The Circulation Booster

[Kathy_Ireland]

Has anyone tried The Circulation Booster machine? It's a home use machine that uses small electrical impulses to stimulate muscle contraction in the feet and lower legs to improve circulation. You just sit passively with your feet on it for 30 minute a day and supposedly it does the rest. It claims to help all sorts of circulatory illness from Lymphodema to Peripheral Neuropathy. It doesn't mention POTS anywhere on the website as a condition it can help but it does mention irregular blood pressure and pulse rate as symptoms of other illnesses that it can help. It also says it can help those who are immobile due to illness prevent muscle wastage.

I have severe CFS , Neurocardiogenic Syncope and severe POTS. I go through long periods when I am too sick to get out of bed at all...I spent 4 months around this Christmas unable to even sit up in bed. I'm a bit better now and can get up a bit around the house for a couple of hours most days as long as I don't overdo myself. I was thinking this machine might be helpful for me to see if it would help the POTS and the low bp that are pretty constant features with me. Also exercise just kills me! It lands me right back in bed with severe relapses...sometimes for months at a time. I thought this machine might help me let my calf muscles get some exercise without utterly exhausting me in the process.

I was just wondering if anyone here had given it a go or could think of any reason why it might not be a good idea before I go forking out for it?

Thanks

[maggie]

My daughter recently had knee surgery and was given a machine called the Tense Machine. It uses electrical impulses to relax the muscles and stimulate circulation. She brought it home thinking it would help me. She hooked me up to it on my feet and on the lowest setting it made me anxious right off from the start. I also have pots but a mild case and that was my result from that devise. Maybe it would be different for you but I would definately try it out before I bought the machine. My daughter's was covered under her insurance so she didn't have to pay for it.

Maggie

[ramakentesh]

There is some new machine like that - its called External Enhanced Counter Pulsation - I wonder what it would do to POTS??

[Kathy_Ireland]

Thanks for that Maggie. I have all kinds of weird reactions too to things I expect will help so I'm kind of nervous of trying new things at this stage. I rang the head office of the company today and they said that they had never heard of POTS but they had a 30 day money back offer if you were not satisfied with the product for any reason. I think I might try it on that basis and then if it all goes pearshaped at least I won't end up out of pocket.

That machine you mention looks interesting Ramakentesh. It's good to see some non invasive, non drug treatments enter the cardiovascular arena.It would be particularly great if something like that could help POTS patients given our sensitivity to meds. It seems to indicate that there are little or no side effects associated with use for most patients as long as they are not in a contre indicated group which most POTS sufferers would not be. Maybe someday someone might trial it or something like it with POTS. Until then I'll run my own Circulation Booster experiement and report back if it makes any miraculous improvement!

[erik]

These guys do custom work, their stuff is wearable and some of it looks like it would give some basic "stocking" style support as well (or could be made to do so). I also like the sparseness of the "freeStep", though. They, too, mention direct benefit to circulation... which could be directly handy for "poolers" and maybe even indirectly handy for clearing metabolites and helping muscles recover a bit. Of course, I assume their stuff is expensive but if it helped...

http://axiobionics.com/

I have email'd them to see if they happen to be aware of POTS and suggest they consider it as a potential market... and gave them link to some basic descriptions and the dinet physician list.