Anyone with Vagus Nerve Stimulation savvy?

[Dabaa]

Intimations...you catch a glimpse, hear an echo of something and then your pudding-head distills it and throws up a lifeline, maybe. Seems that vagal tone is extremely important: anyone with experience with it in PD management, feel free to chime in. Thank you very much.

[Stillstandingstill]

Might be worth checking in the search function here. Also I remember something on vagal nerve stimulation on the Outthinking Parkinson’s site.

[Dabaa in reply to Stillstandingstill]

Thanks for that. Will have a gander.

[garygjs]

I tried this for a spell - using a TENS machine and electrode ear clips - but gave up (likely prematurely).

It was very difficult getting the clips to stay clamped on the tragus, and I had some doubts about whether the tragus was the optimal position on the ear anyway - positioning across studies seems to vary.

Given the literature, it's certainly worth exploring:

medscape.com/viewarticle/98...

d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.n...

Nurosym have a very pricey auricular device ( nurosym.com/ ), but I'm certain the job can be done just as well with a TENS machine and a little experimentation with different ear clips/ electrodes.

EDIT: Thought I would give this another go. This Australian company

tragusclip.com/product-cate...

sells TENS clips designed specifically for the tragus. I've ordered one.

[Dabaa in reply to garygjs]

Thanks for replying. Will look into this! If it's no trouble: what kind of TENS do you recommend, please and is it okay to keep me posted on your progress? (In view of the apparent link between PD and viruses, I also zap a couple of times per week: drclark.net/en-us/products-....

[garygjs in reply to Dabaa]

Happy to keep you informed on progress. Pretty much any TENS machine from a decent company will work just fine..the one I have is pretty basic and is no longer sold.

[crewmanwhite]

Three simple ways to improve vagal tone are singing (singing along loudly with your favourite songs and/or joining a group or choir), "dancing" (moving to music - it doesn't matter what it looks like, just dance) and ending your warm shower with 30 seconds to 2 minutes of dead cold water.

[Boscoejean in reply to crewmanwhite]

All of these sound great except maybe the cold shower : )

[crewmanwhite in reply to Boscoejean]

I started with 30 seconds many years ago and now enjoy about 2 minutes most mornings

[Dabaa in reply to crewmanwhite]

Thank you very much.

[BriMeister]

I use VNS frequently in Epilepsy, none of these pts have PD. VN is definitely the path for the Alpha Syn to the brain. My thoughts are infrared therapy placed over the VNs at the neck in addition to infrared on the head.

[kaypeeoh]

If you 'google' vagus nerve you'll find it's importance cannot be overstated. What doesn't the 10th cervical nerve do?

[Gallowglass]

I had an issue with constant dry cough plus choking when drinking water. My Neuro sent me to a voice therapist who said I had vagal neuropathy and gave me voice and breathing exercises combined with gum chewing whenever the coughing starts up. It works. Not a cure but I can get through a phone call or meeting without coughing.