The Fisher Wallace Stimulator is basically an electroshock device. It has not been approved by the FDA under current standards. It has received 'grandfather' approval based on similar devices that predate FDA approval requirements.

I take exception to companies that hide behind this FDA loophole. They make fabulous claims but have never submitted their clinical trials for proper FDA approval.

I am not saying it does not work. That is a questionable issue.

There are many medical devices like this that are cleared because they claim the device creates no health risk.

The price 'starts at $595' with no information as to what it actually costs. The refund program is questionable. The buyer gets stuck with about $100 or more not refunded.

So, as the saying goes caveat emptor, buyer beware.

This type of device can be helpful with pain conditions. The other issues are questionable.

I bought a similar device years ago and had no luck with it but that's just me. I bought it for pain.

I'm back from my week at the Carrick Brain Center, and wanted to share my experience with a few caveats:
1) my injury is unique to me as is my potential recovery
2) i was in no way incentivized to post or prohibited from posting
3) my experience is only that -- one person's.

Overall, I was highly impressed with the amount of testing that took place on day 1; although I found it pretty exhausting. They use all of the latest equipment in testing from VNGs, Dynavision2, saccadometers, IMPACT, etc. I would say that I had more comprehensive testing done in the first day than I've had in all of my other visits combined over nearly 3 years.
They also did the most comprehensive physical examination that I've encountered.

After Day 1, I returned to the clinic 3 times per day for intensive treatment which consisted of a variety of exercises to address my particular issues with vision, balance, fog, etc. The treatments were roughly 60-70 minutes per session and always concluded with a session in the gyrostim which had a profound effect on me personally which was demonstrated by a pre and post VNG for each gyro session.

They re-tested me constantly, made minor adjustments to treatment as they would see improvements. I was there for a total of 5 days; and felt the fog lifting by day 3. Day 4, I was crashing from all of the stimulation; however I didn't have the symptoms as much as the exhaustion. They reassured me this was typical and by the last day I felt much better.

Overall, they were very professional and also very realistic in not promising any spectacular results in just one week. They essentially re-built my neurological foundation (again unique to me) and sent me home with exercises to reinforce/strengthen these connections/improvements. The exercises are to be done 2-3 times per day and take me about 10-15 minutes to complete per session.

Personally, this really did have a major impact on my condition; and I do wish that i had found them sooner despite the price; and the difficult side effects of my returning flight (laid up for 2 days).

I hope this is of some use; and I'm trying to provide some info without getting too specific since we all have different injuries and have different needs. I can tell you that they showed us objective data pre and post which demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in my gaze, tracking, and balance. This was all witnessed by my fiancé, who is a skeptical physicians turned believer.

I will keep up with these exercises as prescribed and let you know the outcome. The other interesting and very gratifying part for me is that my neuralgias, which are debilitating, were at about a 2 of 10 compared to the usual 9 of 10. I attributed this to some of the chiropractic adjustments that I received along with the overall therapy.

IMO - they've combined what medicine should be: integrated, multi-disciplinary approach that is customized to the individual. Unfortunately, insurance companies prevent that type of model since it would be a big loss hence the large cash price tag for such care.

Again, i hope this is useful information & I wish hockey mom the best down there. I hope your experience is similar to mine.

Hope you're all having a better day.

thank you very much for that update. i was thinking about you. we leave sunday and start treatment monday. i am keeping expectations low as i think disappointment would be difficult. i am concerned that the flight may set him back. he said last week was better than this week which has me so upset as i was starting to feel some hope.

are you feeling better today after the flight has worn off, then before you left? i am still wondering the long term effectiveness.

do you have headaches? is that neuralgias? sorry not familiar with that term

i definitely feel much better now than before I left. Yes, I have horrific headaches and did have them after the return flight for nearly 2 days. I've been diagnosed with occipital neuralgia (headaches generated from the nerve at the base of the skull) along with traditional migraines. everything quieted down after 2 days and i'm highly encouraged after being very skeptical about going down there.
Get as much rest as possible between the sessions. I slept more (and better) down there than I have in several months.

I wish you a safe and productive trip; and hope that he's free of any headaches or complications while there and beyond.....

thank you so much. i am so glad you are feeling better. do you have any headache free days now or is it always there?

i am so hoping this helps him as resting has been brutal and boring and depressing for him. this along with the fact that the resting does not seem to make any difference. he still has the constant low grade headache that randomly explodes into a full out migraine apprx three times a week.

this is our first experience with concussion and this injury has been by far the most brutal. he had his appendix out in march and says he would take day after day of appendicitis over this.

as a parent i am so sad for him. he is missing his youth. no school dances, parties, movies, xbox, sporting events....he went from a fun busy active life to this

i'm so sorry to hear of what you and your son are enduring. personally, i've struggled with headaches. i have been headache free the past few days but it's really early to make any type of correlation for me; and it would be unfair of me to give you any false hope.

The folks there are very sensitive to headaches and do focus on minimizing them. I hope they have a treatment that is effective for your son's headaches. Resting is not fun for any of us, but I can't imagine for an active kid.

Please let me know how you make out.

it must be so nice for you to be headache free for a few days. i hope it lasts forever for you.

don't worry about offering false hope. i am very aware that everyone is different.

it is just nice to talk to someone who had a positive experience.

my son is very negative on going. he is embarrassed to tell his friends and his concussion dr here said carrick brain center can't help it is only rest and time. after hearing that he did not want to go. i showed him some testimonials and he is onboard again.

at this point he is seeing rest is not making a difference and wants to try something different.

i explained that these drs deal with this day after day and they might offer him at least some different options.

right now he is not even watching sports on tv or tv at all and not even attending some school games. he is basically scared to do anything that will prolong this injury.

is there anything you can tell me about the gyrostim treatment?

also are you on any meds? what do you take for migraines? did carrick doctors take you off meds? my son takes advil when he has a bad headache otherwise no meds

hockeymom,

"he is embarrassed to tell his friends"

What is he embarrassed about ? Does he think his concussion makes him less of a person ?

not embarrassed about having a concussion. his friends all know and are supportive. embarassed to be traveling to atlanta when other guys he knows just get over it on their own. also afraid we go to atlanta and he comes home the same after spending all that money

he is just not telling his friends about the trip. keeps all the questions away

i am sure if it works he wil tell everyone

"embarassed to be traveling to atlanta when other guys he knows just get over it on their own." He needs to understand that no two concussions are the same. In fact, research shows that there is little connection to impact forces and the time it takes to recover from a concussion. He needs you to help him grow up in this area. Otherwise, he will put himself at risk by hiding head impacts from you and his coaches. Getting a concussion is not a sign of weakness.

Does he know of all the pros who have been to Carrick ? Sidney Crosby is probably the most famous.

he knows the whole crosby story and joey hishon - that is why he now wants to go

he knows all concussions are different that is why he is afraid atlanta wont work for him and he will have to explain more to his friends

we are respecting his not telling his friends about the trip

i'm the same way and didn't tell others of the trip. i don't need any more questions of "are you better yet....?" Mark makes a good point for those of us 'in the know.' but for those that aren't, there is a massive stigma attached particularly with athletes as i can speak first hand.

yes, i'm on meds and they didn't touch anything and don't get involved in that. i did reduce my meds dramatically while there and since. i'm continuing to gradually wean myself down with guarded optimism.

thanks for understanding about keeping the trip on the downlow. funny you did the same thing. he is bombarded all the time with questions and this would just add fuel to that fire.

how is your headache today? i hope you can get off all your meds, wouldn't that be amazing!

headache free yesterday and so far today. and yes, i told 3 people in my family and I have countless text messages and voicemails asking if I'm better now. I get about 4 messages a day and wish I never told them. I just stopped responding and have my better half answer them. Thankfully I didn't tell anybody else b/c people (that aren't on this board or experiencing it) just don't get it.

If and when I'm better, believe me: everyone will know as I'll shout from the rooftops. Ok, maybe not the rooftops since I can't afford a fall :)

i am so happy for you that you are having a 3rd headache free day. i am so afraid to jinx anything but yay!

i hear ya.. if it works, we tell EVERYONE but for right now the close family members that do know are already talking about it too much and putting too much pressure on him. it is true, unless you live with this day in and day out you cannot possibly understand. he never understood before this either. the toughest thing for me to get is how last week can be better than this week!!! if time heals and he did nothing different this week then last. the fact that the progression is not in a straight line is so hard to understand and to deal with.

where did the doctors stand with you on doing too much... cognitive or physical. did they tell you to slow down, speed up... my son's doctor has him so afraid to do anything. he doesn't even want him out watching a sporting event. like i have said before this doing nothing is depressing, isolating and thus far has not made a difference that he can tell.

i am sorry if i am asking you too many questions. i am just happy to talk to someone who is going through it.

Thank you so much. As most here will tell you, day-to-day or week-to-week can change dramatically and it can be difficult (sometimes impossible) to find the cause except that it happens.
My doctors wanted me doing nothing in the beginning but that was after I had already been working 7 days a week for 8 months with full blown symptoms. When they told me to stop I did, but things got worse for a while. It's a very difficult balance that I have yet to figure out. Like your son, I live in fear of triggering attacks which limits my activity.

I sent you a private message if you have more specific questions that you prefer to keep off the main forum. Happy to share my experience but that's all that I have; and there are so many others that can share theirs as well. I wish it was as simple as A causes B and C causes D, but our brains are so much more complex than that. Kids take longer to recover and I hope your son recovers fully. Like others have said, the less we (try so hard) not to worry about it, the better off we will be. Much easier said than done for me especially with some other health issues creeping up that I've never had.

A true concussion expert ,while hard to find, is vital to recovery in my humble opinion.

Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful response. I hope the exercises they've given you help you.

How long did it take you to get into the clinic?

Also can you expand on your horizontal nystagmus and any changes you've subjectively noticed?

Additionally, can you expand on your vertigo, the causes (is it positional?) And any affects the clinic's therapies may or already have had on you?

Lastly, have your tolerance/endurance levels improved since you left the clinic?

* Ryan, did you use the gyrostim there?

Telluride,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Have you suffered a concussion. I see you only ask about gyrostim. Are you having vestibular problems ?

Please feel free to introduce yourself and tell us about your injury and how we can help you.

I was at the ATL center all last week. Like some people here I wish I didn't tell anyone that I was going because everyone now asks me if I'm better and if the treatment has helped.

This was the first time that I've flown since my injury 2.5 years ago, luckily didn't have too many problems with flying over there.
I felt quite good while I was in Atlanta, I think mostly due to being off work and taking it really easy.

After the initial testing they told me that there's not much wrong with me, which on one hand is good obviously, but on the other i was hoping that they would find something.

Did a full week of treatments, and was told that it will probably take a couple of weeks to see results. Also was given some exercises to do at home.

So far after getting back to work I feel about the same as before the treatment, maybe a bit less dizzy while walking.

I'll keep doing the exercises and see if I feel any different in the next couple of months.

Carrick Brain Center
 

I am going next week to the one in Irving for Mad de Debarquement after suffering for 2 years and hope I get some relief. Would you go again? I was at least able to get my insurance to cover it so that has helped.[


QUOTE=russiarulez;1136073]I was at the ATL center all last week. Like some people here I wish I didn't tell anyone that I was going because everyone now asks me if I'm better and if the treatment has helped.

This was the first time that I've flown since my injury 2.5 years ago, luckily didn't have too many problems with flying over there.
I felt quite good while I was in Atlanta, I think mostly due to being off work and taking it really easy.

After the initial testing they told me that there's not much wrong with me, which on one hand is good obviously, but on the other i was hoping that they would find something.

Did a full week of treatments, and was told that it will probably take a couple of weeks to see results. Also was given some exercises to do at home.

So far after getting back to work I feel about the same as before the treatment, maybe a bit less dizzy while walking.

I'll keep doing the exercises and see if I feel any different in the next couple of months.[/QUOTE]

So far I haven't seen any benefit from the treatments and I doubt that I will go again, but you have to keep in mind that every injury is unique, and what hasn't done anything for me might help you.

Good luck, I hope it works for you!

eye issues
 

Hi. This initial post by the rugby player is the first bit of a clue I've found since my similar issues began 20 years ago. After some concussions, I've had severe vision problems that eye doctors keep telling me do not exist. I almost broke down when I read that you stayed in the dark and listened to audiobooks, because that has been my life for a very long time. I've explored many options, but never before have I heard of Carrick or even thought of pursuing it as a concussion issue instead of a opthamology issue. Maybe because this post is old, but I cannot find any of the pictures you mentioned. And I don't even know if you are still getting updates on this post, but I would like to somehow see these pictures if you're able to reply to me.

Thank you.

I was really curious to know what was so unique about his clinic and it seemed to be his technique. For example using a mirror to trick the persons mind in to thinking there arm is moving. It's still simple rehabilitation that is known to work I guess with better techniques. I'm guessing a lot of it is desensitization rather than using rest and avoidance.

Has anyone have any more input on this place? I'd like to hear from more people who may have given it a shot, as I'm considering it myself.

People have seen both extremes. Some have benefited. Others have just wasted $5,000 to $10,000. There are plenty of Carrick trained chiros throughout the country. They are searchable as functional neurologists and chiropractic neurologists. The local chiros usually have a $800 or so cost for an initial work-up. Some insurance companies will cover it. Some won't.

Not all Carrick trained chiros have equal skill sets or even the same 'medical philosophy' if you can understand what I mean. Chiros tend to be a diverse and independent bunch. Some go for your money. Other pursue helping you with your health.

I recently was contacted by a friend who had a relative who went to Carrick. Evidently it had a profoundly positive effect on him. I've been meaning to contact him to see how things have progressed since returning. If I follow up with this gentlemen, I'll let everyone know.

Hopefully others who have tried will post soon.

MicroMan, that would be nice.

I know that it probably works for some and doesn't for others; it'd be nice to read some independent testimonials as I don't know how much I trust the ones I find on their site.

[/QUOTE]


hi there- did you ever solve this?