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Cryotherapy

cman89

Senior Member
Messages
429
Location
Hayden, Idaho
I post this here because this is a multisystem, multi affect therapy, but have any of you had experience with any sort of cryotherapy? cold based therapy? (Ice bath, swimming in lake, cold sauna, etc..) I believe I have heard (maybe anecdotal) evidence of some "recovered" people having used cryotherapy to help recover. If you have used it, what symptoms did it help and was it effective longer term? Also, pain is not a symptom of mine, so dont try to tell me away with warnings of pain problems. I struggle with some Autonomic stuff and fatigue mostly.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I've tried different things over the decades. Cold plunge pools (I used to have access to a spa with a very cold one), cold pools, cold seas. The symptoms that were helped by this were 1. pain 2. POTS 3. burning feeling in the body. I've always enjoyed cold water.

My core ME viral type symptoms were not improved. Possibly because there was always an element of PEM on getting to the location and the changing into swimming gear etc and probably overdoing feeling better in cold water and moving around.
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
I post this here because this is a multisystem, multi affect therapy, but have any of you had experience with any sort of cryotherapy? cold based therapy? (Ice bath, swimming in lake, cold sauna, etc..) I believe I have heard (maybe anecdotal) evidence of some "recovered" people having used cryotherapy to help recover. If you have used it, what symptoms did it help and was it effective longer term? Also, pain is not a symptom of mine, so dont try to tell me away with warnings of pain problems. I struggle with some Autonomic stuff and fatigue mostly.

Here is a thread on it. And here is another one discussing it.

Sushi
 

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,691
I had sessions at a cryotherapy place here in town, but it over activated my sympathetic nervous system, I think, and gave me bad sleep problems, even with early morning sessions. They haven't had anyone else react like that, though, so I think my reaction was unusual.

It's too bad. I liked the sensation, and it helped for pain. It's also energizing.
 

sillysocks84

Senior Member
Messages
445
I've tried different things over the decades. Cold plunge pools (I used to have access to a spa with a very cold one), cold pools, cold seas. The symptoms that were helped by this were 1. pain 2. POTS 3. burning feeling in the body. I've always enjoyed cold water.

My core ME viral type symptoms were not improved. Possibly because there was always an element of PEM on getting to the location and the changing into swimming gear etc and probably overdoing feeling better in cold water and moving around.
@ukxmrv what symptoms of pots did it help if you don't mind me asking?
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Cryotherapy was something I first heard about in 1993. My CFS doc at the time thought it might help because it can shock the brain and cause it to modify its response to autonomic factors. In other words, its a potential treatment for dysautonomia. Despite being used for over two decades now, and some occasional success stories, its not ever been considered effective in most cases.
 

GONZ0hunter

Senior Member
Messages
131
Location
Fragelle rock, USA
Mayweather used one before his fight with paan. It was a stand up that used dry ice to go super cold. -35 or something.

His head was out and did it for 5 min or something outrageous
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
@ukxmrv what symptoms of pots did it help if you don't mind me asking?

I could stand up for longer without feeling faint / nausea and having the usual HR and BP problems that I do set in quickly. I could walk better and longer.

Really enjoy feeling cold as well. Noticed at the start of this illness (acute onset viral ME) that I could no longer shiver. Most of the time I feel terribly hot even if my limbs are cold to the touch. I only feel cold normally in the early mornings and if have bad PEM or an acute illness.
 

sillysocks84

Senior Member
Messages
445
I could stand up for longer without feeling faint / nausea and having the usual HR and BP problems that I do set in quickly. I could walk better and longer.

Really enjoy feeling cold as well. Noticed at the start of this illness (acute onset viral ME) that I could no longer shiver. Most of the time I feel terribly hot even if my limbs are cold to the touch. I only feel cold normally in the early mornings and if have bad PEM or an acute illness.

That's very interesting. I've noticed I like the cold more than I used to. Do you still treat yourself in this way or have you stopped? If you stopped, what made you stop?
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I no longer have access to a cold plunge pool or sea bathing. When I did still have access to the pool I was spending months unable to use it in the end as I was too weak to change into swimming costume and get there. This was viral and due to ME. The cold bathing was helping the POTS but not the ME.
I was still getting sick with the flu or an infection which the cold bathing exertion was making worse.
 

sillysocks84

Senior Member
Messages
445
I no longer have access to a cold plunge pool or sea bathing. When I did still have access to the pool I was spending months unable to use it in the end as I was too weak to change into swimming costume and get there. This was viral and due to ME. The cold bathing was helping the POTS but not the ME.
I was still getting sick with the flu or an infection which the cold bathing exertion was making worse.
I am sorry you do not still have access to what was helping some symptoms, also too bad about your me. I have heard, and you probably have too, about rituximab for me. What are your thoughts on it? Personally I wish it weren't potentially toxic of a treatment. I know it takes care of the b cell population, as does vagal nerve stimulation. So perhaps there is something that would stimulate the vagal nerve more effectively than the plunge pools. I have heard cryotherapy can get to -35F. I do not know how that compares to plunge pools. I'm also interested in electric stimulation.