News SGB PTSD Treatment Article

[acudoc]

Girl3- what is the underlying wind up phenomenon?

 

[Girl3]

"Wind up" is a term used to illustrate how a simple nerve signal - like pain - can get caught in a circuit so that even if the initial painful stimulus is no longer there, the body amplifies and 'replays' the signal repeatedly. Glutamate, NMDA - some of the same receptors involved in chronic pain are involved with PTSD.

 

[acudoc]

So, are you wondering if the SGB may have a similar long term effect on PTSD? And is wind up a very common side effect with SGB for pain? Thanks!

 

[Girl3]

Wind up is something a person's body does - but only some people. While many people may get a fracture or bump an ankle hard, only a few will get RSD/CRPS. (Just like PTSD - many people get exposed to trauma, but only a few get PTSD.) And because the receptors/neurotransmitters involved are some of the same ones, I think plausibly SGB might work - at least in some patients. A well designed study that includes a variety of PTSD patients (different traumas, length of time with PTSD, gender) might shed some light on who responds who doesn't.

 

[anthony]

I don't imagine the US DOD just walked away from this for no reason, or took it lightly, considering the cost PTSD is burdening the US Government with, and they're seriously looking at all feasible options that are cost effective and provide longevity to cease their burden.

If all a soldier needed was 3 or 4 shots of SGB compared to what they spend now per soldier with PTSD, then I think they would have taken it.

Something is missing for the DOD to walk away from it... ie. its hit and miss with no difference, or lesser results, than what is being obtained through other current methods to what Lipov is publishing. People do love to only publish positives, hence the controversy surrounding so many pharmaceutical companies and the FDA themselves with publishing studies in general, that only positively shine medication as a viable option vs. what the real facts have proven that didn't get published, the overwhelming numbers of negative results vs. positive results using anti-depressants, as one example.

No Government is just going to walk away from a treatment option that is being proven to them as effective.

Something is missing here IMHO... and either SGB isn't as effective as Lipov is claiming, or the US Government just don't care about lessening their financial burden on treating PTSD which is currently costing them far more than SGB would... I just cannot understand why they would do that.

I think we're missing facts here...

I will stick with my initial statement at this point... I would recommend giving it a go, but I wouldn't say its effective or not until enough studies are done to show some type of empiric validity, as this treatment has been around for a long time, its not new, and I'm sure plenty of people with PTSD have had such procedures for pain related aspects, and they're still suffering PTSD after the shot, yet hopefully with lesser pain, being the treatment itself.

Time will tell IMHO... yet I do hold some skepticism based on the US DOD walking away from it when they are searching for the most viable solution to lessen financial burden on the US system. If this was the solution, they would have taken it. The death rate for anestesia is so slim compared to the suicide rate in PTSD veterans, that that aspect wouldn't scare the DOD away if a simple shot fixed PTSD... even multiple shots per annum, considering the risk of death and injury in war itself.

Something is a miss....

 

[acudoc]

One other thing that might be missing is no one ( big pharma ) stands to make any money off of this. Health care is a business in this country and anymore big pharma is involved In most medical research in one way or another. I haven't seen the numbers published by Lipov but I have had the SGB twice now and am feeling very well. Before I decided to do the SGB I read everything on the web for a month and decided for myself the risks associated with it were worth a try. I didn't see anything about wind up syndrome at that time. I would love to see the long term results from a study but they don't seem to exist at this time, at least pertaining to PTSD. I understand the skepticism with this. It's one of those things that sounds to good to be true. And there are risks associated with the SGB. Up until I had the first shot I was holding out saying "if" this helps and trying not to be overly invested in it so if it didn't help I wouldn't be to devastated. I spoke with my local Dr and my therapist about it. My partner and I talked about it. It was scary and exciting at the same time. I for one am glad to have done it. I am so far happy with the results. If the positive results wear off I will go for another shot. And I am happy to add my experience to this small and growing body of evidence. I also welcome a time when this is studied fully.

 

[anthony]

I also welcome a time when this is studied fully.

Yep... that I am looking forward to myself. No restrictions or exclusion criteria... just a good old open study for anyone who is diagnosed with PTSD at assessment screening.

 

[Girl3]

Your opinion is right. When you apply for DOD money they check things out to the last iota. It had better all add up or they won't fund it. (Which isn't to say that they don't fund things that are stupid sometimes.)

The drug companies aren't going to fund a procedure unless it impacts a drug in a big way. It takes close to 100million dollars to finance a drug study from start to finish.

The people who can make money off of this are anesthesiologists - like me. I want a cure - my life and career have been nearly ruined by PTSD. But I won't submit to SGB or subject a patient to it without better science behind it.

 

[Powder]

Lately, I am more interested, as the biological issues seem more disruptive than ever. My ears can take only the most quiet noise. I am having daily headaches just from my two year old's voice. My ears ring when it's quiet. This is just one aspect of the problems, and I'd consider risking the shot just for these symptoms, which are really making me miserable.

 

[ikop]

Muse i believe - we have a lot to speak about , i dont know why but i can not send you a private massege .

<E-mail address removed by Amethist>

 

[Powder]

Hi iKop, You can post anything publically here. It's beneficial for all to read, I think.

My flashbacks have been, so far, primarily auditory, so I believe the tinitus and audio-stim overload may have to do with that brain section having been kindled by trauma.

 

[anthony]

i dont know why but i can not send you a private massege .

Members control who can and cannot send them private messages, exception of staff.