fatigue

Leave a comment Posted on Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis Nurses trialling a drug-free therapy to treat MS nerve pain.

APS machines - pain treatment

APS machines – pain treatment

Two MS Specialist Nurses from at MS Therapy Centre in Bedford, UK, have been trialling a drug-free microcurrent machine to treat pain in MS with very positive, and surprisingly wide ranging effects.

The treatment, Action Potential Simulation Therapy, or APS Therapy, uses a copy of the body’s own electrical signals – the ‘action potentials’ that travel along nerve fibres, to enhance communication between the cells, using an APS Therapy machine.

Neurons and nerve pain

Neurons and nerve pain

“The results we’re seeing, are, firstly, pain relief, in over 3/4s of the people with MS who have been treated over the past 3 years at the clinic. This is really significant, especially as the type of neuropathic, or nerve pain, that many people with MS experience, is very difficult to treat, and there are so many problems with side effects from the medication.

“I started off being most excited by the pain relief, and helping people to reduce and in some cases withdraw from medications they’re taking for pain, and of course I still am.

But recently, I’ve been most excited by the other improvements that some peopleMiranda Olding get – we had a lot of people reporting improvements in energy, with reduced fatigue, better sleep quality, feeling less stiffness and spasm, and often, really improved wellbeing, when they used the machines for pain, and so in the past year we’ve begun to try using the machines specifically for these problems, and had some lovely results,” says Miranda Olding.

The nurses, Queen’s Nurse Emma Matthews from Northampton, and Miranda Olding from Bedford, cannot share the full results of their report on the first two years of treatment with APS Therapy until it’s been presented at the CMSC conference in Maryland, which they are travelling to in June. They also aim to present their 3rd year results at other clinical conferences during the year.

The mode of action of APS Therapy is to enhance cellular communication by sending replicated action potentials, which are up to 4 times stronger than the naturally occurring signals, through the body, between electrodes attached to the skin.

This assists the removal of waste and inflammatory products, which can reduce localised pain and swelling. The production of ATP ( adenosine triphosphate) is boosted by the therapy, which results for some people in increased energy levels, and also stimulates natural healing mechanisms. Other neuro-hormones that encourage healing and endogenous pain relief are also boosted, and some neuropathic pain seem to respond very well to the application of this correct, rather than disordered, nerve signal.

Results for people with MS can be very wide-ranging. This report came from Maggie, who has had MS for over 20 years, on her 4th week into the treatment. (She has retained all these benefits)

“‘Notes on progress of the fourth week”
• ˜Sleep improvements maintained although still wake frequently.
• ˜Pain during day virtually gone.
• ˜Pain at night much reduced – now only troubling between 6-8am.
• ˜Energy levels greatly improved. Much more stamina…
• ˜I can now easily get up from a chair even one without arms!
• ˜I can lower myself gently down instead of flinging myself down.
• ˜I can move around with ease and no longer have to plan everything I need to do. I can walk around indoors without a stick.
• ˜I can stand long enough to do some housework and get myself some lunch.
• ˜The ‘electric shock’ feelings I was experiencing in the head have been getting less in frequency.
• ˜The physio that I do in the group and in the pool have got better.
• ˜I can stay on a gym ball for the whole session and the physio has noticed as improvement in my posture and walking.
• ˜Mood- has elevated to new heights. I am delighted with the transformation – I feel I am getting me back.”

Not everyone who tries APS Therapy experiences these type of benefits, but the

Maggie does APS Therapy

Maggie does APS Therapy

team are having enough similar reports to merit offering APS Therapy as a trial treatment for people with MS who are struggling with fatigue as well as solely for pain, and to be excited by the potential applications of APS Therapy in people with MS.

Miranda Olding now splits her time between working as an MS Specialist Nurse, and working on introducing APS Therapy in the UK, both teaching and training and collecting data, and running a business where people can train, or rent or buy APS Therapy machines with one to one support over Skype, Facetime or Webex. You can find out more at www.painfreepotential.co.uk

Leave a comment Posted on Fibromyalgia

5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Fibromyalgia

5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Fibromyalgia

5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Fibromyalgia

Accurate information is the first step toward effective course of treatment.

If you are among the estimated five million Americans who have fibromyalgia -or suspect you might be among them-then getting accurate information about the condition is the first step toward an effective course of treatment. Nobody is better equipped to give you this information than your doctor following a thorough physical examination. Of course, in order to get a firm grip on understanding your fibromyalgia, you have to ask your doctor the right questions.

Here are five basic questions to ask your doctor about fibromyalgia:

1. What is fibromyalgia? Your doctor will explain how fibro encompasses a range of symptoms that can include low back pain, recurrent headaches, arthritis, muscle spasm, tingling, balance problems and many others. Additionally, common fibromyalgia symptoms may encompass memory problems, digestive problems, fatigue and sleep disorders.

2. Can regular exercise give me some relief? It seems like a contradiction, but some research suggests that hitting the gym and getting regular exercise may produce relief from fibromyalgia pain. Your doctor may say it is okay to exercise through your “normal” pain levels, but if exercise causes the pain to worsen significantly, back off.

3. Will eating right help my fibro symptoms? No diet, no matter how well planned, will “cure” fibromyalgia. But your doctor may point out that a diet rich in antioxidants (e.g., full of fruits and vegetables) can help individuals with this condition maximize their health by minimizing the level of oxidative stress that can occur in the body’s tissues.

4. Where does my fibromyalgia pain originate? Although in a prior era fibro patients came under the care of rheumatologists, this view has since evolved. Your doctor will tell you that fibromyalgia is a disorder of the central nervous system.

5. How can I sleep better at night? Your doctor will explain what you might already suspect: Sleep quality plays a major role in the severity of FM symptoms. Many fibro patients report a lack of restful sleep.

The advice comes from Tonix Pharma.

Posted on Multiple Sclerosis

Cocoa may help curb fatigue typically associated with multiple sclerosis (MS)




Cocoa and multiple sclerosis

Cocoa and multiple sclerosis




Cocoa may help curb the fatigue that is typically associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), suggest the results of a small feasibility trial, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

Cocoa, like dark chocolate, is rich in flavonoids–substances found abundantly in fruit and vegetables and associated with anti-inflammatory properties.

If the findings are confirmed in larger studies, it may offer a simple dietary approach to a persistent and hard to treat symptom, which affects nine out of 10 people with MS, suggest the researchers.

The causes of mental and physical fatigue experienced by people with MS are complex, and likely to include neural, inflammatory, metabolic, and psychological factors. None of the currently available approaches offers long term relief, say the researchers.

Previous research suggests that dark chocolate, containing between 70 and 85 per cent cocoa solids, is associated with an improvement in subjectively assessed fatigue in people with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME).

This prompted the researchers to see if it might also be worth exploring its potential in helping to tackle the fatigue associated with MS.




They randomly assigned 40 adults recently diagnosed with the relapsing remitting form of MS and fatigue to drink a cup of either high flavonoid cocoa powder mixed with heated rice milk (19) or a low flavonoid version (21) every day for six weeks.

Participants were instructed to wait 30 minutes before taking any prescribed medication or eating or drinking anything else, but otherwise to stick to their usual diet.

Fatigue and fatigability-the speed with which mental and physical fatigue set in-were formally assessed before the start, at the mid-point, and at the end of the trial.

And participants also subjectively rated their fatigue on a scale of 1 to 10, at 10.00, 15.00, and 20.00 hours each day, and monitored their activity with a pedometer.

After six weeks there was a small improvement in fatigue in 11 of those drinking high flavonoid cocoa compared with eight of those drinking the low flavonoid version.

And there was a moderate effect on fatigability, with those drinking high flavonoid cocoa able to cover more distance during the 6 minute walk test.

Those drinking the high flavonoid version showed a 45 per cent improvement in subjectively assessed fatigue and an 80 per cent improvement in walking speed.

Although not objectively measured, pain symptoms also improved more in the high flavonoid group.

“Our study establishes that the use of dietary interventions is feasible and may offer possible long-term benefits to support fatigue management, by improving fatigue and walking endurance,” write the researchers.

Given the anti-inflammatory properties of flavonoids, they could be used alongside other approaches, such as exercise, drug treatment, and physiotherapy, to treat fatigue, they suggest.

“The use of dietary approaches to reduce fatigue and associated factors in people with MS may be an easy, safe, and cost-effective way to have an impact on quality of life and independence, allowing people to feel more in control of their condition.

“A full evaluation, including wider geography, longer follow up and cost effectiveness is now indicated,” they conclude.

In a linked editorial, Dr Paolo Ragonese, University of Palermo, points out that the treatment and management of MS related fatigue “still represents a challenge…because its mechanisms are multifactorial.”

And diets rich in flavonoids are linked to longer life and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease as well as positive changes to the volume and diversity of gut bacteria (the microbiome), he points out.

“Although [this] study is an exploratory trial, it adds further interesting suggestions to the possible positive effects of flavonoid intake on the management of fatigue in patients with MS,” he concludes.