[frankwest12345]

I tried IBT for six months with no results for varicose veins. It did help with a mildly bad back (no need to do my strecthing exercises) and after two weeks there was a discernible lessening of the vv's but then they came back. In fact, over the winter the veins got worse but this I put down to the very cold weather as they are now back where they started.

I have just increased the bed height to eight inches but this made it difficult to get to sleep but will persist.

I would like to see more experimentation. IBT combined with compression stockings for instance. Inclined bed but with the head at the lower end.

I am going to start taking Serrapeptase which is an enzyme that takes out debris from the blood (and has been used for cleaning out arteries) and has some anecdotal evidence of helping vv. I am hoping that improved blood pumping from IBT combined with this enzyme will do the deed.

I think that there is enough evidence that IBT helps some people with vv but I think it is worth extending the experiment by combining it with other things (if it does not work after a few months).

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

Sitting posture is very important also. Sitting with knees higher than seat compromises the effects from IBT overnight.

Your comment about the observed lessening of VV proves the therapy works. You then mention the cold weather causes them to bulge out again.

Alun also raised this question and we nailed it down to high humidity in his case.

Could the winter have meant that you spent longer than normal sitting in a chair? And is this chair tilted back so the seat is lower than knees when sitting? Does this chair (could be a car seat) apply pressure to the backs of the thigh muscles above the knees?

Alun also used to wear compression stockings. He no longer needs them. But they could as you say be used to speed up the effects of IBT when worn at night. And I have recommended this for several people who had oedema and it worked well to the point that the oedema vanished completely and the stocking was not longer required.

Now that your veins have returned back to where they were before the winter, have you found you are not sitting as much?

Very interesting post

Thanks

Andrew

Edited to change calf muscle to thigh muscles. My error sorry

[frankwest12345]

Hi Andrew, thanks for the comments. My armchair does indeed seat me lower than my knees so I have added some cushions to it. I usually do an eight mile walk three or four times a week, the only time I missed that was when we had the snow - maybe a couple of weeks at most.

I have already adapted to the eight inch bed height - interestingly, I find myself less inclined to stay in bed once I wake up, and find myself getting up as soon as it is light.

I will start compression stockings whilst sleeping, see if that helps.

I am now on day two of Serrapetase (60,000iu three times a day before food) and will also be adding Cayenne (inc Hawthorn) pills as this is reputed to have a highly stimulating effect on circulation.

BTW my mother's side of the family suffers from vv, my uncle had huge ones in both his legs but actually lived to 98, so we are talking bad genes here so if I can get rid of them anyone can (I am 53 BTW)... see what happens next

[Unnaked Patient]

Started IBT last September. At that time, I made reference to a nutritional publication, which unfortunately is no longer in print. No possible posting of links, obviously.
Since old habits are difficult to break, my IBT was rather sporadic initially. Even so, had some improvements to my vv's. Had a bad cold with a touch of bronchitis middle of February. Stopped me smoking cold, and that without any withdrawal symptoms at all. Perhaps IBT had something to do with it. If so, from a pack a day to zero - not bad at all.
Waiting for summer, as my vv's were worse then. A bit reluctant to post pictures, they really do lack appeal. Will see. BTW, whether my vv's will disappear this summer, next year, or gradually over a number of years, makes no difference to me. Just happy to know that regardless of age (67), I indeed can make them disappear by following IBT on a regular basis. Gives a totally different outlook on this situation.

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

Hi Andrew, thanks for the comments. My armchair does indeed seat me lower than my knees so I have added some cushions to it. I usually do an eight mile walk three or four times a week, the only time I missed that was when we had the snow - maybe a couple of weeks at most.

I have already adapted to the eight inch bed height - interestingly, I find myself less inclined to stay in bed once I wake up, and find myself getting up as soon as it is light.

I will start compression stockings whilst sleeping, see if that helps.

I am now on day two of Serrapetase (60,000iu three times a day before food) and will also be adding Cayenne (inc Hawthorn) pills as this is reputed to have a highly stimulating effect on circulation.

BTW my mother's side of the family suffers from vv, my uncle had huge ones in both his legs but actually lived to 98, so we are talking bad genes here so if I can get rid of them anyone can (I am 53 BTW)... see what happens next

Made an error in previous post abut calf muscles, should have said back of thigh muscles just above the knee http://www.rwc.uc.edu/ap/LL17.JPG Note in the image the locations of the vessels just above the knee.

Pressure in this area could well be responsible for the swelling of veins during the daytime.

I have a new forum now on http://www.inclinedbedtherapy.com that is being updated regularly. The forum has a section for varicose veins and oedema and could use some input.

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

Unnaked Patient

Thanks for joining the revolution against flat unscientific sleeping

[frankwest12345]

Well I have made a little progress after two weeks with IBT at eight inches, taking Serrapetase three times a day and lately added Cayenne twice a day. I have posted some details and photos on newbielink:https://sites.google.com/site/varicoseveinsphotos/ [nonactive]

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

Well I have made a little progress after two weeks with IBT at eight inches, taking Serrapetase three times a day and lately added Cayenne twice a day. I have posted some details and photos on https://sites.google.com/site/varicoseveinsphotos/

Frank, thanks for providing photographs. The results so far are pretty impressive IMHO.

Very useful having photographs of before and after.

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

https://sites.google.com/site/varicoseveinsphotos/

Frank the latest photograph is showing considerable improvements over the previous two. Thanks for updating.

Just had a call from a lady who mentioned you had updated your progress.

Hope your not stuck in the volcanic dust cloud while on holiday

Andrew

[swimmer]

INCLINED BED THERAPY for VARICOSE VEINS:

Andrew Fletcher,

I would like to join the I.B.T. documenting on varicose vein progress.
The doppler test was performd identifying reflux in both legs.
I have raised my bed 6" and have been taking photos (start date: 20MAY10)

Where do you start posting? (nakedscientist.com?  inclinedbedtherapy.com?.  andrewfletcher.com?)

Please advise on the most current website for posting. 

V/R

[Rolander]

Hello. I am a 42 year old male with what I believe are VVs. I am very interested in this topic. I have had swelling on the insides of my ankles which resembles varicose veins following an acupuncture visit (though I can't be sure it was the acupuncture itself which caused it or what) for the last 10 years. The total area affected on each side is not much larger than 4 cm in length/diameter. In the last 4-5 years, the swelling and pain have gotten worse and have cost me lots of work. I can no longer sit at the office or carry on meetings normally. I can't deal with the explosive pressure when I hang my feet down for long. While extremely painful at times, they look like not much compared to some of the photos here. Lots of exercise SEEMS to improve it. Two weeks of rest just destroys me. It takes a ton of work to get my feet going again after that.

Other facts:
1) wearing tight socks which go above the ankles kills me. For a long time I could wear ONLY sandles (and loose ones). Now I wear socks which go just beneath the ankles, and this has allowed me to live a life in a winter climate again.
2) My nerve conduction velocities are all almost normal.
3) When tested in a sitting position at the doctor's office with special equipment, it seems clear that my feet are not returning blood as they are supposed to. They were clearly deficient, with my right leg being worse than my left leg.
4) Wearing the prescribed pressure stockings proved to be a disaster within 3-4 hours...I think they just cut off the circulation and I had pain for days.
5) I currently sleep flat and when working on my computer at home (which is about 8 hours a day), I usually have my feet elevated to the height of my buttocks -- but not higher. It is a hard, boring chair. How badly is circulation compromised just by sitting in a hard chair? I think quite a bit?
6) I exercise about a minimum of 90 minutes per day and a maximum of about 120 minutes per day. Gym/Running/Elliptical trainer.
7) I believe I have something which could be described as RSD, but feel that since MOST of the pain comes ONLY when hanging my feet down and swelling occurs--that the biggest problem are now the VVs. Without this pain with my feet in the dependent position, I could live a normal life I think.
Much of the character of the skin around my VVs and back sides of my ankles has changed. It is not "robust" -- but thinner and does not appear to have the same sheen as healthy, normal skin. However, the fatpads are growing back (I believe because of the massive rehab program I do, which gives my feet blood whether they want it or not!!!!).

I have a few questions after reading about IBT for the last three hours and watching the YouTube videos...

1) Does exercise help VVs or does it make them worse? I have started running 6-7 km every other day now. I feel better afterwards and am glad I am doing it.
2) I am considering some of the "non-stripping" methods of killing these VVs and then using IBT to help keep them away. However, after reading all of this, I may be willing to try this for a year first. However, now is a critical time in my love life and I would like to resolve this ASAP.
3) Isn't sitting supposed to be good for my VVs then? (as long as my feet are down???). And what about standing? I am confused. Is this obviously a matter of balancing competing effects for optimal results?
4) Getting blocks for my bed tomorrow. As I understand it, I need to be OVER five degrees!?!? So, if I estimate incorrectly and hit 10 degrees, it won't be a problem right? But will actually help? Why not sleep standing then? I am confused.
5) After reading some of your other websites and posts, I see that the evaporation and loss of water through respiration/perspiration is the continual driving force of the circulation? As a chemical engineer then, it seems it would make sense to sleep in a room with a fan which is forcing mass transfer from the surfaces as you would get a significantly higher rate of transfer.

Would love to share photos for advice, but it would be easier for me to email them to someone for posting perhaps.

[bam]

hey andrew I wanted to post this on your new forum but I just got a message on it that it has been hacked.  I've been thinking about IBT and what is exactly conferring the benefits and it really does seem to stem from the fact that sleeping in an inclined bed stabilizes the spine so you can breathe better.  Conversely sleeping flat on a soft bed tends to misalign the spine and every time you breathe you incorporate the spine and particulary the lower spine as your body tries to compensate for not being able to get a full lung breath.  Also this is a good reason for constantly tossing and turning in bed, it is a poor effort to try to realign the spine properly which allows for full lung breathing to no avail. I would think that the ideal way to sleep would be flat on a hard surface for maximum breathing lung capacity but of course at first our joints would have to adjust for a while to what would feel like discomfort from weakened shoulder and hip joints.  I don't have any study on floor sleeping but if you are undergoing a full study then I would hope you will include sleeping on the floor as another control.  A drawback to the inclined bed that I haven't heard brought up that I hope you can address is the increased wear on the bed springs from not laying evenly.  Are you accounting for this ?  I can see how regularly flipping the bed would save the coils but is it possible that once the bed springs have adjusted to the new pressure from the body in incline that the IBT won't be conferring its benefits at least fully ?  Which brings me back to sleeping flat on the floor is the discomfort that is experienced at first the price you pay for the long term benefits which the inclined bed tries to offer ?

[Karen W.]

Andrew I wanted to let you know and pass this on for all of us who had become friends with Al...My sincere sympathies go out to Al and her family and friends....
____________________________________________________

trpdpetcraftproject
 to me
   
show details 11:48 AM (12 hours ago)
   
Dear TRPD Member

It is with great sadness that we have to inform you that Al, or Old Dragon as most of us affectionately knew her has passed away suddenly.

I know Al will be greatly missed by all who knew her and all the rescues she worked so tirelessly on behalf of.

Several threads have been started in tribute to Al, please come and join us in remembering this remarkable lady

http://Http://petcraftproject.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=resqgen&action=display&thread=19444&page=1

Viv and all at TRPD

[salta]

Hi, new to this forum. About 22 weeks into 3rd pregnancy I developed several quite bad leg varicose veins as well as a mass of spider veins. Some areas on the backs of my legs look like they have been hit with a cricket bat! I am very sad about it as my legs look very changed. Anyway, despite the constant 31 c and high humidity we live in, I am now having to wear graduated compression stockings every minute of the day as legs are very uncomfortable these days. I am now 25 weeks pregnant.

Anyway never having had this problem before I have searched the internet for any clues as to what might help. IBT does seem very interesting.

I have started sleeping with the bed raised about 4 inches at the top 2 weeks ago and then a week ago we raised it again to 7 inches. So its been two weeks now....not really noticed much difference except for the decrease in the need to pee during the night and husband's snoring has improved. I am drinking more water on purpose and using air con at night to assist the evaporation. I would post photos of my legs but I'm currently too upset by them, and the thought they may remain like this, to do this. When/if I see a good improvement I'll post the photos to give hope to others - especially as this thread doesn't seem to have covered much on vvs in pregnancy, yet it is very common and really uncomfortable. I also hope this is a safe thing to do in pregnancy!??

I am a bit concerned that not many people visit this thread anymore. I hope the improvements seen by Alun etc. have lasted and that new people might post their successes or failures to help give a clearer picture of what's realistic. Thanks

[SteveFish]

Salta:

Bed raised at the top? I hope this means feet above head.

Steve

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

Salta:

Bed raised at the top? I hope this means feet above head.

Steve

IBT is the opposite and involves raising the bed at the head end. The photographs from Alun and others are genuine and show that tilting the bed so that is provides a head up platform rather than the head down Trendlenburg method produces positive results for people with varicose veins.

Spider or thread veins are different to the swollen twisted varicose veins we have shown improvements with.

For more information about this free therapy visit, http://inclinedbedtherapy.com or google inclined bed therapy.

We need a controlled study to test IBT against sleeping flat and I am sick and tired of approaching the medical profession to get this simple task done.

The heart rate decreases by 10 12 beats per minute. Respiration rate decreases by 4-5 breaths per minute when IBT is practised. Yet circulation improves along with metabolism and extremities become warmer quicker. (No more cold feet and hands in bed)

How does the literature account for these changes?

One PHD student conducting a study on IBT will open up one huge can of worms for our understanding of physiology.

So why has it taken nearly 20 years to have mainstream medicine investigate something so simple?

Andrew K Fletcher 

[sky]

Andrew,how come this topic in this forum and your website's forum become inactive in 2011? I want to know the latest research progress of it for treating varicose vein.

I am new to IBT. I have varicose vein, and often feel the pain because of it even it's not very serious. my doctor told me the valves of vein not function as good as it should, and advise me the put my feet higher than the heart when sleeping.

last night I start to try IBT with 4 inch, but feeling some pain while sleeping and I could see the vein became more obvious  (more blue) than sleeping on flat bed. I could not sleep at all, then I went back to flat bed after 4 hours try. the pain went away on flat bed. I want to know if this is normal. when doing IBT, I don't know if vein valves are opened allowing blood to flow back to heart when doing IBT.

Hope to hear from you
sky   

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

Sky

My main project Operation OASIS has taken president over my other work for now so please accept my apologise for neglecting this important thread.

We are still waiting for the medical profession to investigate these claims and yet nothing has emerged, though this was anticipated given the lack of interest from all concerned in the medical profession.

The first 2 weeks of IBT can be a little weird for some and certainly some discomfort is to be expected while you adjust to the new sleeping posture.

People have reported a pulling sensation in the legs during IBT and given that pressures inside the veins are altered it is not inconceivable that some pain and aches will emerge as a result of this.

We have had a great response from surgeons and consultants working in the new field of Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency or CCSVI which has been linked to multiple sclerosis by Dr Franz Shelling and Dr Paolo Zamboni, a 4 page article about IBT appeared in New Pathways Magazine which included testimonies from people with ms who have experienced significant improvements using this simple method. More information can be found on thisisms forum under the CCSVI section.

All of this research has been self funded and the therapy remains and always will remain free for anyone to test it.

Sincerely yours

Andrew K Fletcher   

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

 Instructional video showing how to convert a wooden framed bed for Inclined Bed Therapy for around £11.00

Easier than you might think.

Hope you enjoy the video

Happy Holidays

Andrew

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

It's been a while since Inclined Bed Therapy was introduced to this forum and thought it is a good time to ask for progress updates from those of us using IBT.

A new page on Facebook has stimulated some very interesting results and I hear from new people testing IBT almost every day with the same predictable positive results.

For those of you who have not yet heard about what IBT is and has already achieved for people with multiple sclerosis.

Inclined Bed Therapy has been shown to improve health and wellbeing of the many who have tried.
It's simple! raise the head of your bed by 6 inches and sleep on it!

Inclined bed therapy is where one's bed is raised 6 to 8 inches at the head by using bricks, wedges, or blocks to raise it (even books). This can have a positive effect on your health and help with many disorders including:- Spinal cord injury, Multiple Sclerosis, back pain, Circulatory problems, acid reflux or GERD, sinus and respiratory disorders, sleep apnea, low metabolism, edema in the legs, and many others.

Its free to try for everyone. Feel free to tell your friends and families. Inclined Bed Therapy has brought a new lease of life to thousands and it can help you!

Inclined Bed Therapy should only be used as part of a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle includes following a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and being physically active.

You can find us on http://facebook.com/inclinedbedtherapy where you can share experiences, ask questions and learn more about how this simple non-invasive FREE therapy can help you and your family.

Andrew K Fletcher (Originator of IBT)