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Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

theguardian.com

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Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#151

Post by yeeeloit »

tempaway43355 wrote: post #21
spread_love wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing. I'm considering VNS but frankly I'm terrified of complications and recovery time.

Operation was in-and-out of hospital in one day. Then had a big cellophane-like bandage on neck and shoulder area that had to be kept clean and air-tight for 2 weeks. It was a good bandage though, just had to patch it up occasionally with new layers of cellophane-stuff. Main possible complication would be infection (worse case is that device then has to be removed) or some people have side effect where it feels like…

This is really interesting!

I have struggled with an issue during meditation for several years now. I get to a certain point and it feels like my body/mind is going to relax, but instead I get this intense rising feeling up into the back of my throat, followed by an itching sensation that causes me to cough, and break out of the moment. Extremely frustrating!!

I wonder what is going on with my vagus nerve.

Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#152

Post by thenerdhead »

BizarroLand wrote: post #150
thenerdhead wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is DIY here? TENS devices are FDA approved and these are well known settings / protocols for different conditions.

DIY is "Do It Yourself" as in, not having trained professionals do it for you, therefore, the whole thing is DIY. Sure, maybe less DIY than making a pickaxe out of stone and mining the raw metals to build a tens device from actual scratch, but doing it to yourself is doing it yourself.

Yes you should absolutely talk to your doctor or an expert before doing it. But that doesn't make it "DIY". I was just pointing out that you don't have to buy a startup's expensive device to get the same functionality.

Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#153

Post by matthewpick »

linsomniac wrote: post #146
matthewpick wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on how severe your sleep apnea is, there are oral appliances that can help with mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea. Could be an alternative to a CPAP machine. It’s like wearing a bulky retainer at night. That said, you’ll want to go to a dentist who specializes in sleep apnea and is able to test / fit the oral appliance properly. (Source: father is dentist who specializes in TMJ pain and sleep apnea).

I've heard they're about $3,500USD and aren't covered by insurance. For something that I'm unsure would solve the problem, it seems a bit much. If it were 1/10th the price, I would just try it. Seems like the 3d scanning my kids had for their braces, plus 3D printing could make it less expensive, at least for a prototype device to just try. I should try that "tape over the mouth" thing to see if it helps, particularl…

That is correct on both counts: they’re a bit pricey and insurance won’t cover an oral appliance for sleep apnea, which is unfortunate!

I do tape over the mouth every night. It’s worth a try! I also wear an oral appliance to prevent teeth clenching at night which was a game changer for me in terms of jaw muscle inflammation (due to clenching).

Mouth taping is one thing my dad (dentist) recommends for people who snore. While I don’t snore or have sleep apnea, I do feel like I get a more restful sleep.

Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#154

Post by 01100011 »

I'm all for folks expounding on the ways in which "current AI" sucks, but I have little patience for people who think that what it is now is all it will ever be.

Sure, it could be 6 months or 6 years before we see real improvements, but no one knows. No one knew that transformers were coming in the months before they arrived.

One thing that I think is encouraging is how fast computing power is increasing, along with languages, frameworks and models which allow you to make use of that power. I think that alone, even without AI, will result in world-changing advancements across many fields. The power to simulate large systems is growing rapidly and will enable prediction and discovery to achieve great societal benefits.

Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#155

Post by progrus »

doktrin wrote: post #136
progrus wrote: post #126

This place is such a shithole in 2023. Absolutely no interest in anything of import, because that reality banging down your doors is too scary. We’re in a revolution, nerds. Wake the fuck up.

You should consider the possibility that you're the one with a one-finger grasp on reality.

No U

Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#156

Post by theGnuMe »

adriand wrote: post #69
blueyes wrote: post #56

For me, the amazing thing about the Vagus nerve is that you can stimulate it with your breathing. And since the Vagus nerve affects the autonomic nervous system (involuntary, not consciously controlled) while breathing choices are conscious, this is one of the few ways that humans can directly impact important aspects of their psychology and physiology, like how calm they feel. Mindfulness + breath choices + vagus ne…

This might go beyond how you feel and into direct biological impacts. I don’t listen to the Huberman Lab podcast much these days but I did listen to the episode with David Linden, which I found quite interesting. [1] At one point, they are discussing the mind/body axis and the latest scientific developments in exploring how mental states can affect the body. There is a fascinating although very untested - but, testab…

Meditation likely lowers stress levels which reduces cortisol levels which improves immune function/response to cancer. That’s a guess as to a mechanism.

Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#157

Post by sterlingcooley »

voisin wrote: post #9

> Further research revealed that the brain communicates with the spleen – an organ that plays a critical role in the immune system – by sending electrical signals down the vagus nerve. These trigger the release of a chemical called acetylcholine that tells immune cells to switch off inflammation. Isn’t inflammation an important process for healing? Too much is obviously bad, but if we go turning it off, won’t that le…

Great point, but VNS is not considered to be immuno-suppresant, it's immuno-modulatory.

So Vagus Nerve signals going to spleen really allows the body to more properly regulate inflammation.

Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#158

Post by digging »

darkerside wrote: post #138
digging wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haven't listened, but I think I understand where Linden was coming from, even if it's unnecessarily harsh. The idea that "you can breathe this way and get this effect" can be true and can come from folk wisdom, but they ascribe wrong reasoning to it which makes it mysticism. The reasoning is what's "bullshit". It's like saying "I tie my shoes tight every morning to honor the shoe gods or else they'll untie my laces."…

It's just that there's so many people walking around with their shoes untied because they think the shoe gods are bullshit

A great point. That's also wrong reasoning and in this case more harmful.

Re: Growing scientific interest in vagus nerve stimulation

#159

Post by parentheses »

tempaway43355 wrote: post #2

One of my children has severe epilepsy and has a Vagus Nerve Stimulation device implanted - Sentiva 1000 https://www.livanova.com/epilepsy-vnstherapy/en-gb/hcp/produ... It has really helped although obviously it took surgery and then also nine months of slowly tweaking the settings. Before the VNS they could (for example) not go on a trampoline for more than a few minutes without having a seizure, but now they're fin…

I've read that removing gluten from diets is apparently a way to reduce or stop seizures. Did you try this? Any information to share?
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