tVNS Vagal nerve stimulation

[KathyN]

I know tVNS has been discussed in the past and I thought it would be worth while to let you know my husbands experience of this. As as a retired nurse I found the research on this really interesting. I suggested to my husband that this was worth trying in an attempt to reduce his horrible episodes of AF. He has been using the Parasym device now for 18 months for one hour a day and his AF has improved dramatically. He went from horrible attacks lasting around 24hrs every 3 weeks to now having an episode of AF for just a few hrs every 3 to 4 months and his episodes are still getting further and further apart. This improvement happened really gradually and even at 6 months into the treatment we were not a 100% sure that things were improving but they certainly were not getting any worse so we continued. His life has now changed dramatically after 18 months of use and he continues to use it. This device has really worked for him and I felt that it was really worth letting you all know of our experience.

[CDreamer]

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

[jeanjeannie50]

Thank you for letting us know Kathy. I'll see if I can find any information about purchasing it online.

Jean

[Frances123]

Sounds interesting but quite expensive if you want to try at £599. That’s for the parasym. Have seen another one at £65 but guess that’s too good to be true. Pleased it has worked for your husband and long may it continue. x

[Tryfan]

Thank you. Very interesting. Perhaps you can keep us posted time to time to see how he continues. Hopefully keeps improving. Very pleased for you both.

[doodle68]

Hi Kathy thank you that looks interesting but pricy for something that may not work

When reading up on the vagus nerve I found you can apparently stimulate it naturally using breathing techniques, cold showers, meditation , singing, humming, chanting and gargling so perhaps the Yogi and Hare Krishna followers know what is good for us

I am off to hum and chant while doing the washing up....

[Hidden in reply to doodle68]

Presume you meant meditation and loved your comment! Those Hare Krishna guys certainly made some great food - last enjoyed at the huge anti-Trident demo a few years back!

[doodle68 in reply to Hidden]

....ooops Sandi , my spell checker has a mind of its own now corrected

[Hidden in reply to doodle68]

I know what you mean and quite understand! It was nice to remember the Hare Krishna guys !

[secondtry]

Thanks Kathy, good to know, hope your husband manages to stop the episodes completely although I expect that will be part down to other mitigating changes in his lifestyle.

[KathyN in reply to secondtry]

My husband is the first to admit that particularly with lockdown he has really not done anything else other than using the Parasym for one hour a day to change his AF sadly in fact probably the opposite! I am not suggesting that this will work for everyone but the results have been amazing for us and has changed both our lives.

[secondtry in reply to KathyN]

Wow!

[mjames1]

Thanks Kathy. Sounds promising. Why did you choose the Parasym device over other vagal stim devices on the market? How often does your husband use it and how long each session?

[Coeurdelion]

Great. I posted about this a year ago and will be giving it a try rather than have an ablation.

[KathyN]

Prior to getting the Parasym we bought a tens tens machine very cheaply and tried adapting this but to be honest found it really difficult and gave up on it. Having looked into the Parasym this looked like a much better bet altogether and at the time they were offering £40 a month rental (I don’t know whether they still do this) so it seemed really worth trying.

[Andyt36]

Brilliant, Hi all hope you are all well....After nearly 3 years AF free I woke up inAF, short run. After a period of fasting for Easter / Greek Easter, I had a nice fat laden meal, meat and sugars, not sure if it was that, plus a stressful 2 months.So I checked in here and saw this, therefore this device may be next on my list of things to try , of course with the flecarythm 😄.

It's not nice when an old friend visits, but maybe a timely reminder to be sensible.

Keep well all.

[MikeyF]

Great news. Does/did your husbands AF start up mainly at rest evening/night or when exerting during the day?

[KathyN in reply to MikeyF]

Almost always at night waking up with it in the morning and usually going through to the following morning before going back into sinus rhythm. Strangely as things have being improving his last two have during the day and resolved after just a couple of hours.

[Coeurdelion]

Did you have any consultations with the EP? Are there any studies that have been carried out and published that you know of? I know Barts were setting up testing a little time ago.

[Pnbc90]

Hi Kathy. Glad to hear, that it has helped your husband so much! I was wondering if he is attaching the ear clip to the right or left ear?

Many articles suggest that the left is the safest to use.However, in the study about tVNS for AF suppression they specifically state, that they use the right ear (sciencedirect.com/science/a.... And there were no adverse side effect related to the device.