All tDCS that I have done have been on my head...I think that's where almost all of them are done....so it is definitely safe. The biggest thing is to make sure you use enough saline so that you don't get any skin burns.

High Nick,

I hope tDCS helps you with your tinnitus. It is hard for anyone to appreciate how disabling it is unless you have been there.

I believe there is a specific protocol for tinnitus but I did not use it. I have used one of the protocols for chronic pain and it totally eliminated the tinnitus. You might try various protocols twenty minutes each, two times a day for ten days. It sounds like you have been researching protocols for tDCS. If you find one that works please share it.

The type of device I use is the standard for many clinical tDCS trials. Don't spend more money on devices because if you are a responder you will respond to the the type of device I and others use.

Hope there are better days ahead for you!!!

Hi All,

I've purchased the equipment pieces (phoresor, banana to pin..etc) some time ago but have not had a chance to get it started. This may be a sill request but can somebody help me?

So I have the Phoresor unit, 2 3x3 sponge electrodes, and only one(yes, I have the other one on order) pin to banana (or banana to pin adapter?) and I'm getting an electrode reject error.

Please help, I'm not really that good when it comes to technology (I'm an accountant!).

Maybe the electrode reject is there because I need another adapter to connect to the electrode? Could anyone think of other reasons maybe (except the fact that I'm not mechanically inclinded:-)

Thanks,

Hmmm...hard to say without looking at it but a couple of possibilities come to mind.

First, I know I needed pin to banana connectors for mine (which is different than banana to pin connectors as those would not work for what I have since it is the electrodes that need the banana part)...but it could be that's what you already have and just typed it backwards. If not, though, it could be the problem. Pin to banana connectors were more difficult to find than banana to pin...at least when I was ordering them online.

Second, if you don't have BOTH converters for both electrodes that could also be the problem. If one isn't connected properly it could cause an error.

Third, make sure you have the right wires. I had to order the pin connector TENS wires because the ones that came with my unit were snap connectors and those won't work for tDCS treatments. You probably have the right ones but figured it was worth mentioning just in case.

And last, I sometime will get an electrode error if I turn it on and one of the electrodes is not against my skin properly (not enough contact with my skin). This happened a number of times when I first started until I got the hang of it. Maybe since you are not doing the actual treatments yet this could be the problem.

Not sure if that helps at all...but I gave it my best shot.

Hi I am new to this forum but have been reading the posts on tdcs with interest. My daughter was diagnosed the crps when she was 8 and with fibromyalgia at 13. She is now 15. I am wondering if there is anyone who has tried this treatment with a teenager and what kind of outcome they had.
Any information regarding this would be very much appreciated. I would also like to thank those who have posted on their experiences with tdcs, this information is very helpful.

Marg

Hi Marg,

So sorry your daughter has to face CRPS at such a young age. Her youth is in her favor though. I have not reviewed any clinical trials regarding tDCS and adolescents. As a start I suggest you give a call to Dr. James Fugedy in Atlanta one of the top tDCS docs in the country.

If anyone knows the answer to your question he would. Dr. Fugedy runs a private tDCS treatment clinic for chronic forms of pain, including Fibro. I understand that Dr. Fugedy has had excellent success with Fibro patients.

Since the treatment has been scientifically proven to be safe, is non-invasive and has a very low incidence of side effects, none of them serious, it would be a good thing to try if it is successful in adolescents.

Hope this is helpful.

I appreciate your reply. I do remember that I got the TENS wires based on Ballerina's post. I believe I need some saline solution to put on the electrodes?

I just can't wait to get the pin to banana wire, you're right that's the one I ordered. I have a red one that connects to one electrode but not the black one (My mistake for not ordering both when I initially placed the order).

As far as skin burns and such, I have a completely bald head and there's really no way to hide such burns. What preventive measures do you suggest I take to prevent burns?

To prevent burns, make sure you use enough saline. The first couple times I did treatments I thought I had enough saline but I didn't and felt a slight burning sensation (though I didn't get any actual burns). They shouldn't be dripping but they should be soaked thoroughly. Once I got it right I didn't have the burning sensation anymore.

Hi,
Just wanted to let those with interests in TDCS know we have at last
been able to re-set the date for my daughter to consult with Doc
Fugedy in Atlatna on June 2, 2012. My husband will book the flight
for the two of them.

Joydee

So much good news, I don't know where to start!!!!!!

Great news Joydee!!!! I know what a struggle it has been to get all of the schedules straight for your trip to see Dr. Fugedy.

More news! Mike asked me to let everyone know that he has been MIA due to being without a computer but wanted me to let everyone know that he has recently begun tDCS and after only ten days the edema which has plagued his ankles for years is gone!!!!!!!! He is thrilled beyond words. I am just as excited given what he has been through over the years. Mike is another example of Old and Cold CRPS responding to tDCS. He is taking a temporary break while he irons out some equipment issues but expects to be up and running again with tDCS treatments very soon. His success reminds me of my first experience with tDCS and the decrease in swelling I have by the fifth day. I remember thinking that just that symptom relief alone was enough.
(Yes Catra, you bet I have become greedy)

My good news is nothing short of amazing also. I was recently bitten by a tick right on one of my surgical incisions. The bite became angry and infected BUT CAUSED NO FLARE!

On Wednesday I took a severe fall into a closing elevator door which got me squarely on my bad shoulder. I have a nasty bruise, BUT IT CAUSED NO FALRE. I have had no flares whatsoever for almost five weeks. It used to be that the slightest air movement, even the AC coming on would send me into orbit for a day or two. A minor injury like a paper cut could sack me for two days.

There is no question that the inflammatory CRPS response which used to be cranked up by anything is becoming harder to awaken due to tDCS.

In the past the longest I went without a flare was several days. Major flares occurred with the slightest provocation.

I am still taking anti inflam meds and I am on a regular routine of anything that addresses brain reorganization.

I no longer wear my night guard since teeth clenching is a thing of the past. I sure wish I had known about tDCS before the teeth clenching cracked a tooth necessitating a root canal which ignited a new area of CRPS.

By the way. For those of you who avoid anything invasive if you get a tick bite and are worried about having to take anibiotics with a followup blood draw to check for tick bourn illnesses I have a solution. I mailed the little sucker off to a lab and had it tested. Lucky for me the test was negative, no drugs or blood draws!

If I can only lick the balance problems. Although my balance has improved I am still at risk for serious injury. When I fell into the elevator door I even had my service dog with me. I have less falls or near misses when she is with me.

I don't go out much because of falling issues. I am currently researching tDCS and falls to see what I come up with. I am also looking at research pertaining to transcranial magnetic stimulation to see if I can apply anything contained in that research to tDCS.

CRPSJAMES is also doing research in the same area. Is anyone else researching tDCS and balance. Please share if you find anything promising.

We are learning the positive effects of tDCS on treatment resistant CRPS and Old and Cold CRPS. How thrilled I would be to see someone who is newly diagnosed try the treatment and go into remission.

If you have tried tDCS and are newly diagnosed please share to help others.

I am so overjoyed that I have found a treatment that has been scientifically proven to be safe and effective, has no side effects, cannot be effected by tolerance levels, is cheap, address the root cause of CRPS, not just covers up the pain, is painless, addresses not only the pain but dozens of other symptoms and sensations associated with CRPS and is inching me toward remission. If anyone had asked me two years ago where I though I would be now I realistically would have answered that I would probably be in a wheelchair and or addicted to narcotics as well as experiencing spread of the condition or full body CRPS.

I don't know what the future brings but I can only hope I will never take narcotics or pain medications again.

Better days are ahead for all of us!