Cranial Osteopathic Manipulation

[Rene S.]

Hi. I spoke with Dr. Michael Goodkin yesterday, POTS specialist in Media, PA. I've been concerned with my symptoms that aren't abating, especially the labile hypertension. He came right out and said that he didn't think that meds were the answer for me, but rather cranial osteopathic manipulation. I told him that the person he recommends is way too far for me to go. While on the phone with him, he took the time and found me someone in the area! Dr. Thomas Sabalaske in Feasterville, PA.

Dr. Goodkin seems to swear by this technique. I figured I have nothing to lose, so I'm going to give it a try on Friday.

I was going to try labetalol but Goodkin felt it might be too strong. The other night my b/p was 171/75 and I was so sick. The next morning I awoke and was sweaty and took my pressure and it was 94/48! But that was while I was still in bed. The fluctuations are just driving me nuts, as I'm sure they do all of you.

Goodkin says that the cranial manipulation is supposed to stabilize b/p and help with the autonomic nervous system.

Just throwing it out there. Have you tried it? Successful? I used to go to a chiropractor prior to this illness and went for over 7 years. I asked him if it were anything like that, and he said no. Curious to see what the difference is.

Thanks for any imput.

Rene

[juliegee]

Hi Rene,

Lots of us here have used that with good success. Search the forum to read old threads. Some other words to use in your search might be "Integrative Manual Therapy," "Dr. Robert Fulford," "Spontaneous Healing."

Hope that helps. If not, let me know & I'll re-post some old stories

Julie

[gdomaracki]

I've had very good response to cranial manipulation so far. I just wish my health insurance would cover it because it is very expensive but so worth it!

[HoudiniCat]

I see Dr. Goodkin as well and took his advice and began seeing a cranial osteopath early on in my treatment. I felt the cranial manipulations were an important part of my recovery and a perfect compliment to the traditional meds route. Even though its not chiropractic, that?s the best way I can describe it . . . its like chiropractic for the head. The osteopath gently works on your head to work out any ?knots? that would be obstructing your nerve ways and blood flow resulting in a more balanced HR and BP and hopefully lessening (or eliminating) numerous other complaints shared by POTS people. I could feel incremental progress each time I went (for over a year) but many patients report dramatic results from one or two sessions. I was skeptical at first but figured I had nothing to lose. Definitely worth a try. Good luck with your session.

[Broken_Shell]

Hi rene,

i have too much arm pain to type, but do a search because i know we have talked about this before. i have been getting craniosacral and upledger therapy for about 2.5 years. i sent someone a pm about it before too. let me know if you want me to forward it to you... i won't be able to edit it, so i don't know if it'd be helpful or not. maybe try looking at upledger.com too.

hugs, shell

[mountain girl]

I also see Dr. Goodkin. I do not live in Pa so he helped me find someone qualified to do the cranial manipulation close to home. While it has not been the "magic cure" I would like, I do feel it has given me improvement. I have been going for about three months and would describe it as a gentle massage like technique. I felt I have had more good days and fewer bad days since starting this therapy. I really feel like I am "anti-med" even though I do take them, so that is another reason I really like this therapy because it seems more natural and does not have the side effects like meds. I must admit though that I did feel worse after the first treatment for a day or two and Dr. Goodkin had warned me that could happen, so you may feel extra tired after.

[Rene S.]

Thanks everyone for your imput. I really liked the dr today. He spent alot of time with me, knew lots about autonomic dysfunction, did some very gentle adjustments. Told me that he's going to do his best to help restore some of my function. Stressed the importance of nutrition and knows it's hard for me with the gastroparesis. I told him about rapidly fluctuating b/p and he said that hopefully through the manipulations and some biofeedback and other ideas that he had that perhaps I can get my b/p on a more even keel. It's just been a week from h*ll and can't stand the lability of my b/p. It's been way too high this week and it's starting to really scare me. I don't want to spend my life staying in bed but this week I can only keep my pressure low this way. Grrr.

I also has a nuclear stress test plus tons of blood work this week and maybe that's making me feel so ill? I've been more tachy than ever.

So I digress, but I'm praying that this Dr. can help. Too much adrenaline running through my body. Fight or flight at its worse!

I go back next week to get the real work started.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Thanks again.

Rene