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Inclined Bed Therapy

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
I came across this yesterday, by accident, and thought it warranted my attention. The claims are big and im still on the fence, having tried it for only 16 hours thus far, but its definitely done more than a little. Whether it'll come back to bite me i don't know but my digestion was a quite bit better yesterday. It does say that with hyper-mobility you should go slow and raise the back of the bed an inch at a time, till you reach 6...or maybe less depending on comfort/discomfort.

8inchbed.jpg


It feels more natural and the energy "pooling" i get in my chest, when i lie horizontal, was very much less...that could change of course. I have found there to be a problem with my general downward flow of energy, or grounding, since becoming ill, and this seems to address that to a noticeable extent. It'd be cool if one or others tried it, all cautions and contra-indications taken into account from the link, and reported experiences. Takes over a week to stabilize on it and folk round here should go very slow if they're inclined to try it. I only slept 4 hours last night, and feel that a fair bit has happened inside, so i might have pushed the envelope going strainght to 5 inches.

IBT>
http://www.frex.com.au/ibt.html

I dislike starting threads as im no host but felt i had to share this.
I'll probably be warning against next week but i like to experiment and this is easy peasy to do. Please make sure you do it safely and robustly if you try it as a 6 inch drop during sleep can't be good and might injure..and maybe ask someone else to prop it up. Ive used bricks for now.

ibt-woman.jpg


My digestion is so poor that I can only process food whilst lying dow. If i sit up nothing happens and it all ferments and i have more symptons. Lying down as such has been necessary but always felt too flat/horizontal and then there was the energy pooling in my chest i mentioned earlier. A few times over the past few years ive had the thought to prop up my bed at the head end but never did it. The other day i tried doing similar with pillows behind me but didn't work and then stumbled on this yesterday...or it found me.
 
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August59

Daughters High School Graduation
Messages
1,617
Location
Upstate SC, USA
You can get large wedge shaped pieces of memory foam or latex to use on your bed as well. Just make sure it is not too much of an incline and it is long enough to extend from your waist to about 6 above you head. I also have some 6" bed blocks I purchased through a company that specially made the blocks in either 4" or 6".

I had about the same success with either one, but both ways was a definite advantage in keeping gut motility increased.
 

GracieJ

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Utah
I have been experimenting with this for about three months now, using body pillows or foam wedges to raise my upper body. The goal for me has been to improve breathing. Long story. Turns out I have a case of "adenoid face" left over from childhood. I am a mouth breather, at risk for sleep apnea now, and drool at night, all helped by changing sleep position to an incline. Sleep apnea can be avoided, mitigated, or eliminated by breathing exercises and proper sleep positions. I hope to never see a CPAP recommended or needed.

The foam wedge is not enough back support. I have a partial genetic scoliosis that leaves the lower right part of my body in spasm quite often, and poor support allows it to "reflect" to the entire body, leaving me in total pain when the upper left part of me compensates. I very happily put that piece in storage the other day after trying it for several weeks. Seemed fine until it sagged.

I went back to pillows: two soft body pillows stacked at the top of the bed, one firm standard pillow flat to the mattress just below, one standard pillow on top of the body pillows. Has been very comfortable, but needs a little tweaking.

Next round: My new mattress arrives tomorrow. As my entire bed is already on 6" risers for under bed storage, I am going to experiment with wood blocks/wedges raising the upper part of the mattress, starting with 1" and slowly increasing. The 7" foam wedge was way too much. I am thinking 2-3" may do it.

Had not thought about it helping digestion overall. I do have the occasional round of GERD symptoms, and that part did occur to me. This is good news all around - digestion, sleep issues, all of it.

The grounding part is new as well. Happy to hear it and hope that one works. Staying grounded is something I have difficulty with as well.

Anything that helps, right? What we do to improve our lives!

Thanks for leading out and posting the info, @manna !
 
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Messages
15,786
It might help with some forms of OI, but I've never heard of ME patients being able to get much out of it. It's also complicated by the extra "effort" required to keep blood circulating in that position, which can be too much for many of us.
 

GracieJ

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Utah
It might help with some forms of OI, but I've never heard of ME patients being able to get much out of it. It's also complicated by the extra "effort" required to keep blood circulating in that position, which can be too much for many of us.

That part seems okay for me. My heart rate goes up just turning over in bed. So far, so good... Maybe my sat rate is higher with the improvement in breathing, which could only help the other pieces.

I haven't seen an increase in migraines either, an all-too-common part of my life. Migraines are being linked to cardiovascular anomalies and connective tissue disorders, all very interesting reading and consideration for an ME patient.
 
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Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
@manna

I use pillows and blankets to build up the head of my bed. It works pretty well. This was both my doctor's advice (an ME specialist--though the advice is not "blanket" for all ME patients) and is often advised by dysautonomia doctors. For me it helps with chest discomfort that I get when lying flat.

Sushi
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
Thankyou for the input folks. I'm gonna give it a good couple of weeks before I decide but still it's been nice having much less blockage in my upper chest around my thymus area. Ive stopped another therapy too, that i started the day before, so i can better gauge its affects.

Ive always felt that my centre of gravity had moved upwards in my body and so everything else, like my solar plexus and heart, were all 2-3 inches higher (energetically speaking, if that makes sense?). Now with raising the back of the bed the energy of my solar plexus is actually in my solar plexus rather than above it...not sure i explained that well.

I mentioned it to my mother and she mentioned that the worst thing you can do if you're having a heart attack, is lie flat, as this makes it worse, which would make you sit up anyway i think. I have always, during the day whilst awake, lay there propped by two pillows as this did help but now that even my feet are lower than my knees, this seems to be equalising my centre of gravity even more. It would be interesting to compare the whole bed against just from the waist up. What I like about doing the whole bed is that my body is still flat and so my weight is more evenly distributed.

Id be concerned about using memory foam myself as the stuff is supposed to give off some pretty toxic fumes so maybe not good in itself though I like the idea of having wedges to place on the bed or under the mattress. I get that it must come from your waist at least. Before I only really propped my head and that's not enough. Glad you've gotten some relief with it August59 and thanks for sharing.

Great signature quote Gracie(ive read "the way of love" which is a fictional biography of rumi, great read!) and sounds like you've been experimenting already with inclining whilst at rest and I assume sleeping too. I think you may find doing the bed alone means you may not have to tweak it so much as its already a good platform but what suits the individual helps best. Be cool to hear of your experiences doing the whole bed, if and when you can.

Hi Valentijn, thats kind of why i didn't follow my intuition, as normally you hear of raising the legs as opposed to lowering them and of course the heart has to pump up hill. But mt chest feels "freer" because of it and so I imagine it will cope better generally...we'll see...certainly if its an issue for me ill say. Good reason for some to go slow but would be a shame not try it I think. My heart, and heart sack. has had alot of difficulties in the last few years though Ive made big in-roads since using a salt inhaler--which I always recommend to anyone with chest area issues...really opens it up more.

Hi sushi, sounds like a few get this chest discomfort when lying flat then. Interesting its sometimes prescribed...its kind of feels necessary if you need it i think so no wonder folk have been doing it for a while. I suppose as long as your high enough to counteract the discomfort and still feel comfortable then it should help eh. Maybe be try the whole bed, as well, as having my feet lower seems to pull my energy back down to its centre of gravity, but then i never really experimented with from the waist up. It might be a point as they are suggesting the whole body to be inclined..

I know the gall bladder meridian goes round the sides of the head down the the body and legs and ends on the first or second toe(can't remenber which). Trad Chin Med says the gall bladder governs the downward flow of energy in the body and its high phase is 11p.m.-1a.m. ---bedtime. So encouraging it to flow downwards more could help you get off to sleep i think. If it doesn't flow downwards sleep will be harder to come by. Talking of sleeeep, nunight x -_- zzz

ps oh there is an old saying that i read in a book caled moontime, that had bio-rhymts and meridian clocks too, that if you don't get children to bed by 9 you won't again till 11. Another i like..an hour before 12 is worth 2 afterwards and this one reminds me of the rumi quote...early to bed, early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy and wise..summat like that
 

liquid sky

Senior Member
Messages
371
Interesting to hear that others feel chest discomfort when lying flat. I feel too much energy in the chest and head area when flat. I always get head and chest pain each night when I sleep. It takes a long time to recover from sleep, but have to sleep. I think I will try raising the bed. Thanks for the suggestion.
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
@liquid sky hey there. seems common then eh. wonder how common? i hope this might give you some relief. let us know, if you like, how it transpires, especially if it impacts negatively on your system.
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ive gone from 5 inches to 6.5 and that feels better again. looks quite high though. still, my jury is not in.
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
just like to share an insight here. my thinking seems to be clearer with less mind chatter. it occurred to me that being ungrounded causes the energy of the throat centre, which is communication, speach and logic, to rise up and reside in the head causing excessive mind chatter/speach. also, and this i find interesting, the throat centre spins clockwise, positively, which has the qualities of acidic, heating, constricting, whilst the head/brow centre spins anti-clockwise, which is negative, alklaine, soothing, cooling. the brow centre/head, should spin anticlockwise (soothing) butso if one is ungrounded then the throat centre rises up to the head then the head takes it's qualities and becomes "acidic", (in quality) and heating, which in the body is inflammation.

is it this that causes neuro inflammation?

ungrounded energy movement can be seen throughout the body...the solar plexus fire rises to the heart causing heart burn and acid reflux. or the wind from the heart lung centre going up to the throat with burping. i could give more examples.

so is neuro inflammation the same as this blockage in the chest except its in the head? be interesting to see if it can help neuro inflammation too. my head is definitely different but you know, you get excited and then later on boff, floored..
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
same topic of neuro inflammation. i prefer "cerebral odema" as that word "odema" i associate with the spleen, and that governs water flow around the body (swollen ankles). i remember reading a long time ago that whole proteins in the spinal fluid was one way to dignose M.E. though i guess this more specifically, encephalitis. this is probably linked already. ecephalitis "shown" in me/cfs http://www.cortjohnson.org/blog/201...yelitis-back-future-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/

but what interested me on one site about encephalitis was this
Encephalitis is a rare condition. It occurs more often in the first year of life and decreases with age.
and the fact that on the inclined bed therapy page it says
Sleep right through the night. Breathing problems eliminated, sleep apnea, snoring, cot deaths resolved.
would imply it may affect cerebral odema. http://www.frex.com.au/ibt.html

overall i would say that its possible that lying flat has been incresing cereberal odema, or neuro inflamation, in myself and that inclining has released this burden somewhat. whether it will continue to be viable i don't know. its possible that the affects incurred by lying flat, if indeed it is done by that all, could continue throuh the day.
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
well just to update...6 inches was too much and caused a very slight crash, as do most treatments i try...too fast too soon. ive moved it down to 2-3 inches and this feels good and im getting some nice gentle improvements. i was retiscent to report back for fear of shying folk away from it...should be said that i can't ground acupuncture, flower essences, homeopathy or the like, and they all make me worse, so, i'm not really a good guinea pig as my experiences won't follow over for the most. definitely something in this and certainly frees up the brain stem. thats probably all i'll say on it for now. atb and good luck to anyone who tries it...go slow!

the main important point seems to be that sleeping with the feet lower than the kness and the rest of the body, encourages the downward flow of movement in the body, which helps everything in some way. the energy block i had in my upper chest has, for the most, gone and my head feels freer somehow.
 
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manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
just seen this on the IBT FB page and thought it worth sharing::https://www.facebook.com/InclinedBedTherapy?fref=photo

This posed the question "why on Earth do people sleep flat?" Animals seldom sleep flat unless it is imposed upon them by us!

Have we always slept flat? 4 thousand years ago the Ancient Egyptians slept on Inclined beds, raised by 6 inches at the head end ! In the Tudor Period, Europeans slept sitting up afraid that if they laid down, the sweating sickness would take them. 2 guards were placed at the bedside to prevent them from sleeping.

Ancient Inclined beds have been discovered in a Canadian Napoleonic fort, A castle In Prague, Pharaohs Tombs in Ancient Egypt.

ancient bed with 6 inch inclination and even a foot rest

946466_572900492733109_1545395506_n.jpg


has sleeping flat caused the body to grow, styructurally, in a physiologically unhealthy way that invites illness more so? possible..
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
i certainly can imagine it being too much for some. definitely 6 inches. im just over 2 inches at the mo and will try it flat again soon. its rather annoting because its likes is better for me in some way, i.e. reliving pressure in the head, but that my body is so accustomed and even structurally built to lie flat, from doing it for 4 decades. theres a website where quite a few folk with m.s. are trying out. some don't benefit much and some find it too much. its a as much posted for general interest though as it is as a possible tool for me/cfs. some might be able to play around with it though.

im not suire i could relax in a lounger like that either mind. certainly not everyone can do it though, inclining their bed, and it can have really quite shocking affects by all accounts. like growing taller, hair darker...but thats if your body can utilise it and its still early days. incliners might start dropping dead, but either or, i think its an interesting subject and raises a few questions i like the sound of. i might have to go to back to flat though.
 

SDSue

Southeast
Messages
1,066
I can't find a simple method to elevate the head of the bed. I used to be quite handy, but now I just need good, simple instructions.

"Block of wood" isn't detailed enough, as I'm afraid if done incorrectly it would break my wooden bed frame over time?
"Wedge" sounds easy, but I need full length rather than a short wedge.
And on it goes when I google.

I know this should be easy, but nothing is easy anymore lol. I've wanted to do this for over a year and I just get overwhelmed and do nothing. (Sounds like most tasks these days)

Any detailed suggestions? Thanks.
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
fortunately for me my bed is rigid so just propping the back legs with a couple of bricks has done it. i have a wooden floor too. tried doing my mums and wasn't so easy. split base for starters and on thick carpet. i think youd a have to of used 2 long bits of wood under the base so they lift to gether. the pic shows split bases with a block in the middle too--easier on hard floors.. maybe join the fb group an ask the page admin. hes really keen to answer any questions, as he does on the m.s. foum. seems a genuine fella. it depends on what your beds set up is i suppose? id have a guess if i could view it exactly in my head. i have to prop in the middle of the bed too.
 

SDSue

Southeast
Messages
1,066
fortunately for me my bed is rigid so just propping the back legs with a couple of bricks has done it. i have a wooden floor too. tried doing my mums and wasn't so easy. split base for starters and on thick carpet. i think youd a have to of used 2 long bits of wood under the base so they lift to gether. the pic shows split bases with a block in the middle too--easier on hard floors.. maybe join the fb group an ask the page admin. hes really keen to answer any questions, as he does on the m.s. foum. seems a genuine fella. it depends on what your beds set up is i suppose? id have a guess if i could view it exactly in my head. i have to prop in the middle of the bed too.
Thanks so much. To what pic are you referring? And also, which FB group?

My bed is a sleigh bed with bun feet. It's really solid. I'd put a pic up, but I don't know how.