Laser Treatments

[humbird753]

Hi everyone,

In my quest to find remission again, and also analyze how this flare got triggered, I've come up with a conclusion as to possibly why this is happening. My story goes back a bit, so I'll start from the beginning.

In February of this year my husband and I caught a VERY long-term viral head cold that lasted about 6 weeks. Symptoms of a lot of congestion, coughing, extreme fatigue, and at times loss of appetite. I've never had a cold that bad. Well from the beginning of the onset of the head cold my hearing was affected and my hearing was extremely muffled. After the 6th week, and even though I continued with a cough, I called the doctor's office and it was recommended that I make an appointment with the ENT Department for a hearing test and visual exam. Two types of hearing tests were performed - the first I failed miserably, and the second one showed excellent hearing with no organ damage, so the conclusion was that my lack of being able to hear was because of fluid on the middle ear. It was recommended I give it more time to see if it cleared up on its own. The doctor said the next recommendation would be a steroid, or something else to help eliminate the fluid, and the last resort would be ear tubes.

In the meantime, I go to see a chiropractor for permanent back issues from an accident I had when I was much younger. I don't go on a regular basis, but go for maintenance adjustments every couple of months. I had to cancel my February appointment because of the viral head cold, so ended up going May 20. She noticed I was having trouble hearing her, so I told her the story about the head cold and my hearing issues since then. She suggested I try laser treatments on the ears, so I had one treatment that day. It's hard to pinpoint when my husband I noticed a minor stomach bug, but it was close to that timeframe. Anyway, his stomach issues cleared up but mine got worse. I have gone for laser treatments once a week since May 20th. I noticed last Wednesday evening after my afternoon treatment that I had 9 visits to the bathroom. That "flare" was after my third laser treatment. So yesterday I was scheduled to go again and asked the chiropractor if the laser treatment could possibly affect my gut. She said, "of course"! She then commented on the Gut-Brain connection. She also recommended I have laser treatments directly on the gut. She explained that laser treatments are to reduce inflammation. I had another laser treatment on my ears yesterday, and had the same reaction as last week (multiple bathroom visits last night). Each day after the laser treatments, my gut improves, and although I don't have a normal BM at the end of a week's time, my gut feels good, but then the cycle starts over again after the laser treatment. My hearing began to improve after the second laser treatment, and it continues to improve every week.

Most of what she says makes sense but I question how much more severe my reaction would be if the laser treatments were aimed directly at my gut. My reactions seem quite strong when it's directed at my ears.

I searched for "laser treatments" here and found some, but none that were specifically done on the gut.

Any thoughts on this would be welcomed.

[humbird753]

I understand that inflammation is the first symptom of all diseases. The chiropractor said laser treatments would reduce inflammation and put everything back the way it's supposed to be. I have a hard time believing the second part of that because MC, in my opinion, is very complex.

[Gabes-Apg]

Sympathies for the 6 months of issues

I can not comment directly about laser treatments.
but my observation and experience is that any treatment that tries to fast track healing tends to cause more issues than benefit.

when I was first diagnosed with MC my acupuncturist said my body was like
- issue in body so the immune system 'attacks' where issue these attacks are intense
- the body can not heal/repair the over attacked area
- so the immune system keeps attacking that area because it is inflammed and it is triggered

does that make sense?

Our approach to my treatments we are trying to calm the immune system so it doesn't over attack or try to fix issues so the body can heal at normal rate

That is why we are vulnerable to MC flares when there are other health issues going on (like covid, flu, stomach bug etc) because our immune system is either calm or 200 miles per hour, we dont really have an inbetween.

This is my observation based on discussions with functional practitioners and my wellness journey over the past 14 years.

[humbird753]

Thank you for your thoughts on this, Gabes. I agree that it is best to calm the immune system, and let it heal at a normal rate.

My concern is that it's working so well on my hearing. I wasn't able to hear for 4 months, and by the 2nd laser treatment my hearing was obviously improving. I'm just sorry that it's affecting my gut the way it is. When I reminded her that I had MC and how the laser therapy is affecting my gut, she was excited for me to try the laser therapy directly on the gut. I'm not so excited about it.

I had a treatment on my ears a couple days ago, and haven't felt well since then. By the time I'm due for my appointment next week, my gut (and I) will be feeling much better. I'm seriously considering putting that appointment off another week to see how well I will feel. My hearing has improved, but it still has a ways to go before it's back to normal.

I hope all is going well for you!

[jbrohlr]

Paula, how many more laser treatments are they recommending you go through? And does your hearing get better after the treatment and then degrade until the next treatment? I'm arguing that perhaps your hearing is improving on its own - the laser treatments may be speeding up that healing but at what cost?

John R.

[humbird753]

Hi John. I wasn't told how many more laser treatments she expected it to take to clear up my hearing. You could be right, and that possibly my hearing will improve now on its own. I didn't experience any hearing improvement on the first laser treatment. When I went in for the second one, my hearing cleared some the next day and even more the day after that. Hearing never degraded until the next treatment. There have been no noticeable improvements on the last two treatments.

It's probably a good time for me to step back, let things settle down, and see what I'm really dealing with. I was physically feeling so bad with this laser induced flare for the last couple of days, so I called their office yesterday and canceled my appointment for next Wednesday. I rescheduled it, but made it for 6/28. I want to have more time to see how I feel staying away from the treatments. I'm hoping that the hearing continues to improve, and that my gut calms down. Actually, I was always feeling physically well (my gut) by the next appointment, and then things slowly deteriorated by evening and the next few days after the laser treatment. This is beginning to sound like a no brainer!

Thank you for your opinion on this. Sometimes when in the middle of what seems like a lot I can't see things clearly. It's good to get another person's ideas on it. I've been overly focused on the improvements I initially got with my hearing that I was convinced I needed to do more laser treatments, like it was my only option. Hopefully my hearing is going to improve on its own now.

[humbird753]

UPDATE: I haven't had a laser treatment since June 12th. My gut has improved a lot as each week has passed. I am now only going to the bathroom once a day, which is actually better than before the laser treatments for my ears. I am definitely not recommending anyone use laser treatments as an option for healing... just saying.

In calculating the timeframe of when this extreme flare began, I can say that it was not a stomach bug in my case. My husband had a minor stomach bug, but this flare was definitely caused by the laser treatments.

I am thankful that this has turned around. It was a VERY miserable experience, and also a reminder for me of what things would like be if I don't adhere to my GF, DF and SF diet, along with staying away from processed foods. I don't want to go back to where it was when at its worst, if I can help it.

Thank you to those who have responded with their opinions.

My best to everyone in their healing journey. It does get better, so don't give up in searching for your triggers.

[grammy1952]

I'm a HUGE fan of laser! I'm going to get an appt with my chiro today to get one. They have saved me from a 2nd knee replacement for about 4 years now as well as provided pain relief from a couple of broken ankles over the past 4 years as well. I didn't think about using them for this flare. I have a big writers conference coming up next week and the thought of flying to New Orleans and being on the go for 5 days with this massive diarrhea is very daunting so I'm praying this helps.

[dolson]

Laser treatments - wow, never heard of Laser treatments. I really don't trust a chiropractor. They hurt my Spasmodic Torticollis more than they helped. My neck was killing me and I had no idea what is was, but I soon found out. I got this darn thing from my mama's side. I am related to Sam Elliott the actor and he too has Spasmodic Torticollis along with Dysphonia. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr...also has dysphonia and the left is making fun of how he speaks. Kennedy is a common name so I don't know if I am related or not.

[humbird753]

I'm a HUGE fan of laser! I'm going to get an appt with my chiro today to get one. They have saved me from a 2nd knee replacement for about 4 years now as well as provided pain relief from a couple of broken ankles over the past 4 years as well. I didn't think about using them for this flare. I have a big writers conference coming up next week and the thought of flying to New Orleans and being on the go for 5 days with this massive diarrhea is very daunting so I'm praying this helps.

When I had the laser treatments, it was in hopes of clearing up the fluid on my ears. I am still surprised that even though the laser treatments caused major flaring, the final result is that I now only go to the bathroom once a day. During the laser treatments, though, it was a very unpleasant experience. I'm glad to hear it did wonders for your knees/ankles. I've heard it's used for any area of the body, and that it reduces inflammation. This was my first experience with laser treatments. I'd do it again if needed.