Vagus nerve stimulator

Non-Pharmacological Treatment "Alternative" Treatments
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Hi everyone, I have been asked to give a vagus nerve stimulator a go by Dr Silver (Gammacore product) It is a hand held profuct and If it doesn’t help I get my money back :slight_smile: I have just done a search on the site to see if anybody else has tried this and there doesn’t seem to be anything. Has anybody trialled this? Any thoughts?

Thanks for reading

Kathy
X

Please note that this is not instead of my medication, the idea is to use it when I begin to feel dizzy.

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Hi Kathy
I just replied to your other post - didn’t realise that the nerve stimulator was just on trial. I thought Dr Silver must know it would work!! Might hold off before I buy one and see how you go! The other people on the website who had trialled it seemed to think it was fantastic but then you don’t really know if they’d been paid to say those things. Not that I’m sceptical - just have spent a fortune on trying ‘alternatives’ to get better!!
Barb

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Hi Barb :slight_smile: I got the impression that Dr Silver felt it would help. However, it costs around £250! He said if it didn’t ease symptoms then I would get my money back after a month. The overall feeling was that it wouldn’t come to that though. I have some reservations about it but I do trust Dr Silver and I believe that someone with his skills and reputation would not encourage the use of something he had concerns about. At least I hope not!!!

Mmmm, not sure what to do now!!!

Kathy x

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‘‘If it doesn’t help I get my money back’’ - you cant go wrong :smiley:

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Please forgive my ignorance, but I’ve never heard of this before. Is it surgically implanted?

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Hi, I think there is something that you can have implanted but this is a hand held device.

electrocoremedical.com/gammacore

I will let you know how I get on with it :slight_smile:

X

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How intriguing. I look forward to hearing how you go with this. Goodluck.

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Yes…please keep us posted if you try it and whether it helped or not. Wish you well, thanks

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Hi everyone :slight_smile: thought I’d write a quick post about the vagus nerve stimulator! Well, I’ve had surgery recently so I did stop using it for about a month. Prior to that I had only used it a few times, when I felt a headache coming on. For the past week I have had what I felt like were the beginnings of a migraine headache. I have used the device and I must say that it has been nipped in the bud. I should mention that I am back on my usual dosage of 240mg of propranalol, so can’t say whether my medication is stopping the full blown attack or the device is. Maybe a combination of both. Psychologically I think it helps, makes me feel like I’m actively doing something to help myself!

I am surprised that I haven’t heard about anybody else on the site that has used this, or even had it recommended. Dr Silver introduced me to it so I guess he must have some faith in it. If anybody here has used it I’d love to hear about your experience.

Will keep you posted xx

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Anybody??!! :wink: xx

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Well, it seems to be that it’s only me?!! I have been using it most days lately as I am having a flare up. Migraine headaches and slight dizziness. As I mentioned before it seems to help hold off a really bad migraine. Still not sure what i would be like with this device alone.

Kathy x

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Kathy
Where on the neck exactly do you place this device, is it electrical signal or what?
I read somewhere that stimulation of the vagus nerve can be done by holding nose and bearing down (valsalva manouver)
also by splashing face with cold water. I regularly spray my face for heat/redness with spray bottle of water i keep in fridge ,
maybe it stimulates vagus nerve too.

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Hi, you place it pretty much where your pulse is. When you have it in the correct place and switch on it causes your lip to drop. Attractive!! It sends electrical signals along the vagus nerve, parts of which run through the neck to the brain. It’s a very odd sensation indeed. Part of me worries about potential side effects but according to the data there seem to be few. Quite honestly though, I don’t think it’s been around long enough to tell!

I am very undecided about it, I’m really surprised that I am the only one here to be using it.

Hope I’ve answered your question :slight_smile:

Kathy x

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It always pays to check out the archives first but on this occasion I have. Very low uptake.

@ak90. @KathyD appears to be the only one. @flutters opened a thread whilst she was toying but never went ahead and @Manatee put up a link when FDA cleared it for use in the US.

For admin purposes best to keep topics separate. So please add your final question to one of the existing threads.

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It was too expensive as an external device. I do think there’s merit in the implant.

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Curious to know if anyone has used it? I read about it recently in Dr Beh’s book. Anything non-invasive is worth a shot. I’m going to raise it in my next appointment.

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Read the other thread.

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Just to report back - I asked my neuro about it today and he said he can’t personally recommend it because the evidence is inconclusive (and the “NICE” board hasnt approved it). However he did encourage me to try and get my GP to refer me onto a homeopathic doctor who may be able to sign it off (but I suspect I’ll need to pay for it myself).