Never Again Will I Travel Without My Oska® PEMF Device

Most of you know I am a firm believer that Oska®, a portable convenient pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) devise, works to minimize my pain—so—why on earth would I NOT follow my own advice? I learned a valuable lesson that I need to share with you so you don’t make the same mistake.

As I have stated in previous posts, I happen to be one of the folks that must stay on a maintenance program that requires everyday use. I knew this, but I was doing so well I thought I could surely do without it for one week while on a relaxing vacation. WRONG! I forgot (not once, but twice, now) how much pain my body could be forced to endure until it WOKE up like a sleeping giant full of rest and waiting for me to mess up. I have been put in my place.

Oska, I am home.

If Oska isn’t helping, please learn from my experience.

·        Some of us require constant diligent care.

·        Something I knew, but forgot, is that Oska Pulse goes through four different protocols within each 30-minute session. Each protocol has a unique purpose to target various cellular components. The final protocol is also the most important (and proprietary), which is why we should complete a session in its entirety.

If you are considering Oska, please remember these things.

SEE HOW OSKA WORKS

No two of us are the same. My dad had a noticeable difference right away, but as I said, I was more resistant. My progress was gradual, but the relapse sure wasn’t, and the giant was anything but gentle. Lesson learned, Oska, I won’t leave you hanging over the back of my recliner again!

Oska offers a 30-day free trial period. Learn more about at the Oska Pulse at www.OskaWellness.com. 


Be sure to use my #sponsor code CCRN60 at check out to get a $55 discount if you pay in full. This discount is only available at the OskaWellness website.

Additional Information:

·         Update Oska® Pulse – PEMF for Chronic Pain and Cellular Healing

·        Oska Pulse is clinically proven.  Study published by Practical Pain Management.

Shurman, J., Wiederhold, BK., Kasendorf, R., Qian, J., Miller, I., Wiederhold, MD. Treating Chronic Pain Using the Oska Pulse Device: A Double Blind Clinical Trial Using Placebo. Practical Pain Management. 2018 Feb.

·        Other PEMF Peer-Reviewed Studies

In healing,

Celeste Cooper, RN / Author, Freelancer, Advocate

Think adversity?-See opportunity!

http://www.CelesteCooper.com

I may be a warped mass, 

but when you place me at the top of a sleep grade 

and give me a swift kick, I gain momentum.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

Learn more about Celeste’s books here. Subscribe to posts by using the information in the upper right hand corner or use the share buttons to share with others.

All blogs and comments are based on the author's opinions and are not meant to replace medical advice.  

Are Fibromyalgia Researchers on a Common Path?

This is literally, at least, a million-dollar question, are fibromyalgia researchers on a common path or are they like "Two mice in a maze of indecision?” Here is my own non-award winning story.

Two mice in a maze of indecision. The first mouse, Must Mooli, is frantically navigating the maze because she knows if she finds the bell at the exit and thrashes it's pull back and forth cash will drop like confetti. Must Mooli is eager to receive the reward for the research she does. Shouldn't she be? After all, she needs the money to feed her family. Her moral duty is influenced by the basic needs of those she loves. But, she has competition, Bamboozled Barley, mouse number two. He is navigating the same maze using a different strategy because he wants to pick up studies along the way, studies he can replicate. You see, Bamboozled Barley is convinced that he can be an award-winning researcher heralded for his scientific breakthrough, discovering a biological test or even a cure for fibromyalgia. But, doesn’t he need to ring that bell too? Sure he does, but he believes he can accomplish more with his strategy. His bell may not be the same one Must Molli seeks, it could be in a different location or in another maze all together. So, he stumbles from side to side, following every path, seeking what he needs to bring him the recognition he desperately wants. Who do you think makes it in the end? Does it matter? Your about to find out.

Where Is the Bell?

From where does the money come? Will it miraculously fall from the sky? And, what research proposal, and by who, is it granted?  Must Mooli and Bamboozled Barley know that maze only too well. We don't know their process, but we can speculate on who provides funding. It either comes from some private entity for some type of secondary gain, directly or indirectly, or from a public funding source that our tax dollars support. We would hope that public funding has one goal, to find a cause, treatment, or cure for diseases that affect people. One such entity here in the U.S. is the National Institute of Health.  Yet, even public entities are fraught with controversy. Cort Johnson at Health Rising gives us a glimpse of what can happen. 

Just like Must Molli and Bamboozled Barley, we are all motivated by different things, and as our bells peal to a different melody, so do opportunities. 

The Facts about Replication

Bamboozled Barley knows the value of study replication and so does Kim Penix, blogger at Grace is Sufficient. It was after reading about her experience as a fibromyalgia study participant that I was inspired to write this blog. She had this to say about the process and the value of study replication.

“...The process is even more complicated because medical journal publications tend to only print the new and exciting finds. But unless those studies can be replicated repeatedly and consistently, you can’t be 100% positive. What happens then is when another study is performed, and they get different results, you may never read about it in a journal because it isn’t new and exciting. This leaves doctors without the continued information...”

So, how do studies get published in reputable journals? The study is written up and all the important criteria are examined by peers in that field of study. For instance, we would expect the study Kim participated in to be published in a respected rheumatology journal like Arthritis and Rheumatism or Arthritis Care and Research. 

What is Peer Review?

Peer review is a rigorous process in which scholarly articles, in this case studies, are evaluated by the scientist's peers. They look at content, validity, methods of research,  and so on. Usually it consists of more than one reviewer and includes editors of the journal who either accept or reject the article for publication. I wonder if there is peer bias (who you know), because some published studies are certainly suspect.  But, just like Must Mooli and Bamboozled Barley, motivation for publishing or rejecting a study is often influenced by what will improve circulation of the journal. We wish it weren't so for the reasons Kim describes, but it is the truth in our world as we know it today.

The Diagnostic Criteria and Participant Screening

One would think all scientists would use the same criteria for screening fibromyalgia participants, but that's not what happens. Scientists must reveal how they identified their participants, but the criteria is not consistent. And, sometimes co-occurring conditions are not ruled out, which can vastly change the outcome, or add so many variables to the study that the construct is damaged. 

This is of great concern to me because of the inconsistencies in the newer criteria. I have expressed by concerned to the NIH  and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) as far back as 2010. The criteria must be prudently applied, but first we need criteria that the experts can agree to use. For instance, “The Preliminary Proposed (Wolfe, et al. 2010) and Modified Criteria (Wolfe, et al.2011) is NOT approved by the ACR (a response letter to me from the ACR), and rheumatologists around the world have been critical of it.

It's no secret that I favor Dr. Robert Bennett, et. al. criteria and you can read more about it on my website, Alternative Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia.  The ACR, the CDC, and the NIH understand the significance of fibromyalgia occurring with other painful disorders, as Dr. Bennett suggests. This is contrary to Dr. Wolfe, et al. (referenced previously). Are you starting to get the picture? Our researchers need criteria they can depend on for all the reasons I listed in my letters to the NIH and the ACR. And yet, six years later not much has changed.

Is It Possible to Collaborate?

I  wish the researchers could find a way to collaborate. I wrote a letter to a couple of them, Dear Dr Albrecht Dr Behm Dr Ge Hy and Dr Orlander –Are These Studies related, because I wanted to see if I was interpreting their research correctly and if they saw any similarities on they could use to collaborate. Unfortunately, I did not get a response. 

Because of technology, we can collect very important data, but some of our privacy laws prevent that. Sure, it's okay for Google to know our every desire; it's okay for foreign offshore health insurance billing companies to have every identifier we give our provider, which are NOT subject to HIPPA privacy laws. It's okay the very laws created to protect our health records are keeping scientists from valuable information. No it is not!

So, I must conclude, it's possible that my little story about Must Mooli and Bamboozled Barley could be more fact than fiction. Resources, physical location of scientists, and motivation are significant factors. But, I am hopeful. Make no mistake, there are people working to find a way to collect  data without breaking laws. For every obstacle there is opportunity.  Feel free to download the PAINS policy brief #7 from my website. 

In a separate blog, I will let you know about my search for replicated studies. And I hope to get the chance to share more with you about PCORI, which is ALL about collaboration and involving the patient. Never give up hope, the past is how we learn and the future is full of possibilities. 

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"Adversity is only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."  

Celeste Cooper, RN

Author—Patient—Health Central Chronic Pain Pro —Advocate

Celeste’s Website: http://CelesteCooper.com

Learn more about what you can do to help your body function to its potential in the books you can find here on Celeste's  blog. Subscribe to posts by using the 

Dear Dr. Albrecht, Dr. Behm, Dr. Ge Hy, and Dr. Oaklander - Are these studies related?

RE:
Is there a possibility that the small-fiber polyneuropathy explains palmer AV Shunt in FM?
Could the disruptions be due to immune disruption?
How would this affect sustenance of MTrP treatments?

Dear Dr. Albrecht, Dr. Behm, Dr. Ge Hy, and Dr. Oaklander,

[Dr. Oaklander], is there a possibility that small-fiber polyneuropathy, which you and your team found in fibromyalgia, contributes to the enervation of arterioles and venules (AV shunt) in the palms of fibromyalgia patients causing them to behave erratically, as found by Dr. Albrecht’s team? Personally,  I have always felt that Raynaud’s and symptoms reported that are compatible with levido reticularis have more than a casual connection to fibromyalgia. 

This leads me to the next question, “Could this be occurring due to the unique immune pattern found in the study led by Dr. Behm?”

In my thinking, two of the studies, Dr. Albrecht and Dr Oaklander and their team, complement one another. Can we look forward to more studies regarding this possible connection?

Dr. Oaklander, you suggest that treating polyneuropathy might improve symptoms, so my next question is to Dr. Albrecht, “Could treating polyneuropathy improve the A-V shunt issue and thereby improve many symptoms having to do with body temperature control improving feedback to the brain?”

In my mind, a third possibility could be the suspected immune factor as studied by Dr. Behm and his team. Could finding and treating immune disease improve all of the above, or is it unrelated?” What is your thinking on this Dr. Behm?

One last question, “Could these disruptions explain why myofascial pain syndrome, thought to be a major pain contributor to many chronic pain disorders, be so difficult to control as a comorbid condition in fibromyalgia?” Generally, with sports injuries MTrPs are easily treated, but even a slight breeze can cause latent MTrPs in fibromyalgia patients to light up like a Christmas tree. Dr. Ge Hy, What are your thoughts on this? Could the findings of these other three teams have an effect on MTrP histology in fibromyalgia in particular?

I want to personally thank you, and I am certain I speak on behalf of all fibromyalgia patients, for all the research you are doing individually and collectively. It is validating and gives those of us who live with fibromyalgia hope. Many do not understand the impact this disorder has on a persons life.  

You know you have fibromyalgia when people say to you, 

"Nobody could have all those things at one time."

As a fibromyalgia expert at Sharecare.com, author, advocate and patient, I am interested in your thinking, and I know those I serve would be delighted to have a direct reply.

Thank You.

Sincerely, Celeste Cooper, RN


Studies and articles:

Albrecht PJ, Hou Q, Argoff CE, Storey JR, Wymer JP, Rice FL. Excessive Peptidergic Sensory Innervation of Cutaneous Arteriole-Venule Shunts (AVS) in the Palmar Glabrous Skin of Fibromyalgia Patients: Implications for Widespread Deep Tissue Pain and Fatigue. Pain Med. 2013 May 20. doi: 10.1111/pme.12139. [Epub ahead of print] Pubmed abstract here.

CONCLUSIONS:

“The excessive sensory innervation to the glabrous skin AVS is a likely source of severe pain and tenderness in the hands of FM patients. Importantly, glabrous AVS regulate blood flow to the skin in humans for thermoregulation and to other tissues such as skeletal muscle during periods of increased metabolic demand. Therefore, blood flow dysregulation as a result of excessive innervation to AVS would likely contribute to the widespread deep pain and fatigue of FM. SNRI compounds may provide partial therapeutic benefit by enhancing the impact of sympathetically mediated inhibitory modulation of the excess sensory innervation.”

ARTICLE, Women with Fibromyalgia Have A Real Pathology Among Nerve Endings to Blood Vessels, at Integrated Tissue Dynamics. This is a fantastic article that explains what happens in an easy to understand analogy. See entire article here. 

“Scientists at Integrated Tissue Dynamics (Intidyn) and Albany Medical College have made a major discovery that should provide a more certain diagnosis of fibromyalgia, significant insight into the source and symptoms of the disease, and new strategies for its prevention and treatment. The Albany Med and Intidyn research team - headed by neurologists Charles Argoff, MD, and James Wymer, MD PhD and neuroscientists Phillip Albrecht, PhD, and Frank Rice, PhD - discovered that the skin in fibromyalgia patients has a major pathology involving nerve endings to a key type of blood vessel called arteriole-venule shunts… arteriole-venule shunts play a major role in the proper distribution of blood flow throughout the body, and the discovered pathology involving the nerve endings to the shunts provides a logical explanation for the widespread deep pain and fatigue symptomatic of fibromyalgia.

Behm FG, Gavin IM, Karpenko O, Lindgren V, Gaitonde S, Gashkoff PA, Gillis BS. Unique immunologic patterns in fibromyalgia. BMC Clin Pathol. 2012 Dec 17;12(1):25. doi: 10.1186/1472-6890-12-25. Pubmed abstract here. 

CONCLUSIONS:

“The cytokine responses to mitogenic activators of PBMC isolated from patients with FM were significantly lower than those of healthy individuals, implying that cell-mediated immunity is impaired in FM patients. This novel cytokine assay reveals unique and valuable immunologic traits, which, when combined with clinical patterns, can offer a diagnostic methodology in FM.” 

MY COMMENT:

The role of cytokines in FM has been studied over more than a decade.  I have never had a doubt regarding my own body that there is something askew in the immune system that accounts for the co-existence of particular disorders. Plasma levels have been consistently low, but not considered low enough to be significant.  This research is looking at specific cytokines in specific cells, in specific ways, and the results will no doubt lead research in the right direction.  I truly feel a bio-marker could be around the corner. Cc

Ge HY, Nie H, Graven-Nielsen T, Danneskiold-Samsøe B, Arendt-Nielsen L. Descending pain modulation and its interaction with peripheral sensitization following sustained isometric muscle contraction in fibromyalgia. Eur J Pain. 2012 Feb;16(2):196-203. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpain.2011.06.008. Pubmed abstract here. 

CONCLUSIONS:

“Descending pain modulation shifts from descending inhibition towards descending facilitation following muscle nociception in FM. Peripheral mechanical hyperalgesia and descending facilitation counterbalance the effect of descending inhibition in FM.”

MY COMMENT:This result should be no surprise in light of the stress contraction puts on a muscle when it has myofascial trigger points present. Cc

Oaklander AL, Herzog ZD, Downs H, Klein MM. Objective evidence that small-fiber polyneuropathy underlies some illnesses currently labeled as fibromyalgia. Pain. 2013 Jun 5. pii: S0304-3959(13)00294-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2013.06.001. [Epub ahead of print] Pubmed abstract here. 

CONCLUSION:

“These findings suggest that some patients with chronic pain labeled as "fibromyalgia" have unrecognized small-fiber polyneuropathy, a distinct disease that can be objectively tested for and sometimes definitively treated.”

ARTICLE: Small-Fiber Polyneuropathy Found in Fibromyalgia Patients. See entire article at Examiner.com, here.

 “Finally with the FM patients had a reduction in dermal unmyelinated nerve fibre bundles was found in skin samples of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome compared with patients with depression and with healthy control subjects, whereas myelinated nerve fibres were spared.”