Alternative therapies info thread - PEMF, LLLT, Acupuncture , etc.
 

Have you read about, studied or tried any of these, or any other therapy that fits in the alternative category?

For what symptoms or conditions?

Helped a lot, a little bit or not at all?

Ins coverage or not?

Avg cost out of pocket?

Please add informative links to articles or studies about these therapies onto this thread.

PEMF-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=PEMF+therapy
http://www.pemf.com/en/
http://drpawluk.com/resources/buyers-guide/



LLLT (low level laser -also called cold laser/soft laser)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?...+laser+therapy
http://www.laser.nu/

I meditate every day (as advised by my evidence-based psychiatrist and clinical psychologist) as part of my mental health self-care. It is free and has helped me a lot with my clinical depression.

This editorial provides some background; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4639597/.

Thanks , If anyone has another therapy to add , please do so and share your information & experiences.

There are quite a few PEMF devices on the market but the price for most of them is pretty steep and out of reach to most. It would nice to find a reputable one that is reasonably priced. Too bad you can't go to store to try them out before you invest in them. I'm sure there are clinics that use them but it's not easy to find them.

I think they have a lot of potential to help people but figuring out what one to choose is a challenge.

Here's a DIY blog. It's well beyond my pay grade though....

http://www.diypemf.com

Cooled Radiofrequency (RF)
 

I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has been treated with cooled radiofrequency for joint-pain and, if so, your experiences with it.

My pain doc keeps pushing that for me and, sadly, she betrayed my trust many months ago by doing a procedure on my knee that she had no business doing. End result was more agony than I had before - until I found a natural anti-inflammatory that finally got my life back. Point of all that being, I'm not sure I trust her on this Cooled RF procedure.

Hi, I don't know this Cooled RF work but know about PRP (platlet rich plasma) injections, Stem Cells injections and Prolozone injections (oxygen/ozone) ... these are all out of pocket injections and are pricey and no guarantees to any of them. I'm thinking and thinking on the Prolozone as it's the least pricey.

You can find info online all all the above mentioned. It's my knee that I would start with...funds are my issue. Surgery is my very very least action I'd take.

Yes, the same pain doc talks highly of stem-cell therapy. She has had incredible results from that on patients that can afford it. Good old, "We know best" insurance won't cover any part of it so it's thousands out-of-pocket. She's known patients that, after 6 months, were completely cured. The body heals itself (go figure?).

The process of pulling the stem cells from the marrow (best source) is costly.

PEMF treatments
 

I've done approx 40 PEMF treatments over the past couple of months, and find, that while progress can be slow, amazing things are happening! I've had PTSD for 35 years and have been a chronic pain patient for 19 years, with many failed surgeries. I've been slowly working my way off the opiates this past year, along with many other meds. After about the 20th PEMF treatment, my brain started making endorphins again - love, joy, extreme compassion and empathy, love of animals, music, nature - all came flooding back. I'm still on some opiates, but after 19 years on them my neurologist said there was little chance of those opiate receptors healing. My pain levels are incredibly lower, I have energy, leaky gut is healing, and I am thinking so much and so clearly it's like I've been asleep for 35 years and just woken up. Amazing! The cost is pricey, but I am a Guinea pig for a Nutritionist who is just introducing PEMF to her practice, so I get it for free. But would I pay $3-4,000 for this? You bet! It's like being alive again!

Matrix Repatterning Therapy
 

My daughter suffered a severe concussion Dec 2014. She had 3 total in 15 months. The effects were catastrophic. Severe migraines that put her in bed for a week at a time or longer, severe depression, completely flat affect, vision processing and vestibular problems, etc. We went to "the best of the best" healthcare providers including a cutting edge traumatic brain injury clinic in our city. After exhausting all of our standard medical options and therapies we started trying alternatives. These included craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, functional neurological therapy, massage therapy, etc.
I stumbled upon a reference to Matrix Repatterning Therapy in the appendix of The Brain's Way of Healing by Dr. Norman Doidge. There are only 7 practitioners in the U.S. and one of them is in my city.
Starting April 2016 my daughter had a total of 9 sessions and at this point is 95% healed. It was like watching a miracle in slow motion. Each week we saw undeniable changes. In March she missed 50% of her school days and could not do any homework. She slept 16 hours per day and had a 24/7 migraine. 7 months and 9 treatments later she is a freshman in college, biology/ pre-med, lives in a dorm and hasn't missed 1 class. She even joined a sorority!
Bottom line: THERE IS HOPE! Not every therapy is right for every patient but don't stop trying. Even when we were getting nowhere, we kept pushing for the next thing. It gave her something to look forward to and a place to pin her hopes. Don't stop until you find your miracle too.
Jen