Hi Debbie,

Using Pub Med for the first time can be confusing, depending on how you enter the site. Ballerina has a research background so it is second nature to her. (No offense meant Ballerina) Here is a tutorial that will guide you.http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmedtutorial/

Send me a pm if you are still having problems.

tDCS affect learning, but learning is quite distributed in the brain. Depending on the type of learning, different area's mediate this.

Concentration can be affected by stimulating the DLPFC. This area is involved in planning, organizing and some aspects of memory. F3 on the 10/20 system.

Steve

The dystonia in my foot is now totally resolved. I knew it but did not want to post until I saw my doctor today. I truly believed that I would spend the rest of my life in the wheelchair due to a failed Spinal Cord stimulator. I am now using a cane at all times. I move rather slowly and cautiously but the wheelchair and walker are gathering dust. The alodynia in my foot is improving every week. (Not so much for the alodynia at the surgical sites caused by the Spinal Cord Stimulators due to multiple revision surgeries, but I am hopeful that continued tDCS will help)

Are you out there Catra?? I just know that you are going to follow me right out of that walker!

So now the score card is: headaches 0, dystonia 0, alodynia in wrist spread caused by the SCS 0, skin infections, also the result of the spread caused by the SCS 0, sleep disturbances 0. I am off all narcotics and I pray it is forever.

Today I went outside and sat on the ground in the warm sun and was laughing while I was pulling weeds. After the SCS failure my wrist was totally useless and even the air from the heat coming on caused severe pain. Now I am wearing gardening gloves, smiling at dandy lions and loving every minute of my life.

The atrophy in my leg is almost gone and now I am working on core training in PT. The physical therapist giggles when she sees me. My wife cried when she came home from work and found me weeding.

I don't know if tDCS can put me into remission but my money is on an eventual score of CRPS 0.

I can't wait to go to support group tomorrow to tell everyone, although I think this post might let the cat out of the bag.

Hope anyone thinking about trying tDCS will seriously consider it. It is cheap, non-invasive so it cannot cause a spread, portable and can be done at home.

Wishing everyone the kind of joy I am feeling today!

Spoke to dr fugedy ...planning on a visit, I have full body muscle wasting from rsd..hope it's not too much for the tDcs...

Debbie

Hi CRPS James,

What a joy to read your post sharing your progess using TDCS.

Joydee

This is really very very wonderful! I am SO happy to hear it. I was outside weeding in the garden too.

I have to say that I am extremely happy with my progress so far with the tDCS. I've been doing it a little over a month now and the results so far are all positive. The pain and allydonia in my hands and arms is now so much less than it was before. It's still there and reacts particularly bad to the extremes in temperature and cold air...but SO much better. I haven't had any instances of my hands freezing up in several weeks. And outside of the flare that was caused by the minor car accident I was in (and that lasted less than a day...still blows my mind) I have not really had any flares in my hands or arms for the last few weeks.

I have also begun to notice a reduction in the pain and allydonia in my left ankle. This has taken a while...but I have started to notice that it IS less. I wasn't sure at first (was it just a few good days or was it really sticking) but now I feel comfortable saying that it is indeed a reduction in the overall pain level. I'm still using the TENS unit and doing all my other things...but where the pain level was never below a 6 before at its best...now I would say it generally stays between a 3-6 each day instead of a 6-10. Now...I did have a few instances of it flaring up to that level 10 level...usually if I misstep or bump my foot or anything like that. But even these flare ups are less often and last much shorter periods of time. All that said...I have started doing more walking without with a cane or a walker. Never far and never for long (always with the walker or cane in the room with me just in case...but I have been doing it more. The balance is still awfully shakey so I make sure than whenever I do this that there is something I can grab on to or lean against (like a counter or wall) because I don't want to fall and risk a bad injury. I need to be careful not to overdo it (I MAY have done this once or twice in the past couple weeks but I get over it quickly). I don't expect to leave the walker in the dust anytime soon...but I am now more optimistic that it WILL happen in time. I have really been able to build up a lot of strength back in my whole body.

Oh...and I have noticed that I am sleeping better these days. I went off of the amitriptyline that I was taking at bedtime to help me sleep and I am sleeping a little longer than I was when I was taking it. My sleep is a little more broken than it was when I was on the meds but now I might get 2-4 blocks of sleep throughout the night that last about 2 hours each (sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less). This adds up to more than the 3-4 hours I was getting with the meds so I am happy with it and hope that it just gets better and better.

I still have a ways to go but I am very happy with my progress in just over a month. Here's hoping it just gets better and better from this point on.

I really really hope that this works out for you. Good luck.

Great News Debbie! It will be well worth the visit! You could not consult with a more knowledgeable, caring and humble doctor!!! Can't wait to hear about your visit and ongoing treatment!

I want to thank you all for posting your results with the t.D.C.S. You have given me hope. I have had RSD for 8 years & have been able to get the pain decreased in my hand & am able to use my left hand again. My biggest problem now is the pain in my buttocks & right leg along with both knees. When I read that some of you are now pulling weeds, I thought "I wish I could do that." I have been unable to get down on the ground for 7 years & can't sit without alot of pain. I am wondering how long some of you went without being able to "pull weeds" & walk. Did you have atrophy? I'm also wondering where you got the equipment. Did you order it from amazon & learn how to do it from youtube? My pain management doc dismissed t.D.C.S. when I asked him about it but my internist is looking into it. I want to try it even if I can't find a doc to agree. I am so, so tired of this pain.
Congratulations to those of you have used it & found success.

Linmarie

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...