Anyone tried P-Stim?

[NK33]

I've recently tried P-Stim for a period of 72 hours. I was advised this treatment as i suffer from chronic and acute pain. It was connected to the Vagus nerve on my ear and it then sends electrical signals to activate my parasympathetic nervous system and to decrease the response signals from the pain receptors to my brain, as they are apparently overly responsive due to the massive injuries i had 18 months ago. I had a motor accident in which i was driving a moped and i fractured my left femur so i have a rod in there and a laceration across the knee. I have a plate in my left wrist as i fractured it in 2 places and a plate in the right arm for the radius and ulna fracture.
I also broke my nose, fractured my upper jaw and lost 4 front teeth.

There is barely any information out there and I wanted to see how others responded to the treatment.
This is my experience...
My pain had definitely altered from a sharp and shooting feeling to a dull aching during physical movement and working out. I am very physically active. In the gym I felt fatigued in my muscles so i decreased my weights and did what I could.
I added only one new exercise (static lunge) and normally i get a shooting pain as my Dr wants to repair my meniscus and see what else is going on inside my knee. But this time it felt fine although a little unstable as usual.
The next day I was no longer wearing the device and i woke up with my knee was in agony and i was limping. I haven't experience this severe pain in a long time. Also my forearms and wrists were hurting and inflamed (even though i did less weight).

This leads me to the thought that the P Stim was masking the pain reactions i 'should' have had, to warm me to stop with that movement.This is very worrying to me as my physical activity is my life, work and passion.

There are so many questions I have but there is nothing out there on the websites that i could find.
It states 'Virtually no side effects,' but what are they?
Who are these people they tested the device on? Are they physically active? Their age? etc
Did they do MRI's of the brain in these clinical studies? (as the P Stim re-sets the mid brain)
They have stated no long term effects...but this is a new device...who knows in 20 years time!

I had a headache in the sinus area and behind that area (frontal brain?)
Restless nights sleep as it would turn off and on every 3 hours
The actual procedure isn't invasive, but to me it felt invasive (I felt claustrophobic, not in control of my own body and i dreaded the 3hrs of the flicking sensation in my ear)

I am very in tune with my body and know when something doesn't feel right. I am physically active, fit, eat a healthy mostly vegan diet, sleep 8-9hrs, drink lots of water etc.
So if i feel a headache....i know something is wrong.

Anyways the treatment plan was to wear the device for 72hrs every 10 days for 6 sessions. I'm not sure I want to go ahead with the second treatment as physically I don't know my capabilities when wearing it, will it switch off the pain receptors i actually need (short and long term).and there is not enough research out there on this device and they really don't guarantee no side effects.
I would rather try acupuncture first than this extreme device. I have muscle relaxants and pain killers etc, but i would never take them before working out.

Please let me know if you have tried it? considered it? or have any thoughts about it?

I appreciate any help and advice

[NK33]

Many thanks for your reply.
I'm still waiting to hear from the pain management Dr. All this pain has been since the day of the accident. I've had blood tests for all these things over a year ago and all was fine.
They did discover i have Factor 5 Leiden blood mutation which makes sense why I got a blood clot whilst in hospital. I can ask about arthritis...I didn't know you could test for that.

But the pain isn't just in the joints, its in my whole forearm on both sides. The MRI arthogram was clear. But i have a lack in range of motion, tightness, aching, shooting pain at times, i also have hardware in there. I couldn't even hold a glass of water yesterday. I feel like my pain has got worse since the P-Stim last week.

I have Flexeril 10mg which i will only take later in the day, after i have worked out.
I am in physical therapy once a week in which i do exercises, use a muscle stimulator and have my forearms massaged. Its still so grissly in the muscle.

Im seeing another surgeon about my knee as the other wanted to do surgery.

I really appreciate your help :)

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
As you already know P-Stim is a relatively new technology. So, it is difficult to say whether it has any long standing side effects or not. If you have multiple joint pains then you could be suffering from something other than accident related injuries. You need to ask your doctor to test for rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, thyroid disorders, low calcium, and low vitamin D. You can opt for conventional pain killers both opioid and non opioid. Physiotherapy, exercises and other non drug treatments will also help. Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined. Take care!

The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you. The advice may not be completely correct for you as the doctor cannot examine you and does not know your complete medical history. Hence this reply to your post should only be considered as a guiding line and you must consult your doctor at the earliest for your medical problem.