Inclined Bed Therapy

[kc]

I have been doing ibt since 12/10. I have posted previously about improvements which seem to be ongoing. IE being able to go to the movies AT NIGHT without fatigue etc.
BUT for the past month or so my heart has been going nuts. I am aware of it beating and the pulse seems a little fast. (I would take my own pulse but I cannot detect heart rate due to loss of sensation in fingers). It is not painful but I am getting somewhat concerned. It almost feels like I have too much blood in there to be pumped.

Has anyone else experienced this? Again I have seen WONDERFUL improvements but this is starting to scare me.

kc

P>S This heart racing is not all the time, seems to happen more when I am fatigued. (although that is better too)

[AndrewKFletcher]

I have been doing ibt since 12/10. I have posted previously about improvements which seem to be ongoing. IE being able to go to the movies AT NIGHT without fatigue etc.
BUT for the past month or so my heart has been going nuts. I am aware of it beating and the pulse seems a little fast. (I would take my own pulse but I cannot detect heart rate due to loss of sensation in fingers). It is not painful but I am getting somewhat concerned. It almost feels like I have too much blood in there to be pumped.

Has anyone else experienced this? Again I have seen WONDERFUL improvements but this is starting to scare me.

kc

P>S This heart racing is not all the time, seems to happen more when I am fatigued. (although that is better too)

If you control your breathing and deliberately slow it down, your heart rate will also slow down. anxiety, apprehension, worrying, fear etc can have a direct on heart rate.

The main circulation I.B.T. logic:

The theory behind Inclined bed therapy is that for every breath exhaled we release a tiny pulse of denser solutes back into the main arteries which gravity can act upon in favour of the circulation, which in turn affects the venous return and stroke volume in the heart. This will cause the heart to become more efficient at moving the blood around when we are on an inclined, and when walking. Standing still and sitting applies direct pressure to the vessels and surrounding muscle, ligaments and skin tissue and narrow the vessels so the heart backs up pressure ( a main cause of feinting)

Shallow Breathing
The same scenario also applies to rapid shallow breathing, we still release pulses of denser blood back into the main artery and after passing back through the heart these solutes are drawn down the artery but there are more of them, even though they are not as concentrated as when the lungs are fully inflated and deflated from slower deeper breathing. This serves to accelerate the heart and the respiration and I believe it is the main cause of asthma hyperventilation.

School Girl Asthma attack

While out walking the dogs, I came across 2 schoolgirls, one looking terrified and crying the other in hyperventilation having an asthma attack. She was in serious trouble. Right away, I said listen carefully, she nodded unable to talk and in distress. On breathing out count to 5 seconds before inhaling try to repeat this for each breath, which she did.

Within 2 minutes her breathing and presumably her heart rate had returned to normal, she became relaxed and the attack was ended. They both thanked me and with smiles wider than the grand canyon walked calmly as if nothing had happened.

Before reading the following article, apply the density changes released by exhaling to the explanations given in it.

Also take into account the action of breathing into a paper bag for hyperventilation. Here it would serve to eliminate the density changes in the lungs due to breathing the same volume of moist air in and out of the lungs so that no pulses of solutes will enter the main artery. Result: breathing would return to base line rapidly.

http://www.asthmacare.ie/hyperventilati ... asthma.pdf

I can also hear my own heart beating while laying on an inclined and have experimented many times slowing down my breathing by releasing a longer slower exhale and counting to 5 seconds or more before inhaling. I can hear the changes in my own heart rate within 30 seconds.

Normally, while sleeping on an inclined bed the heart rate slows down and the respiration rate slows down significantly by 10-12 beats per minute and 4-5 breaths per minute, which is a huge difference to a person sleeping flat. The same changes took place in 2 sleeping dogs (who didn’t mind a stethoscope) on an incline.

While awake however, as previously stated, we can consciously and subconsciously alter our breathing and the angled bed will make use of the number of breaths we take either way. Even subtle changes in breathing can start a steady acceleration of the heart, which in turn inflates and deflates the lungs quicker in a vicious circle, but now you know how to intervene and reverse this.

So please experiment with this method of controlled respiration and do come back and let us know what you find.

You can also purchase a professional stethoscope from ebay as I did for a few dollars / pounds, so you can observe the changes more effectively.

[AndrewKFletcher]

Hi Andrew
this is my fifth week of IBT. It seems to take me two weeks to make any improvementS. We went from 4 inches to 7, 4 weeks ago. We travelled in between and I spent four days on a flatbed two weeks ago. My improvements are wonderful today and I feel great. I finally figure out how to post on your website also.
To date:
-breathing deeper
-sounder sleep
-getting up earlier, and liking it
-feet are warmer-and less purple -actually from the waist down
-vivid dreams
-I feel clearer in the head today
-I don't get up to go to the bathroom during the night
-my bladder seems better

use changes were coming about before I went away, but returned after my four day flat bed ordeal, now two weeks later good things are happening again. We're not going the way for three months so hopefully a flatbed experience won't bother me as much.
Cheers

Hi Esta

Thanks for adding your Journal to the Inclined therapy tracking forum. My son told me to stop replying to everyone on there because it looks like a one man forum with all my posts.

If you have other posts on this forum that relate to before and during IBT copy the content and add to your journal with dates preferably.

It's starting to look interesting already with just a few Journals on the new forum.

Andrew

[AndrewKFletcher]

Need some help here people.

Only 5 people so far have responded to numerous requests for help compiling a tracking journal.

Is it really too much to ask?

If people who IBT has helped and is helping can't be bothered to respond, what chance do I have in getting this important discovery into mainstream. More to the point, if you can't be bothered then why should I even bother trying?

When the second pilot study was closed down prematurely, it was this same unresponsive attitude from people with ms that caused me to change direction then, back in the early part of 2000.

I really cannot afford to continue much longer working alone and feel like saying enough is enough.

When Roger Kirk experienced a turn around in his condition. I thought I had done enough. Then when a group of people with ms helped conduct the first pilot study, I also thought this was enough to get people to listen, so I took it to the press and it went nationwide and this was still not even close to enough and as the years passed and promises were broken about setting up a controlled study for ms, I realised that this was always going to be a one man band.

So I set up another study with the aim to show a larger scale Internet based study and when the predictable results rolled in as they are in this third and final attempt to show evidence of the efficacy of this simple non-invasive therapy, the study produced the results and doctors said “ms is a bit like that, it comes and it goes” have you heard of the placebo effect?, which infuriated me and enraged me to attempt the same study with people who have spinal cord injuries and many of who responded to the therapy and again were ignored when they tried to shout what was happening to them a few morons over on the carecure forum decided to disrupt what was being reported by starting a flaming war and bullying people to back off, which some of them did.

I switched to varicose veins to show what can happen photographically which I have shared with everyone here. The photographs speak for themselves!

At the same time included psoriasis again providing before and after photographs for al to see.

And finally in this 3rd and last study I made a prediction that tilting the bed should help to reverse ms symptoms for the majority of people, with RR PP and SP ms and deliver the same predictable results right here in this thread and others.
In return for my commitment to you.
I ask for a comparative microscopic bit of help to compile the data so it can be followed more easily and only 5 people have responded so far and several others have agreed to provide a journal at some point?

Is it fair to ask for some help?

[colapesce]

hi Andrew,

I agree with you, totally. I'm trying to post now what I've written so far but I'm having technical problems! Not sure if it's because I'm using a mac? Or something to do with cookies? Whatever it is it looks like I've lost whatever I've written so far.

I'll keep trying though! It's the least we can all do.

My post definitely will appear as soon as I've worked out what the technical problem is.

til' soon

[joyj]

i will help as soon as i get rid of my worst cold in about 10 years, do you think ibt has brought out all the crap inside me for this cold. its difinately the worst cold for years

[joyj]

hi andrew, just looked at journal site, im sorry but its too complicated for me to use but il be reading regularly

[Zeureka]

hi andrew, just looked at journal site, im sorry but its too complicated for me to use but il be reading regularly

Must admit that user-friendliness was also hurdle for me to start filling in...sorry to say this. Will have a further look at it though...

[AndrewKFletcher]

The example format is open for suggestions, edits and updates from those using Inclined Therapy.

1. Copy the text from the New Forum: http://www.andrewkfletcher.com/index.ph ... &Itemid=30 to maintain formating, to your word processor and save to your hard drive as IBT Tracking Journal so you can find it easy.

2. Edit using your word processor following the instructions and examples adding your history and observations using IBT.

3. Edit to remove all instruction text, symptoms and examples that do not apply to you. (most of the brown text shown here should be deleted)

4. Each person using Inclined Therapy (I.T.) Please start a new topic beginning with the title: (Your Name / Alias) IBT Progress Tracking Journal.

5. Copy and paste your edited Journal from your word processor into your new topic / Journal using the edit tab each time you update your journal. This is an excellent way to avoid any lost text when posting.

Note: Your post can be edited as often as required.
Comments can be discussed by replying to the original post and answered using the normal forum thread reply.

The purpose of this thread is to get an easy to follow overview of known medical conditions, general health and well-being, mobility, function, sensory loss and fatigue levels before I.T. Therapy commenced, followed by dated experiences of people with multiple sclerosis (ms) that are using I.T.
Our aim is to consolidate accurate, concise and focused reports, neatly organized without interruptions so that all results can be statistically evaluated.
Your FSS, MSIS, and/or EDSS scores, will help for Subjective and Objective statistical analysis of any results as well as number and severity of relapses (if applicable) will be very helpful and important for ease of data analysis.
This thread is to have One Initial Editable Post Per Person, each of which will be updated when new changes are observed using the "Edit" feature, adding new progress reports at the bottom of the post together with any test results, original CCSVI testing results, side of major IJV stenosis
(if applicable), side of most lesions as well as symptoms, experiences with the treatment and post-treatment medications, and perhaps most importantly, MS / CCSVI symptoms pre and post treatment.

Finally, if you could post MRI, MRV and other images / photographs, that would be very helpful to provide solid before and after evidence. http://photobucket.com/ is a hassle-free site for uploading and hosting images anonymously. Flicker is another good resource: http://www.flickr.com/

Comments and discussion will follow in the forum reply function. This way, the original post will be unaffected and should make very interesting reading that is easy to follow.



TEMPLATE:
=======================================================
Name:_______________ (Or familiar alias)
Male/Female: (M/F)
Age:
Date(s) & type of neurological diagnosis (RRMS, SPMS, PPMS, CIS, or other):
Lesion locations (most affected side, if known), number of lesions

[Please use date format MM/DD/YYYY]

MS HISTORY AND BENCHMARK PRIOR TO INCLINED THERAPY

List all of your ailments. "Try to list every ache, pain, loss of sensation, loss of function or discomfort which troubles you and at what time of day it becomes worse. Expand wherever possible.


MY HEALTH HISTORY AND CURRENT PROBLEMS :--
Provide as much detail as possible in your own words at the start, in order to quantify any changes, which may occur during the study period.

Please copy and paste information from previous posts on http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-8535.html or other forums and websites that you feel may provide us with your ms history.

Please include any of the following that relate to your particular circumstances and delete those which do not:
Pain, aches, lethargy, spasm, tremor, vision, feeling cold in bed, blood pressure, cold feet or hands, dreaming, morning paralysis, swollen limbs, blocked sinuses, Irritability, fidgety limbs in bed, ability to maintain body temperature, poor circulation, lethargy, depression, loss of movement in limbs, snoring, poor sleep, sleeping disorders, breathing difficulties,
poor quality, finger/toe nails, absence of half moons on nails, hair condition, varicose veins, leg ulcers, loss of skin sensitivity, taste, smell, problems with balance. liver spots, old scar tissue, sensory loss, headaches, pins and needles, night sweats, cramp, bladder control.
Night time bladder urgency, Urine infections, bowel function, spasm, memory loss, backache, mouth infections, ulcers, scoliosis, psoriasis, exzema any other not listed-----------

It would be very helpful if you could film a video diary, or take photographs of any leg ulcers, scars, finger/toe nails, swollen limbs, skin, hair conditions or varicose veins, as these conditions have already shown remarkable improvements in several participants. Video and Photographs
add weight to reports, giving credence and support to your journal

Saving nail clippings and hair samples, dated for later comparisons is a useful analysis tool. Saving urine samples prior to tilting the bed for comparison after I.T. in first week will prove useful for you to make a comparison and comment.

GENERAL GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
It would be very useful if you could tell us about your everyday problems, how they affect your life and how and when they first started. I would also like to know where you lived, (Not the address)
a general area description from the time you first noticed your problems will suffice.
For example: River valley or low-lying coastal area, elevated hillside(height above sea level if known)
If you moved what type of area you moved to and if your condition improved or worsened.
What weather conditions aggravate or improve your problems? What is/was your job, did you work in a damp/humid environment, perhaps near a river or in a steamy kitchen, or on a ship or boat.
All of this information is vital.

Have you experienced any changes in your condition due to altitude, Perhaps during a trip to the top of a mountain or to the bottom of a ravine or valley?
Altitude:

MS treatments and results:
Number of relapses in the first and second year before I.T. intervention:

EDSS before I.T. intervention (self-assessed or physician-assessed?):

To review EDSS rating, click the following link
http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/expandedd ... scale.html
FSS before I.T. intervention:
To calculate FSS rating, click the following link:
http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/fatigueseverityscale.html
MSIS before I.T. intervention:
To calculate MSIS rating , click the following link: http://healingpowernow.com/msis.htm
Number of relapses since starting Inclined Therapy intervention:
Impact on your MS symptoms in words (include date in brackets if there have been multiple updates):
EDSS as of this update (self-assessed or physician-assessed?)
FSS as of this update:
MSIS as of this update:

Have you had testing for CCSVI blockage yet: (Y/N)
Have you undergone a stenosis procedure (Y/N)
If Applicable:
STENOSIS PROCEDURE HISTORY:
Date/location of testing/procedure:
Type of venographic study: (MRV, Doppler)
Diagnosis:
Type of procedures:
Procedures/drug related symptoms:
[Repeat this section if there have been more than one procedure]
Number of relapses since first CCSVI intervention:

Progress reporting:

At some point, ‘preferably after Four months’, during the study you may wish to revert back to horizontal rest in order to determine the differences.

Please record any comparisons that are observed.
REVERTING BACK TO FLAT JOURNAL TEXT

SLEPT FLAT ON (DD/MM/YYYY)-------UNTIL (DD/MM/YYYY)--------
AND FOUND THE FOLLWING DIFFERENCES:--
(Repeat Entry each time you revert back to flat)

*********************************************************************************
IMPORTANT: WHEN UPDATING PLEASE POST ONLY THE RELEVANT INFORMATION.
*********************************************************************************
PROGRESS REPORTING:

REMEMBER TO SAVE THIS FORM ON YOUR HARD DRIVE AS YOU EDIT IT EACH TIME AS THIS WILL BECOME YOUR OWN DIARY AND AN EXACT COPY OF THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE REPORTED: This way if the data is lost at either end, one of us will have a copy. "Computers and web forums do crash".

1st 7 day notes I.T. Tracking date:_ DD/MM/YYYY

Delete Example text:
28/12/2009: I am Sleeping Less Comfortably, I am feeling colder in bed, I have to get up more times during the night to visit the bathroom. I am experiencing ballance problems in the morning when I get out of bed.

31/12/2009: I am sleeping more comfortably, I am Feeling warmer in bed, I have not been getting out of bed so much in the night to visit the bathroom.






Update (2nd WEEK) I.T. Tracking date:_ DD/MM/YYYY








Update (Following 2 WEEKS) I.T. Tracking date:_ DD/MM/YYYY








Update (2 WEEKS) I.T. Tracking date:_ DD/MM/YYYY








Update (2 WEEKS) I.T. Tracking date:_ DD/MM/YYYY







Monthly Update (4 WEEKS) I.T. Tracking date:_ DD/MM/YYYY






Monthly Update (4 WEEKS) I.T. Tracking date:_ DD/MM/YYYY






Monthly Update (4 WEEKS) I.T. Tracking date:_ DD/MM/YYYY



Continue reporting using the same format, preferably once every month so that we can compare progress with other people sleeping Inclined.
_________________
If you have multiple sclerosis, you should be waking up to Inclined Therapy I.T. Blog: http://www.inclinedtherapy.com Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewKFletcher

[Vhoenecke]

I hope to get there Andrew but for me right now that's too much to read. Just not well enough to tackle that much information overload. Hope in a while I will be able to do it and somehow figure out how to post a diary.

[AndrewKFletcher]

Hi Val and everyone reading this.

If you begin a new topic, you can copy and paste all of your reports from this is ms directly into the topic using the edit tab.

This will at least combine everything each person has reported so far and will prove to be very helpful for anyone who is trying to follow your progress.

The template can be added later and it is not essential to make your posts exactly the same format, so long as you can provide before IBT and during IBT for comparisons.

The format is an ideal method of reporting and people can help each other to suggest improvements in each others posts. Perhaps even helping each other to work out the EDSS and FSS scores?

I can help with copying and pasting providing a new topic is opened by posting them as a reply where they can be edited by the topic owner and included in the initial topic post that becomes the journal.

Tomorrow I have an interview with a man from New Pathways Magazine MSRC who has come to Paignton to learn more about why this therapy is producing these reports and results.

It would be nice to have some more Journals opened so that he can have an easy time following everyone’s progress using IBT.

The Journals are beginning to come together on the New Forum, for which I am very grateful. Others have informed me that they are busy compiling their reports for adding their tracking journals and hopefully will be added soon.

But there are many people reading this who are using IBT and could return the help that IBT has provided by assisting with this request for more data input.

I read a lady gave up IBT after 4 weeks but posted this in another thread. If you have reverted back to flat we need to know why and how sleeping flat has helped them?

All reports are valid even if they are negative or IBT has had no effect, we need to understand why.

Andrew

[Luvsadonut]

Hi Andrew,
I have posted a journal (Lovsadonut), it has been 3 weeks and no great improvements other than not feeling as stiff in the morning. Im not sure if this is connected but I seem to have tears in my eyes quite a bit.
regards
Darren

[zen2010]

Hi everybody,

I just joined the IBT users
I was diagnosed Progressive MS in last September.
I read somewhere in the topic that sleeping “flat” only one day can stop the ibt effects for several weeks!
So I can not follow this therapy as I would like, cause I can not avoid flat beds (I sometimes have to travel for working purpose)

However, I could achieve recently one full month ibt and I have to say that results are quite nice:
-more energy (especially on the morning)
-quality of sleep is great
-brain fog disappeared completely

On the other hand, I met no improvements regarding walking capacity.

Hi Andrew,

Pls allow me to bother you a little:
I raised my bed by 6 inches (length of the bed is 84 inches). Do you advice me to go up to 8 inches or to stay like that?
Thks for your answer

[AndrewKFletcher]

Hi everybody,

I just joined the IBT users
I was diagnosed Progressive MS in last September.
I read somewhere in the topic that sleeping “flat” only one day can stop the ibt effects for several weeks!
So I can not follow this therapy as I would like, cause I can not avoid flat beds (I sometimes have to travel for working purpose)

However, I could achieve recently one full month ibt and I have to say that results are quite nice:
-more energy (especially on the morning)
-quality of sleep is great
-brain fog disappeared completely

On the other hand, I met no improvements regarding walking capacity.

Hi Andrew,

Pls allow me to bother you a little:
I raised my bed by 6 inches (length of the bed is 84 inches). Do you advice me to go up to 8 inches or to stay like that?
Thks for your answer

My wife and I always find a method of tilting a bed when away from home, so do all of our friends "who are in the know".

You can purchase some plastic furniture risers for a few dollars / pounds. make sure they are 15 cm's / 6 inch risers though. These are useful as they fit inside each other and don't weigh a great deal so ideal for suitcase and back at home.

Your bed is longer than most beds, so an extra inch or two will be of more benefit in the long term.

Be patient, there is usually no fast track to recovery, IBT is generally a slow progressive therapy for most people that use it. There are some who experience relief from day one and go on to improve more in a relatively short period.

Andrew

[sbr487]

Andrew and others,

I am new to IBT but I think I would like to jump in and give a try (mainly encouraged by the kind of response I have seen)

Considering that I might not be able to expreiment a lot, what would be the easiest way for me to start with IBT. I mean I am looking for some old fashioned method to elevate my bed (no hitech stuff).

Thanks a lot in advance ...