The Bloodflow Show

In this post I’d like to look at a health documentary on a relatively mainstream TV channel that was presented by a doctor. The show, indirectly, touched on two aspects of methods I use to deal with the physical effects of this ‘theory’ of MS that just doesn’t seem able to be put to rest. I’d like to try and present in 400 or so words my frustration with relatively mainstream MS research.

On BBC4 last night Dr Michael Mosley’s Blood Show aired. It started off with him exploring ways to get more oxygen delivered around the body. Athletes train in a low oxygen environment (the equivalent of being at high altitude) to improve their athletic performance by encouraging the increase of production of red blood cells. My curiosity came as I am trying to achieve something along the same lines by breathing concentrated O2 at pressure.

Hopefully, similar results are being attained for people who have a variety of starting points on the wellness/condition scale. More oxygen is being made available to all tissues and cells of variously healthy bodies.

I have been taking this treatment mostly at least once a week for the last 4 years after an ultrasound on my neck showed blood was flowing slowly out of my head. This situation might also mean that blood is flowing slowly into my head too resulting in reduced oxygenation or chronic hypoxia. I talk about this state here.

Many people with MS helped set up a network in the mid80s of independent charities housing hyperbaric chambers across the UK believing increased O2 will counter some of the symptoms of MS. I’ve talked about O2 therapy most recently here and my brush with venoplasty in Brooklyn, here.

white polka dots on red

About halfway through the Blood Show (it’s real title is just as silly) turbulent forces in bloodflow were addressed. Dr Mosley was looking into what happens when mankind is able to do things before it really knows what it’s doing!

Being able to perform angioplasty is an amazing feat of physics, biology and faith. Cutting into an artery in the groin and feeding a tiny balloon all the way to the heart, through various valves and bringing the interventional radiologist out into a vein between the heart and brain describes the procedure I elected to have in 2012. A handful of thousand others with MS have had similar procedures since 2009* when a vascular surgeon from Italy went public with his way of addressing a very old theory.

The Blood Show was looking at reengineering stents as the current, straight ones kept blocking for some reason. An aerodynamicist pointed out the turbulent forces at play in the circulation of blood and, using my own analogy from GCSE geography of the formation of oxbow lakes, deposits were blocking stented, straightened parts of human vasculature.

From this observation the team ended up with a more organic, swirly shaped design. This is more like the shape the body has evolved over hundreds and thousands of millennia of the tubes to carry the blood in.

Circulation of blood is beginning to get taken more seriously, apparently…

But not if you have MS, it seems. Shouting this at the TV screen would only have raised my cortisol levels which is something I try and avoid. But I’m still on the look out for a healthy channelling of my frustrations!

(all suggestions gratefully received in a comment, please).

*records aren’t available for numbers of people taking this procedure as it’s not believed in or even being investigated by mainstream science, yet.

Herbs for MS

The Herbalist, Karen Merryweather has another fascinating post (first one for ChronicAlternatives can be found here). The title of this page really does give away the subject! In this post are listed some herbs for MS that may improve symptoms or prognosis. Baldwins (no affiliate links, just a company Karen’s used) are a good site to find various extracts and tinctures of medicinal herbs.

EPplant

  • The medicinal use of Evening primrose ‘Oenthera biennis’ seed oil has been extensively researched since the 1980’s. This native North American naturalised in the UK, with its tall spikes of highly night scented yellow flowers is a food source for moths and bats. It is a powerful alterative that regulates the hormonal system and a hepatic, protecting the liver and nervous system. The beneficial effects of this oil are: increasing blood flow through decreasing platelet aggregation (stickiness); reducing the autoimmune response; normalizing the diminished essential-fatty-acid levels found in people with MS. “The abundant supply of essential fatty acids in evening primrose oil may be valuable in minimizing the inflammation associated with this progressive nerve disorder. The fatty acids may also contribute to healthy nerve development when taken over time.”  More information on herbs can be found here.

scutellaria lateriflora, scullcap

  •  Skullcap ‘Scutellaria lateriflora’ is a primary nervine tonic that can be taken as needed with its effects continuing after use. Skullcap’s flavonoids, iridoids, volatile oils, tannins, ascorbic-acid, calcium, lignin, magnesium, potassium, scutellarin and zinc, renew and revive the central nervous system. A cerebral vasodilator, Skullcap soothes nervous irritation of the cerebro-spinal nervous system. It is antispasmodic and a nervine relaxant, helping the body cope with stress and muscle tension. Its interactions with GABA receptors in the brain have been researched – a decrease in GABA synthesis is known to cause impaired motor function, muscle stiffness and spasm. Skullcap potentiates other medications. It combines well with gentle Lime blossom/Linden ‘Tilia europa/cordata’, a nervine, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory, and Catnep ‘Nepeta cataria’ an antispasmodic and relaxing nerve sedative that can ease pain.

turmeric root

  •  Research is starting to uncover the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective potential of Turmeric. Tumeric ‘Curcuma longa’ is a pungent root that stimulates the digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems. It normalizes energy flow, is an antibiotic, anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant and hepatic. Containing curcuminoids (curcumin & others), initial studies have found these could block the progress of MS by inhibiting the manufacture of the IL-12 protein, a cause of damage to the myelin sheath. Curcumin regulates inflammatory cytokines – proteins released by cells affecting the interactions and communications between cells.

oatstraw

  •  Oat straw, the green oats of ‘Avena sativa,’ has been used to support brain health since the Middle Ages. It is able to suppress inflammatory cytokines in artery walls which can increase blood flow to the brain. High in calcium and other minerals, an infusion of oat straw can nourish the body at the deepest level (Susan Weed). Its ability to stimulate cell growth, ease muscle cramps, strengthen blood vessels, protect nerve sheaths and its high Vitamin B complex content, makes Oat straw an effective herb in treating ms.

marshmallow

  • Marshmallow ‘Althea officinalis’ acts as a demulcent, emollient, diuretic, anti-inflammatory and expectorant. Both the leaf and the root are high in mucilage – a demulcent that soothes and heals, aiding regeneration of tissues in the gut and providing protection to the gut lining. Its calcium and magnesium content feeds the nervous system.

St John's Wort flower

  • St John’s Wort ‘Hypericum perforatum’ is a direct anti-inflammatory for the central nervous system, nervine and sedative. Its combined constituents have a histamine antagonist interaction lessening the inflammatory response. Used to treat nerve pain, depression and insomnia, St. John’s Wort is being researched for its ability to promote the healing & health of nerves.

Karen Merryweather Clinical & Hedgerow Herbalist. More detail about her can be found on her website. As ever there is a warning: St John’s Wort and scullcap can interact with other medicines so seek the advice of a herbalist before starting a new treatment.

 

Oxygen therapy, what’s involved?


The choice of image at first glance seems to have nothing to do with oxygen therapy. Getting out into the garden on a bright, dry, early spring day when stuff’s growing and spring has almost sprung gives me a similar feeling to the state I’m in after oxygen therapy. I feel good in this environment. Views like this lift my spirits and heart. Future post on the science behind the beneficial effects of nature to follow soon.

So, back to the post at hand: why are there so many names for this oxygen treatment?

HDOT (high dose or high density Oxygen therapy) HBO (Not the American entertainment channel), O2 therapy.

two birds in a tree

The Hyperbaric part of the name refers to the decompression chamber we enter to breathe oxygen. Deep sea divers go into these spaces if they came up too quickly from a dive leaving them with the wrong balance of gas in their bloodstream (the bends).

The chamber recreates what it’s like underwater (no swimsuits required!)

The increased pressure causes oxygen in the bloodstream to become more concentrated, it increases in Density. The increased oxygen creates an improved healing environment in the body. Wherever we have an injury our body’s natural healing process is speeded up.

We can call the process natural as there are no extra substances on top of the air we breathe – there’s just more of it.

We don’t need to breathe extra deeply as the whole thing happens at a cellular level in the blood and tissues of our bodies. We start breathing oxygen through a hood or mask once lots of air has been pushed into the chamber itself to reproduce the effects of greater pressure underwater.

That’s why the chambers are almost spherical, there are portholes and really thick welds so nothing explodes! A similar thing happens when we go up in an aeroplane. To be able to breathe at high altitude we increase the pressure from the thin air at thousands of feet by pushing more air into the body of the plane.

The human body doesn’t feel the change in pressure in a plane or a decompression chamber.

Australian sports scientists and American footballers are just two groups who have known of the decrease in time off the pitch, track or field due to the improvements in bone knitting when players have sessions in the ‘tank’ while recovering from broken limbs.

That’s a layman’s description of what I try to do at least once a week once I’ve taken the risk described in a previous post.

I’m choosing to believe increasing circulating O2 using the above technique aswell as exercise as described elsewhere are worth doing for the state of my mind as much as the state of my blood! I think making the conscious choice to believe I’m doing myself good is just one of the aspects of the therapy that’s making a difference.

Risk:Reward?

It’s a good idea to try and keep aware of all the aspects of the treatments we’re choosing to take; water soluble vitamins (like vit C and some Bvits) don’t carry much risk as the body will get rid of any extra the next time you go to the toilet. The ‘oily’ vitamins (vit A,D,E and K)  also known as the sunshine vitamins) do carry a greater risk of toxicity as the body stores what it doesn’t need in our fat cells.

Depending on the health of our arteries High Intensity Interval Training (mentioned here and here) could bring on a stroke a la Andrew Marr. I’m not suggesting don’t exercise to save yourself! but do take it slowly if you haven’t exercised much recently. But exercise fast or slow is not what this post is about.

dog for the disabled enjoying a rest in the sun

Some of the things I am doing at the moment that I need to work out my risk:reward profiles for:

  • Taking hemp oil (a few drops under the tongue a few times a day) for its CBD (cannabidiol). This is entirely legal so carries no risk of locking me up and throwing away the key but may not be as therapeutic as cannabis derived CBD? I’m not sure how much of an effect it’s having but found this resource which shows one person’s opinion on the miraculous benefits attached to various cannabis derivatives.
  • Another thing I’m doing weekly is hyperbaric oxygen therapy. which I have mentioned here and here and there was a post recently about the therapeutic use of oxygen.
  • A few weeks very unusual interruption of supply via Amazon temporarily halted my supplementation with phospholipids as mentioned in an earlier post.  This Hiatus highlighted even more to me that strengthening the edges of my cells is worth doing. They communicate better with each other which perhaps caused less balance over the past few weeks? It may be down to something else entirely but I’m consciously choosing to believe that this substance is having a good effect.

Luckily, taking the hemp oil doesn’t leave the taker feeling ‘stoned’ or in any way chemically inconvenienced so doesn’t interfere with my driving to get to my local MS Therapy Centre which houses the hyperbaric chamber that creates the environment for increased density of oxygen molecules n the body.

The treamtment is 20 miles away along the main road leading out of one of the largest container ports in Europe. There are many collisions, near misses and stress in response to people driving very close to the car in front. On at least one side of the dual carriageway there’s stationary traffic inching its way past an accident in my 40 mile journey.

Every now and then I find it useful to assess the various supplements and treatments I do to see if they’re worth the time, effort and/or money.

I still believe it’s a therapy worth taking some risk for especially in light of this research. In the Journal Neurology and Neuroscience it has been noticed that there are some bloodflow issues in neurodegenerative conditions. Oxygen therapy, by increasing the level of O2 in the blood addresses possible hypoxia brought on by slowed venous return from the brain to the heart.

At the moment I figure it’s worth keeping my O2 levels topped up as mentioned here in a post from last summer.

In my next post I’ll describe what goes on after the drive to the tank.

The Power of Our Mind is Ours.

This post will mostly be about stuff that’s caught my eye/ear/imagination recently including acknowledging that our bodies, when correctly directed want to get us functioning as well as they can. The power of the mind is a precious thing:

I was listening to Today on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday the 18th February

“0845

The renowned physicist Michio Kaku, author of “The Future of the Mind” says we’ve learned more about our brains in the last 15 years than in the whole of human history and new technologies like MRI means we’re entering a golden age of neuroscience. The human brain might be unusual territory for a theoretical physicist but Professor Kaku says many of these remarkable feats are already happening in our laboratories.”

I’m really pleased investigation is going on in labs as it doesn’t always feel like there’s much investigation going on from this patient’s experience. I apologise if that sounds a bit grumbly. After finding out a number of years ago that specialists weren’t interested in investigation outside of their small area of expertise really, I should be over the fact that healthcare doesn’t directly seem to be about caring for the patient, not if you’re the owner of a non-lifethreatening condition.

pills

It could be argued that not addressing long term (ie not deadly) conditions is a rational use of the NHS’s limited funds. On the other hand, stopping people from dying is a laudable prize to keep their eyes on.

When the pharmaceutical companies are getting up to activities like those listed below it’s time for folk to start taking their health into their own hands.

  • Falsification or submission of false information
  • Underreporting of adverse events
  • Failure to follow the investigational plan or other violations of protocol
  • Inadequate record keeping
  • Failure to protect the rights, safety, and welfare of patients
  • Use of experimental compounds in patients not enrolled in trials
  • Failure to supervise clinical investigations properly

How can we harness the power of our mind to heal ourselves? I’m thinking being less grumbly on my part toward what we are offered in the healthcare arena might be a start. This article points again to the power of placebo and how it’s often more effective than the treatments  we more usually have pushed toward us.

I list some of the alternatives to the mainstream pharmaceutical offerings from our GPs and other healthcare providers in this site and on this page. We perhaps don’t pay enough attention to what we occupy our minds with?

The visual and the aural.

Connection with people isn’t always easy to keep up when you are less mobile and can’t get out to see people but we’re social animals and benefit from contact of one sort or another on a fairly regular basis.

This lady says we come to rely on machines too much and mentions visiting an old folks’ home during her time researching social media and seeing a robot seal being given to a lady with dementia to provide her comfort.

The lady seemed to be saying it was a bad thing to be substituting digital for physical contact but I think perhaps she’s looking at the situation from an able and older perspective?

Any contact whether good or bad appears to be necessary for human beings – cultivate creating good contacts.