CES

[Fino]

I made a thread previously about being morbidly depressed and having a strange and awful pain that felt as if it were in my brain. It lasted two months, until I tried CES--cranial electrotherapy stimulation. It returned me to my normal self within two days. It's a small device you can buy, and it's painless and simple. I'm so grateful to not have to take an antidepressant. Here are some examples of the device:

https://caputron.com/collections/cranial-electrotherapy-stimulation/starter-kit
I used to take high doses of nine medications, and now I take low doses of three!

 

[Aspychata]

How interesting. Who knew? So happy you found a solution and cut your meds too.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Whoa, I've never heard of these. I suffer from anxiety and insomnia so now I'm going to have to look into it as well!

 

[SusanLR]

They work very well from what I've heard.
My therapist even uses them on her children.
There is also one you can have therapy with called NeuroStar.
Insurance usually covers it. Mental health facilities have it.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Sounds interesting.

So very glad you found something that works for you.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Sounds a little like the devices mentioned in this recent RadioLab podcast.

Some people are claiming to see some pretty incredible results with these devices, but none of the studies have been very large - we're talking a few dozen people at most.

Other people have had some very damaging side effects from them.

If you use one, I would recommend starting at the lowest possible voltage and then ramping up slowly and carefully.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Any double blind studies on that?

 

[Nervous Rex]

Any double blind studies on that?

There's this article, that summarizes the studies done so far:
A Critical Review of Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation for Neuromodulation in Clinical and Non-clinical Samples

It appears that there have only been 4 studies for CES as a sleep aid, involving a total of 126 people. In general, the article concludes that there are not enough high-quality studies to make a determination of its effectiveness.

It also notes side effects experienced by some of the patients during the various studies, including vertigo, skin irritation, dizziness, and headaches.