The Magnet Challenge still continues..

DAY 30

Well, it's Labor Day.  That's it, I wasted the whole summer.  I went
out and did one project today so it wasn't totally wasted.  I needed
to get out of the house.  

I don't know if saying anything about the magnets would be fair right 
now.  I went to see one of the doctors on Friday.  It was an overall
bad experience.  I complained about my pain meds not working well
enough, and he increased the dosage last month.  When I went for a 
refill, he had decreased it again.  I went for injections Friday, and
he hit three major trigger points.  Ususally, the injections help out, 
and I have a bruised feeling the next day.  This time, I feel like I
got beat up.  I could hardly move Saturday or Sunday.  By the way, the
doc did not give me the pain med increase, but did give me a few 
sample packs of Ultram to try between doses of Vicodin.  He said he
would prescribe the Ultram if I felt it was helping.  Anybody use the
stuff?  I got the stomach queasiness with it as I do with Percocet.
It's not nausea, but more like a churning feeling.  

I am still using the disc magnets.  It's difficult when it's been so
hot.  The paper tape I use to hold them on doesn't stick well when
perspiring.  They just fall off while I'm in the middle of something.  
I'm still trying to be the skeptic concerning the whole magnet thing,
but I am experiencing improvement in a few areas, and it's hard to be
a skeptic when experiencing improvement.  Someone pointed out to me 
that they noticed I was sleeping good, according to my posts.  This
is true for the most part, but I don't know whether it's because of 
the magnet mattress and pillow, or because of using the CPAP.  (I'm 
posting a picture below with the CPAP mask on so you might know what 
I am talking about.)  The CPAP mask is not really uncomfortable until 
I wake up in the middle of the night.  I usually take it off after 2-3
hours, because the flow of air is murder on my sinuses (I already use 
a humidifier).  Anyway, the CPAP makes me able to sleep on my back, 
and as a result, I feel like my back is getting a better chance to 
relax.  BUT, I can't say for sure that the magnets aren't the reason 
for better sleep.  The trial period for the CPAP is just about over,
and then I'll know for sure what's been responsible for better sleep.

I am going to be getting a set of paddles to hold the MAGBOYs so
I can use them on my back.  Tammy said they will be arriving soon.  I
haven't had much of a chance to use them otherwise.  I can't reach my
sore spots.  She is also sending another magnet appliance to use on 
the lower back.  I had mentioned that sitting on the chair pad seemed
to make my lower back hurt.  I was going to use a joke to respond to
a post on alt.med.chronic-pain about magnets and how I was doing with
all of my "toys", but Terri beat me to it.  She said I hadn't posted 
lately, and thought I might be stuck to a fridge, holding up a child's 
artwork.  She read my mind, because that's exactly what I was going to 
say!  During the normal day though, I only have on the discs and the
necklace, and the rest of the "toys" are either sit upon or lay down 
upon type of things.  The post on the newsgroup was for necklaces and 
bracelets, and claimed that was all you needed for a cure to just 
about everything that could be wrong with you.  I wish that's all 
there was to it!



  
  


DAY 39


Sorry I've been away from this for so long.  I have not been able to 
get motivated.  I have had so much pain lately, that I have been spent
by the end of a workday.  I have been coming home and taking pain meds
and muscle relaxants, and laying down.  I've visited the newsgroups 
just long enough to clear out messages.  I missed three days on the
Internet, and had about 1700 messages waiting when I finally got back
on.  I couldn't make it through most of them, so I erased them without
reading them.  I have seen a lot of postings concerning the use of
magnets.  Most were from people wondering if they should spend the 
money to try them.


Tammy sent me the handle for the Magboys so I could reach my back to 
use them.  She mentioned wanting to end this experiment at the end of 
the month.  I was under the mis-impression that these items weren't 
on the run of the mill loan.  I had hoped to run this experiment for
at least three months.  But, I understand that Tammy did go way out
on a limb to provide all of these items to me at her expense.  She 
also said there was a low back device, and a far-infrared belt coming 
soon.  I have used every single device she has sent to me.  I have
not used the tape on discs for a few days due to a skin rash caused
by TENS pads (supposedly hypo-allergenic).  I hurt so bad that I put 
the TENS on for a whole day, and am now paying for it.  There are 
eight perfectly oval shaped patches of rash on my back.  I'm using a
petroleum based Hydrocortisone Ointment, so the tape won't stick 
anywhere on my back right now.  I have kept using all other magnet
appliances though.

 
I must say that my sleep has improved very much.  If nothing else, I
would have to say that the mattress device has been quite helpful.  I
had wondered if the use of the CPAP had a lot to do with the sleeping
but last time I used the CPAP, I never made it through the night with 
the mask on.  I have slept straight through to the alarm going off on
a pretty regular basis now, and have even gotten back to dreaming!  
The discs also get my vote of confidence.  If I have them off, and I
begin to have pain, I tape them on and the pain is definitely reduced.
I went to the chiroprator last week, and mentioned the use of the 
magnets.  He was very interested, as he has had a lot of patients 
asking him about them.  He has had to tell them that he honestly did
not know anything about them.  He did mention that he prescribed a 
knee brace with magnets to one patient as a last ditch effort, and 
she reports total relief, and now swears by the magnets.  I have not
been wearing the necklace.  It's very nice looking, but I was noticing
that my neck was hurting (spinal, not muscular) when I had it on.  
That pain stopped when I quit wearing the necklace.  Comfort wins out
over fashion!  Also on a negative note, I experience some lower back
pain when I sit on the seat cushion.  It helps the pain in the upper
back and shoulders, but the payoff is low back pain.  That's why
Tammy is sending the low back device.  One item I haven't mentioned
much is the eye mask.  It would be nice to wear over my eyes as it is
designed to do, but I can't wear it and the CPAP mask at the same 
time.  Tammy actually sent it so I could place it over my shoulder,
which is what I have used it for.


Since it looks like this Challenge will be over in about two weeks, 
I will begin to draw conclusions next week about the overall success
from magnet use.  That will be the six week mark, and maybe that is 
enough time to draw any conclusions.  Once I have stopped using the 
magnets, I will continue for a couple weeks to report on changes I
experience due to the stoppage.





DAY 46


Well, it's been a week since the last entry.  That means there is 
only one more week until the magnets go back to Tammy.  I have had a
chance to finally put the far-infrared quilt to use.  It's been pretty
cool here in Colorado at night lately.  The quilt is very comfortable.  
I really don't know what is supposed to happen that's different while
using the quilt though.  It has something to do with the acidity in 
the body changing, but how is it that you know anything is different?  
I got an e-mail from Tammy asking if I was using the shoe inserts.  I 
have had them in my shoes since day one, and had taken them for 
granted.  They have little bumps on them that some people have said
annoyed them, but I think they feel good on the feet.  I have been
blessed in that I never really had leg pains associated with this 
disease process.  I feel sorry for people that do have the leg pain,
since I recall the most pain of my childhood being "Growing Pains" in
my legs.  That's one of those things that get people wondering.  It's
like a light goes on and they say, "Oh yea, I remember how bad those
growing pains were, wonder if it's related?".


I had taken the necklace off, and have been wearing it doubled up as a
bracelet for the last week or so.  I do a lot of keyboarding all day,
and was feeling like I might have a problem with carpal tunnel.  But,
nothing at all since I started to wear the "bracelet'.  Of all of the 
magnets goodies, I must say the spots, or discs , are the thing I have
used the most.  They have been on continuosly, except when I had that
ointment on my back last week for a couple of days.  I have moved them
around during the day to best find the pain spots.  I will be trying
some plain ole' round magnets after the stuff is sent back to Tammy.
I will wait a few days to see what results come from totally going
without magnets.  The biggest test will be sleeping without the 
mattress and pillow.  I have been wondering for weeks now whether I
am sleeping so well because of the magnets, or because of the CPAP and
the addition of 5HTP.  Doing without the mattress and pillow will 
answer that question.  Then comes the next question.  Does it work so
well that I am willing to spend the money to buy the mattress????  We
shall see in about ten days!  And what ever happened with the Magboy?
Well, I have the handle for the Magboys, but it is still a chore to
get at my own back, even with the handle.  So many people have said 
they had great success with the Magboy, but I just can't get at the
spots I need to.


On a funny note, the back magnet finally got here today along with a
far-infrared belt.  The belt is a size medium - - - I am not!  It fits
about a 30-32 inch waist, and I wear a size 38.  So, I will never know 
if the belt helps or not.  Oh well.  I look forward to this phase of
the Challenge ending for one reason.  You never know how much 
something helps you until you have to do without it.  Once I stop the
use of all magnet products, I will be able to tell just how much they
did or didn't work.  It may be a painful discovery, but I feel it is
necessary to find out one way or the other.  We'll know next week 
won't we??






POST MAGNETIC PERIOD BEGINS!


DAY 52


Well, today is the first totally magnet free day!  I took off the 
mattress yesterday, and slept without it or the pillow last night.  I
slept through the night, and woke up to the alarm this morning.  (I am
going to go about a week before I send the magnet stuff back to Tammy
so I can see how I do without it.  She has offered to sell any items
I keep - at a good price.)  I took the shoe inserts out and didn't use
any of the spot (disc) magnets today at all.  So, this first day has
gone well, with no ill effects noticed at all.  I have been thinking
about going to purchase some other types of magnets in two weeks to
see how they work  There are some very powerful and small rare earth
magnets available at the local Radio Shack store as well as other 
sizes and types.  I also am looking into Edmund Scientific Catalog.  I
used to get their mail order catalog, and they had hundreds of types
of magnets available.  I figure I might as well make this Challenge
as complete as I possibly can.  I will report again on Friday or
Saturday as to how I am doing magnet free.  I will probably post it on
a new page, so I will link to it directly from this page.



CLICK HERE TO GO TO POST-MAGNETIC PAGE!
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