Calmare Therapy Treatment?
 

I was just cruising another support group site and saw mention of some kind of new(?) (allegedly) long-lasting, non-invasive electronic chronic/intractable neuropathic pain and oncologic pain treatment called Calmare. I came back to NT and searched, and found there was some discussion last summer & fall in the RSD/CRPS forum (and 1 mention in Chronic Pain), but then it kind of petered out.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/se...hquery=calmare

I don't know anything about it - NAYY, but thought it worth passing along for info/discussion...

Check this out:
http://www.calmarett.com/pain/whoitsfor.html

There are also 5 videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFiDvJqCJeA

Google: calmare

Doc

AKA: Scrambler Therapy
 

Seems like with all of these, there's always a portion of the population that responds. So you don't know until you try it. 80% obtained 50% or greater pain relief.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16012423

Thanks. Compared to a lot of new/experimental/alternative therapies, those numbers aren't bad, IMO.

My daughter tried it with no luck. If I was going to do it for RSD pain I would definitely go to Dr D'Amato in RI for the best results. We did not. The good thing is you will know right away if it is going to work so you are not out a ton of money. Dr Chalmers has a clinic in Utah and soon in Las Vegas but it seems like Dr D'Amato has teh most RSD experience.

Liz

My husband had an injury to his neck. He has severe pain in his left arm and back do to nerve damage in his neck.

It did not work for him. His pain went down while he was having the treatment, but as soon as he walked out the door it was back to the same old stuff.

That's exactly what you posted about the Rebuilder:

I don't think the Rebuilder and Calmare are exactly the same. So which one did you mean, or did he try both with the exact same results?

Doc

Calmare's device is fantastic. True, not everyone responds, but many do.

My wife has intractable coccyx/perineal pain associated with pudendal/sciatic neuropathy and CRPS. We went to St. George for treatment by Dr. Chalmer's staff. The treatments were $150 each, and ideally one undergoes 10 treatments. She did not respond, unfortunately, but we met other patients who do, including a lady from San Diego who suffers from severe CRPS, including a clenched fist. She goes up every month or two for a round of treatments, and returns home pain free (yes, ZERO pain), which lasts up to several weeks and then gradually returns. What she needs (what we all need) is a clinic providing the treatment in her own home town. In time, this will likely happen.

This treatment is definitely worth an inquiry.

What I would like to know is how come it WORKS for some and DOESN'T WORK for others (who have the same condition.

Anyone have a guess on why this is?

Thanks much

Melody

I guess not all pain is the same. And of course, it may depend on the patient's capacity for healing. If no healing is possible, the treatment cannot do much.

Makes a lot of sense.

Thanks, Melody

Drug free pain treatment
 

I suffered really bad neuropathic pain in my feet, and it eventually got to my hands. My GP prescribed Lyrica, a drug for epilepsy, and it worked. But at a terrible cost financially and physically.
I became a Zombie, with memory loss, loss of balance, and slept all the time. It just didn't suit me so I searched the internet and found out about TENS.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.
I tried out a unit from my local pharmacy before buying one, and I am totally satisfied with it.
I saw the article on the Italian "Calmare" and couldn't find out much about it, but it does sound like a Souped Up TENS unit.
You pay a lot less than $150 for a good TENS unit, and you can use it whenever you need to, it is battery operated. Amazon has a good range of them.


luv2all,
footloose

Adverse events reported to FDA
 

Go to the FDA website and search on Calmare. Then click on "repeat the search with omitted results". There are 4 adverse event reports where people got worse from this. Patients and their doctors don't know or wont take the time to post to this part of the FDA website so I assume these are not the only ones. I had such high hopes but I'm not willing to get worse.

Just wanted to share with all of you what I am going through right now. A few months ago my knees gave out and I had to be taken to the ER. They did nothing. A week latter I had an MRI and of course I knew I had degenerative joint disease but I didn't know I had two torn miniscus. So I began P/T and they put hot pads with electrodes and then did ultrasound therapy on my two knees and the Physical Therapist massaged my two knees and at home and outside I used a walker. Got a bit better every day.

Then I did something very stupid.

I was learning how to go up the stairs. I have not had to go up any stairs for 25 years but I moved last year and I had to go up stairs. So I began slowly going up the stairs like a 90 year old. You know, you do one foot at a time. Worked for me, Going up and going down. Bring up one foot and then the other. So because I was getting physical therapy and it was working on my knees I thought I would try going up like 20 year olds do. Not running, just walking up like a normal person (something I haven't done in over 25 years). Well, when I began doing it I said to myself OMG, I CAN DO THIS. I told my physical therapist and he was pleased and said 'just don't run". I said "of course not'. But little did I Know that I was using muscles I hadn't used in YEARS. Thigh muscles and back muscles.

Well about 7 days or so ago the cable guy came and for whatever stupid reason I began going up and down the stairs (my new way) and going in the backyard and following him back up to my apartment. I think I must have gone up and down those stairs at least 20 times that day.

Well!!! in a few days, boy did I feel it. My back (lower left going down the buttocks) began to ache. As I was going to the physical therapist he began to treat my back (like he did my knees) with the electrodes and the hot packs and the ultrasound and the massage. The massage felt wonderful

I have had 4 treatments so far on my back. I graduated from not being able to stand for any length of time and having to sit down (or lie down) to (today) beging able to use my little transport chair in my house to do what I need to do. I go back and forth to the physcal therapist with a taxi and I use a cane. If I have to walk down the block I use a walker. Never saw this coming. I discussed it with him and we both agree that I injured the muscles in my lower back which aggravated my sciatic nerve.

I remember when I had a bout of sciatica 20 years ago. SAME EXACT FEELING (the pain radiating down the left leg).

20 years ago I remember being stuck on my couch until the attack subsided. That time was much worse than now.

But for whatever reason today's session nearly did me in. When he massaged my lower left part of my back (I gather he did deep tissue massage?), well, I yelled. I said "you never hurt me like that before). He apologized and said "Melody, today I began to be a bit more aggressive in the massage". I said "go for it, I'll do anything to get over this thing'.

I love the hot packs, the electrodes, the ultra sound (and I'm taking a mild anti-inflammatory) but honestly, I think I really did a number on my back when I stupidly went up and down those stairs (really giving my muscles a workout). What the h was I thinking?

I have now gone back to walking up and down my former way. Well, actually going up. I always went down the stairs one step at a time, but honestly when I began walking up like a younger person does, I felt so liberated. Never did I think I should not have gone up and down the stairs 20 or so times.

I will never do that again.

So as it stands, I go to P/T three times a week. And he told me 'do not exercise, and when I said "but I heard that mild stretching is okay and it feels good when I do that" he said "Okay, only if it feels good when you do mild stretching but that's it"

So I don't know what the future holds but here I am sitting in my transport chair and tomorrow I will gingerly go down the stairs and go to Dunkin Donuts (which is a few steps from my house and is right on my corner). I use the walker and they have a ramp. Thank god I am not housebound.

I get around, I still can cook and do stuff. My husband helps me but he has neuropathy for over 20 years and can only do so much but he does do the wash.

I will never lift anything heavy and I will never go up the stairs using my thigh and back muscles. Anything to get over this sciatica. (My knees are much better since I had the p/t). I am just very careful. I wish I could stay up off my feet more than 10 minutes but then my left side hurts (down the leg too). As soon as I sit down and put the heating pad, it's fine. And I sleep on a hard mattress so I sleep fine. Thank god for that.

Just wanted to update you

Melody