Inclined Bed Therapy

[AndrewKFletcher]

Hi Buck

Thanks for your post which is interesting. Can you elaborate some more as we are all undoubtedly fascinated by your post?

What were your wife’s symptoms prior to using the wedge? How long did she sleep, presumable with just the upper half elevated with legs flat, before she became symptom free?

What made you try the wedge cushion in the first instance?

What I find interesting is that the medical profession use this sitting method for people in hospital, mostly for respiratory problems, hiatus hernia, gerd, yet no one has reported it being of benefit for people with ms, which is odd because there should be many more people with ms out there who have responded to sleeping propped up rather than laying flat.

In fact people with ms have tried those cushions and became uncomfortable and frustrated by the lack of symptom response, so your mentioning their use over 4 years with success for your wife requires further consideration. I wonder if any others on the forum are using one of these and finding relief?

Many people use a lot of pillows to find some relief, perhaps there may be a correlation between lower rates of relapse among those that do?

Then there is the adjustable bed, which tilts at the head end, folding in the middle. I advised my own mother not to buy one of these but "mums know best". It has not had the effect that tilting the whole bed did on her.

The reasons not to use one of these cushions as opposed to tilting the whole bed have been stated previously and based upon many people reporting they have used a mechanically adjustable bed in the semi-sitting position for many years and have not observed significant symptom relief from ms.

So I am puzzled yet intrigued by your post.

Andrew

[joyj]

ive also found my lower legs are swelling and they havn"t before. ive been taking ldn for 4 years at 4.5mg and im wondering whether to go to 3mg because ibt improves blood circulation

[AndrewKFletcher]

ive also found my lower legs are swelling and they havn"t before. ive been taking ldn for 4 years at 4.5mg and im wondering whether to go to 3mg because ibt improves blood circulation

The legs swelling should resolve over 2 more weeks, do you normally have a problem with fluid retention - oedema?

If you do then you may have to shed more fluid, this can be achieved using juice of a lemon in a large glass of water prior to going to bed. The downside is that this will cause you to get up a lot more during the night for a few days.

Does the swelling go away during the daytime?

Andrew

[joyj]

hi andrew, ive not suffered with fluid retention, my legs seem to be swollen a bit all day ive noticed i get marks from my socktops which ive not had before.

[AndrewKFletcher]

Could it be caused by the type of sock you are using? I tend to purchase only those that are not doubled over and sewn as these tend to restrict the circulation?

If this does not resolve quickly then you should lower your bed slightly to try to find the optimum angle. This can be raised later when the oedema has gone completely.

Thank you for this post, it is helpful to know how I.T. works whether it is positively or negatively.

Andrew

[tzootsi]

Just an update - we have been on IBT for close to 4 weeks now. No noticeable changes in my wife's mild ms symptoms, but she tells me that my occasional snoring has stopped, and late night bathroom visits for both of us have dropped from 2-3 to 0-1. Adjusting to sleeping on the tilt was very easy - the only problem is that our covers and our bodies slowly creep downward during the night so that by morning we are about 4" lower in our bed!

[happy_canuck]

Update:

4" incline started Nov 30; 7" incline start Jan 2

- BP upon waking 124/81; pulse 54 (BP has been VERY high since Dec 28)
- BP meds doubled since Dec 29, but Dr says they will take 3-6 weeks to work
- still on antibiotics for bladder infection
- slight headache upon waking today
- hand numbness still reduced, but present in all fingers
- both of us slept better second night of increased incline

Interestingly, our 95 lb. retriever, who normally sleeps with her head toward footboard (even with 4" incline) has now turned around. She doesn't know what we're doing, so she's truly blind to this experiment and is going on instinct.

~ Sandra

[jenf]

Hi Andrew,
I'm on week 4 of my inclined bed therapy (still only at 4") and I'm still having some issues I hope you can help me out with. I'd like to start by saying that I am optimistic that I will start to see improvements in these areas, but I still would like some reassurance.

Prior to starting IBT, I was completely MS symptom free. I have been this way since starting LDN this past June. Within a week of starting the IBT, both of my feet went numb (you may remember my earlier post). While the numbness is still there, it's no where near as extreme as it was before. I suspect it may have been yeast-related. From what I've read, this is common in MS'ers on LDN who consume a lot of carbs (which I did). Just a few days ago however, I've been having a pain in my foot that left me unable to put any pressure on it this morning. Within about 1/2 hour, it had worked out enough that I could walk on it again.The area that's sore to the touch surrounds the vein on the top of my foot. Any thoughts?

[AndrewKFletcher]

tzootsi

Adding a duvet / quilt / soft blanket, tucked in under the mattress and under the bottom sheet should help you overcome moving down the bed.

[AndrewKFletcher]

Sandra, what a difference in your blood pressure.

Smart dogs, not so smart humans. Cattle and sheep all sleep facing uphill when there is a hillside.

I have watched ours gather bedding under their chests, initially I thought they were just making their bedding a mess

[AndrewKFletcher]

Jenf

Raising your bed slightly is to get you used to the incline, it will not have the same affect as the correct angle, but you are wise to move up slowly.

I would condier raising the bed another inch to see what happens,

We have had the festive season also, so suspect we may all have eaten too much of the wrong foods. Having a high density diet according to this theory would also slow down the uptake of food from the gut and have a detrimental effect on our circulation. Not a coincidence that people feel tired and letchargic after eating a heavy meal.

High density foods include dairy, especially cheese and chocolate.

High humidity is another factor. Think I mentioned this before.

As for reasurance, raise your bed higher and see if this corrects the foot problem or makes it worse.
Everyone is different, so I.T. is not going to have exactly the same effect on everyone, but it is definately worth experimenting with the angle to find what suits you better.

Andrew

[Vhoenecke]

Hi Andrew,

It has been a week and 2 days with IBT. I am really excited about this therapy. I have noticed: I am not as tired, can stay in bed longer, dog wants to be in our bed more than the kids' beds. She used to always sleep with our daughters. Sometimes I ache a bit but I don't think it is because of IBT. We took boards when we went away. Not sure what to do with the bed in my camper trailer. It is a queen-sized bed with a mattress on a wooden base. Maybe a sheet of plywood then boards under that. We will have to investigate.

I will come back after measuring the beds in my house an the one in the camper trailer. I want to have the correct angles.

I don't keep track of my BP but I can tell my fluid build up is down. I take BP medication since I went in with my initial attack in August 2008. I may be able to try getting off these drugs. Thanks for all of your work, Andrew.


Val

[happy_canuck]

Article today linking restless legs to erectile dysfunction in men that talks about an "unknown" third factor. Could it be CCSVI? When I was reading the article I kept thinking "veins, veins, VEINS!"

I wondered if IBT had results with restless legs or leg spasms? I have been inclined for 5 weeks and still get both. As for ED, well, I don't have the right apparatus

Here's the piece:

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/c ... 34652.html

BTW, BP steady at 124/81; pulse 61; slight back ache on waking

Sandra

[Robnl]

Andrew,

Correction to my bedlength; althoug it's 200cm, the support length ia 130cm.
With 10cm tilted, that's 4.3 degrees.

Is it still wise to lift the bed with 2cm, so degrees will be 5.2???

Thx,

Robert

[katie45]

hi all! posting a pm i sent as requested....
Andrew, there is so much "before' info, most of it documrntrd all in files or sites over the years, i am not in great shape to assist in your study except that i have gone thru every conceivable sx of this horror over the years but NEVER took a single ms drug offered...first sx started '84 O.N. dragging right leg, dizzy etc.I was 29......to date ...I have been in w/c 5 yrs now...i am 55. reason I am writing you...slept the ist time last night on incline, woke this am able to make it to bathrm in time ! could control bladder urgency! Hands did not go numb during sleep, and many changes in spine /spasms as tho things were 'correcting' themselves somehow..I have searched for all these years for answers...i am going to continue with this....kathy hutchinson Please excuse typing errors..only use 1 hand (left)