, they kind of buzzed, in a gentle way. It's a half sheet so it's at the bottom of the bed. John also uses a grounding mat at work. He's on the computer all day.

I can't say either of us have notice dramatic shifts in anything. I do think that being outdoors, connecting with earths magnetic field is restorative as well as a shower as long as you have copper pipes.

There is something to be said about how our modern world has distanced us from the natural world. Pretty much everything shields us from connecting to the earth. All our shoes have some non-conductive material in the soles. Walking barefoot on the grass or on the beach is a good thing. Even concrete should be OK since there's moisture in it, it should conduct the flow of energy. Walking barefoot is not an option for many with PN so you need to figure out different strategies to connect.

Marlene, Is your sheet plugged into the grounding prong of an outlet? If so, did you check that it was actually grounded first? A feeling of buzzing makes me wonder if the line is not grounded and has a 60 Hz AC voltage induced on it by the other wires that run alongside the ground wire. Do you have a voltmeter, multi-meter, or any such instrument, or know an electricial or electrical engineer?
Ron

Hi Ron,

I have two ways that I can ground the sheet. Via the grounding plug in the wall outlet and the other, the one I prefer for the sheet, is directly connected to the ground. When I first started this adventure, I checked all the outlets and found about 30% not grounded so I fixed them and retested to make sure. I also have a tester for the sheet that came with grounding sheet that confirms that the item is grounded. Item being the sheet or the person. The house was built in the 50's so it was wired with grounding in mind. Somehow though, they weren't very thorough when wiring the outlets. My first tester was defective and none of my outlets registered as grounded. After a little meltdown, got another one that worked. Found two outlets that were mis-wired too. Fixed that.

Those feet of his are very sensitive to changes. The buzzing usually happens as a result of some type of stimulation. They would buzz after I gave him reflexology also.

I don't think it's an issue like it was at first. I notice when he sleeps on his side, his feet are on the sheet and doesn't appear to bother him.

Thanks for looking out for us...I appreciate your concern.

Thanks for the reply Marlene. Good you got the outlets fixed. I think the connection directly to the ground, without going thru the house wiring system, is much better. Even if the outlets are grounded back at the entrance to the house, there still could be a small AC voltage induced on the wire, which would get stronger the farther away from the ground rod you go. Whether this is really a concern or not, I don't know, still exploring this. Happy earthing & PNing.
Ron