A TENS device has a pad which is attached to your body. Small electrical pulses are sent to the affected area which can either distract you from pain or even dismiss it completely. I tried it for Auto Immune Encephalitis and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It's relatively early days as we've only had ours for a week.
So far it has reduced or eliminated my chronic back pain, (I had been on regular daily morphine and Paracetamol for compression fractures in seven spinal vertebrae for about three years).
It has enabled improved sleeping and getting off to sleep, improved my mood, giving more positivity and confidence and eliminated muscle cramps-it has also worked on migraine.
I have noticed an improvement and a reduction in the effects of my encephalitis brain damage, improving my speech and taste, reducing anxiety and depression to zero and improving my cognition and awareness and the TENS is now used for any muscular or nerve pain.
Not to be used near the genitals, heart or head of course but works everywhere else.
I can now exercise more on my rowing machine and by walking instead of having to take pain relief before any exertion and then have to lie flat afterwards.
I will probably never get back 100% to my pre-encephalitis and pre-complex PTSD stage it seems but this is going to be a big help.
All in all a brilliant device and every home should have at least one. Well worth a try and TENS devices are OK for epilepsy if properly used. I am on anti-seizure medication.
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Gandalf2
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I have edited the post and now include a photo of the device and some changes. It's on Amazon at £26.99 in English money. We have bought two more. amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07... don't know if the HE site will allow links to products. It should not be placed near the heart, genitals or head - anywhere else is OK. I mainly use mine on my upper back in between my shoulder blades and on my lower back.
Because I was only 1 when I had encephalitis, well, I can only talk about after effects, rather than a life I have never experienced such as life pre-encephalitis..
In the same way you wouldn't have experienced life growing up with a undiagnosed brain injury so you wouldn't be able to talk about that either.
However, I am ever so sorry to hear that you will never be able to regain the life you had before you were ill. 💔
I have suffered from Complex Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - OCD, anxiety, clinical depression.
When I was going to school, my speech was not very good I couldn't form a full sentence without stopping and starting in the middle of it.
Since I have been an adult I have improved on that one a lot, but it's just that I have to think twice as hard before I speak otherwise I may say something back to front or that doesn't make sense and often as a result I have to rephrase/reword things about three or four times which can sometimes be very frustrating.
I also take anti-epilepsy medication even though I'm now 28 years free.
My story is now available on the Encephalitis Society website to:
1. Help raise Encephalitis Awareness,
2. To help other people affected by this often devastating neurological condition.
It sometimes makes
me feel guilty that I didn't have a life before 'E' but maybe I ought to have had. It's not something I can do anything about.
I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing that I'm coming from a different perspective than other people.
You definitely shouldn’t feel guilty you don’t have life before E. You’ve coped with it all since a baby, we are all learning that path. You should be proud of all you have achieved.
I used a tens machine when having my son and it definitely helped with the pain and so I I think it is a fantastic aid to have found to give you relief.
With less pain and more settled sleep you are feeling the benefits in your waking hours which is fantastic.
I have not had morphine but as you don't need to take it you will not be experiencing any of the side effects that this brings.
I hope the tens machine continues to give you all the relief you are experiencing and you feel even better with continued use as anything that improves our day to day quality of life is a ray of warm sunshine
I think the tens machine sounds like a good idea- better than more meds maybe? I am fortunate that I don’t have pain… someone close to be suffers with extremely bad period pain (due to other medical conditions) and a few people tried her machine on NYE.
It freaked me out slightly because the muscle spasms reminds me of seizures- but that’s a me thing- I hated seizures before I even had encephalitis! I think they look like you’ve been possessed (too many horror movies?!)
The TENS device works on me. We went for a walk around Filey yesterday and my back was sore by the time we made our way back up to the caravan site. The TENS device along with a cup of tea and some biscuits helped subdue it but it was one of the occasions when I had to supplement it with pain relief.
It's my compressed vertebrae not the Enc that causes the pain. I was pain-free by bedtime and I slept very well. Oddly enough the TENS improves mood, confidence and general demeanor, or seems to do.
The seizures are definitely scary and seem like demonic possession. But the demons seem to be able to be scared off with a couple of injections and some oxygen. Casting Holy Water around the room may work too but there was none available. Best Wishes, G2
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Well worth a try and TENS devices are OK for epilepsy if properly used. I am on anti-seizure medication.
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