Red and near-infrared light therapy, LEDs

[Johannes]

After having had red and near-infrared light more and adjusting my doings according to my new situation, I feel fine. I can still do lots of things at home. Sailing was very physical. But I am disappointed that I can't do as much things that stress my brain, as I could do before. I quess I have to adapt.

I am building my UVB therapy lamp for vitamin D. It is not easy because parts are not readily available. But my friend helps me.

I took my boat off from the water and am winterizing it during next week. We had first frost a few days ago. I don't like this time of a year. It is fine to have snow and a little freezing but the next four months it is dark without the sun with almost constant rain and slush. But in February we get snow for a couple of monts. Then it is not so dark. That part will be beautifull. Then, around April the sun comes out again

 

[Johannes]

I feel quite OK but my brain doesn't tolerate brain work. So, I ordered blue and green light LED unit. It contains 300 LEDs. The wavelength of blue is 460nm, green is 520nm. I have earlier red about studies concerning blue and green light. I don't remember what are the benefits of these colours but I remember one ghing: blue light improves calsium metabolism of cells. CFS patients have huge problems with their cell membranes, which don't transport enough calsium inside the cell. Maybe this will help me.

I am also working to build a UVB light therapy lamp with help of my friend who is an electrician. Narrowband UVB light tubes produce 310nm light. It is not, that I would need more vitamin D in general, but I may need more vitamin D produced by the skin. This became clear to me now that the vitamin D level of my blood was measured to be 405nmol/l (162ng/ml)!!! I thought that the more vitamin D, the beter I feel. It was true up to 300nmol/l but only if I got enough sunshine. So there is a connection there. No I have to be without injections until my vitamin D level is back to 300nmol/l. It will take months. But during that time, my UVB therapy lamp willl be ready.

Bigger dosage of vitamin D has partly "cured" my food intolerances. I thought it was due to sunshine and maybe it was, but it seems that vitamin D also plays a role. I am some sort of culinarist and used to be also a food developer so I can appreciate good food. Due to my food intolerance I was able to eat maybe 20-25 fifferent kinds of vegetable, grain, legumes milk eggs and meat, altogether. No berries of fruits except pear. Now I can eat small amouts of banana, blueberry, strawberry and apples. And many more vegetables in moderation. What I can't still tolerate are chemical food colourings, chemical food aromas and food precervatives. But I am very happy that I can eat so many foods now.

Do you have problems with food intolerace?

I promised to tell you about the lady, who bought a full body Red and NIR light therapy lamp. She has started to use the lamp but she is in a phase where she can use it only a few minutes a day. So it may take a few months before she sees the benefits. I will report more later.

 

[Hopeful2021]

I feel quite OK but my brain doesn't tolerate brain work. So, I ordered blue and green light LED unit. It contains 300 LEDs. The wavelength of blue is 460nm, green is 520nm. I have earlier red about studies concerning blue and green light. I don't remember what are the benefits of these colours but I remember one ghing: blue light improves calsium metabolism of cells. CFS patients have huge problems with their cell membranes, which don't transport enough calsium inside the cell. Maybe this will help me.

I am also working to build a UVB light therapy lamp with help of my friend who is an electrician. Narrowband UVB light tubes produce 310nm light. It is not, that I would need more vitamin D in general, but I may need more vitamin D produced by the skin. This became clear to me now that the vitamin D level of my blood was measured to be 405nmol/l (162ng/ml)!!! I thought that the more vitamin D, the beter I feel. It was true up to 300nmol/l but only if I got enough sunshine. So there is a connection there. No I have to be without injections until my vitamin D level is back to 300nmol/l. It will take months. But during that time, my UVB therapy lamp willl be ready.

Bigger dosage of vitamin D has partly "cured" my food intolerances. I thought it was due to sunshine and maybe it was, but it seems that vitamin D also plays a role. I am some sort of culinarist and used to be also a food developer so I can appreciate good food. Due to my food intolerance I was able to eat maybe 20-25 fifferent kinds of vegetable, grain, legumes milk eggs and meat, altogether. No berries of fruits except pear. Now I can eat small amouts of banana, blueberry, strawberry and apples. And many more vegetables in moderation. What I can't still tolerate are chemical food colourings, chemical food aromas and food precervatives. But I am very happy that I can eat so many foods now.

Do you have problems with food intolerace?

I promised to tell you about the lady, who bought a full body Red and NIR light therapy lamp. She has started to use the lamp but she is in a phase where she can use it only a few minutes a day. So it may take a few months before she sees the benefits. I will report more later.

@Johannes how exciting to have an electrician friend help you build your custom light setup.
Yes, the diodes are a better deal if one builds from components.

Yes, I do have food intolerances. But also citric acid. There's a small group in ME community... it's a problem at krebs/mitochondria. But I'm slowly losing it since starting sessions of a device called the Biocharger.
(It has VERY cheesy marketing and is basically easily written off) I heard about it more than two years ago but sure wish I didn't write it off.

My vitD levels have been historically very low despite a lot of supplementation and most recently with covid19, vitD shots... sometimes twice weekly and oral supplements and getting many hours of strong sunshine a day. Well, since doing the Biocharger, my vitD levels have increased 1 point less of double...!!! I saw this from one test and am awaiting results from another test taken just a few days ago. And I wasn't supplementing or getting a shot. And, well, if it was a one-off improvement for just one week, then it still was a great boost that I'm on the right track.

•••• about the red light •••
I highly recommend including Amber spectrum. I've done red light for years and with Amber added, my results are much much better.

 

[Johannes]

@Johannes

My vitD levels have been historically very low despite a lot of supplementation and most recently with covid19, vitD shots... sometimes twice weekly and oral supplements and getting many hours of strong sunshine a day. Well, since doing the Biocharger, my vitD levels have increased 1 point less of double...!!! I saw this from one test and am awaiting results from another test taken just a few days ago. And I wasn't supplementing or getting a shot. And, well, if it was a one-off improvement for just one week, then it still was a great boost that I'm on the right track.

•••• about the red light •••
I highly recommend including Amber spectrum. I've done red light for years and with Amber added, my results are much much better.

Did you know that it takes minimum 3 to 4 months for vitamin D level to rise up and it still it continues rising up for a year. Plenty of things happening during that time. Many other treatment tried. First it rises up more, then slowly. How strong are your shoots? Mine are 2500 micrograms each, every ten days.

It has taken four years to get from 28nmol/l to 405nmol/l. This has also been done slowly, because each patient is an individual and their kidneys convert vitamin 3D or 2D to its active form differently. Ionized calsium and parathormone with vitamin D-level are monitored frequently (blood tests every 6 months) in order to prevent possible calcification into soft tissue and de-calcification of the bones. Kidneys are not the only organ using vitamin 3D but they are the only organ producing it for other organs. Some other organs also convert vitamin D to its active form but they use it themselves. If I rememBer coreectly, some T-cells and bowel can conveer vitamin D to their own use. There were other organs totoo

I remember you writing about amber light before. It may be my next thing to try after green, blue and UVB light, if they don't work. Or I move closer to equator

 

[Hopeful2021]

Did you know that it takes minimum 3 to 4 months for vitamin D level to rise up and it still it continues rising up for a year. Plenty of things happening during that time. Many other treatment tried. First it rises up more, then slowly. How strong are your shoots? Mine are 2500 micrograms each, every ten days.

It has taken four years to get from 28nmol/l to 405nmol/l. This has also been done slowly, because each patient is an individual and their kidneys convert vitamin 3D or 2D to its active form differently. Ionized calsium and parathormone with vitamin D-level are monitored frequently (blood tests every 6 months) in order to prevent possible calcification into soft tissue and de-calcification of the bones. Kidneys are not the only organ using vitamin 3D but they are the only organ producing it for other organs. Some other organs also convert vitamin D to its active form but they use it themselves. If I rememBer coreectly, some T-cells and bowel can conveer vitamin D to their own use. There were other organs totoo

I remember you writing about amber light before. It may be my next thing to try after green, blue and UVB light, if they don't work. Or I move closer to equator

@Johannes

Such interesting info. I've been supplementing for years and years to try and get it higher. Most forms are made from corn or soy so those would actually make me sick. It was a long process to find some that did not. And that's how I got into UVA/UVB sun lamp.... to start to get my D made from light in the winter.

Then enter the shots. 2 a week is a lot. And for at least 6 months. My other family members who are beneficiaries of the vitD supplements that didn't move the needle for me would test higher.
Yeah, the kidneys and liver take a few days to process vitD pills. That conversion. But this simple sentence is just something I am repeating. How our own natural vitD hormone, the super hormone, is used is really complex and I've not learned it at a deep level. I'm more curious to peek back into some of it after your generous share of info.

Also, if my second test comes back higher, then I'll probably stay lazy on my vitD knowledge and just keep doing more Biocharger sessions.

Yeah, the amber is interesting. I got to use this huge red light table by Light Stim and it has amber lights in it. I also used it for 40 minutes on many days in a row. I bought a small pocket size one they make but it did not include amber. So later, I bought amber led to experiment and including it did give me better results at home. I'm in the process of trying to get my red light and amber together somewhere. As you know it's hard to do projects. My older kitty loves the red IR light and so I don't want to move it to a place she can't enjoy.

I do have a prescription of a very fast acting vitD that was used in a Spain hospital study for corona patients. I haven't taken it yet. It's kinda to see if when winter comes, it can keep me out of severe episode.

Yes.... moving nearer to the Equator. I look at flights to Hawaii and Mexico often. What a great few weeks that would be. I'm not really strong enough to withstand a plane during takeoff and landing so it's just a dream so far. Plus I have two elderly animals I'm not willing to leave for that long. When I was bedridden, they were such blessings to have next to me and their unconditional love. My kitty would also alert me when I was about to have a micro seizure in my brain.

 

[Johannes]

As known from scitific studies, sunshine seems to affect positively to our bowel. So it does, atleast with me. In July and August I can eat a lot more versatile compared to other months. When the radiation from the sun starts to decrease, my bowel problems start to become worse. Right now I have bad bowel inflammation and I feel very weak. I continued eating like it was summer. But my bowel doesn't tolerate the same foods anymore. Now, due to food intolerances that came back into my life, my diet is very strict elimination diet, like it has been during all the winters since year 2012.

To be honest, I still couldn't eat (in summer) foods with artificial colourings, flavours and precervatives and there were many foods that I had to avoid or eat in moderation. But my diet was a lot more versatile than in winter.

My new green-blue LED lamp is ready for production and will be ready in a couple of weeks. I will also order a smaller red/near-infrared unit in order to get more light to my brain. With that, the whole body is illuminated. Now only the area from my forehead to my knees is illuminated.

It is possible that many of the benefits of the sunshine come only through the eyes. Atleast according to many of the studies concerning the sunlight make such claims. Many of the red and NIR light equipment manufactorers advice their customers to use eye protection. Some studies say that eyes benefit from red and NIR light but that blue light is not good for them. I use my red and NIR light eyes open, 5 minutes twice a day.

 

[Hopeful2021]

As known from scitific studies, sunshine seems to affect positively to our bowel. So it does, atleast with me. In July and August I can eat a lot more versatile compared to other months. When the radioaion from the sun stRts to decrease, my bowel problems start to become worse. Right now I have bad bowel inflammation and I feel very weak. I continued eating like it was summer. But my bowel doesn't tolerate the same foods anymore. Now, due to food intolerances that came back into my life, my diet is very strict elimination diet, like it has been during all the winters since year 2012.

To be honest, I still couldn't eat (in summer) foods with artificial colourings, flavours and precervatives and there were many foods that I had to avoid or eat in moderation. But my diet was a lot more versatile than in winter.

My new green-blue LED lamp is ready for production and will be ready in a couple of weeks. I will also order a smaller red/near-infrared unit in order to get more light to my brain. With that, the whole body is illuminated. Now only the area from my forehead to my knees is illuminated.

It is possible that many of the benefits of the sunshine come only through the eyes. Atleast according to many of the studies concerning the sunlight make such claims. Many of the red and NIR light equipment manufactorers advice their customers to use eye protection. Some studies say that eyes benefit from red and NIR light but that blue light is not good for them. I use my red and NIR light eyes open, 5 minutes twice a day.

How nice J that your blue green light is almost ready.

 

[Johannes]

My blue and green PBM light is on its way to Finland. Yet another week or so and it should be at my home. I can't wait to try it.

I am quit tired nowadays. My brain doesn't work as well as in summer. I have cognitive problems such as memory problems and problems to concentrate. My bowel doesn't tolerate half the foods I ate at summer. I am back to strick elimination diet. This is sad. I like so much good food.

Due to pretty high vitamin D-level, I have no deppression. I feel calm without beeing pissed off with even smallest things that are not going my way. I feel no stress anymore. That is weird. This was normal to me when I was well. But I have felt very stressed all the time between September and June Since year 2012.

Luckily, I can still cook and do some interesting small things at home. And I can read.

I am still building my UVB light therapy unit. It takes time but I should have the mechanical things ready in a week or so. The next thing is to order some electrical parts from abroad. Everthing should be ready for testing in January. Quite conveniently, because at the end of January I should have had some 60 days of blue and green light therapy in order to know if it helps at all.

I am unsure if I should start with small dosage with blue and green light as I did with red and near-infrared light. I may start with 5 minutes each side once a day and if there would be no side effects, I could double the dosage in a couple of days. I wish there was some sort of quide for this but there isn't.

 

[Johannes]

Way too long time to wait for the delivery. I just payed the customs and VAT. My lights should be here by this thursdsay.

I was scared that I would have to be bed bound by the end of November. I was not. I still am not but I have to lay down a lot. On thursday, I had seven hour "work day" and I was totally exhausted. I couldn't sleep for a day or two. BUT I didn't get PEM!! I don't know why. It seems that it takes only two days to recover from over doing. This is not normal to me. I feel better than normally this time of the year. But at the same time....my food doesn't taste good anymore. I don't feel happyness anymore and I have no sexual interest. I feel very seldom anything positive. But I don't feel depressed. I just am exhausted. This is weird. I hope the new equipment will help. I hope you guys feel better.

 

[Johannes]

Hello,

I added a picture of our dog to my avatar I don't know if you are dog people. I and my wife are, ofcourse.

My new blue-green PBM lamp has arrived. It is a little bit smaller than my red and near-infrared panel but is still a full body lamp. I have used my previous red and NIR lamp twice a day for 10 minutes to front of my body and 10 minutes to back of my body + in the morning an additional 5 minutes to the sides of my body. I also bought a smaller red and NIR unit for the top of my head. I want to know if it helps my hair to grow better. I feel that Red and NIR light doesn't help me much right now. My vitamin D is pretty high and it helps with some of my symptoms. I am starting to have bad problems with concentrating and thinking. I feel quite tired nowadays, maybe because I have not wanted to stay put and just lie in my bed or sofa. And because I use too much internet and watch too much TV, my head hurts a bit.

I installed the new unit next to the old unit and they can be on at the same time. I started by using blue- and green light 10 minutes to front of my body and 10 minutes to back of my body once a day. It was a bit too much. Today was the firsts day. I am using safety goggles to prevent any blue light getting into my eyes. I got similar symptoms from blue and green light that I got from the red and near-infrared light, when Instarted to use them. I felt dizzyness and nausea during blue and green light PBM but not at first. I could stand there for atleast five minutes without any problems. So I am going to reduce blue and green light to 2 times 5 minutes a day at first.

But there was something different too. When I started to use Red and NIR light, I had nausea and dizziness for couple of hours after PBM therapy. And during it too. It went away in a month or so. But with blue and green light together with red and NIR lights, I had dizzines only for five or so minutes after PBM therapy. Also, with so many lamps on, it was pretty warm. Too warm maybe. And maybe that was (at least partly) a reason for nausea this time.

If this additional blue and green light will help me, I think I don't have to wait months to see the results. After all, it is only two months since the sun stopped shining here and only six weeks since I started to feel sick. I once travelled to Spain on Autumn right after my symptoms started. These symptoms were bad. It took only two days in the sunshine and I felt OK again. So, lets see how long it takes this time or if this helps at all.

Btw, it is not snowing here yet. Maybe in January. We got some snow a week ago but it melt away.

Seasons Greetings everybody! ❄❄❄❄❄

I will report more once I have more experience about blue and green PBM therapy.

 

[Johannes]

2 x 10 minutes a day is now OK. I don't get side effects anymore from blue and green light. It seems to be the blue color LEDs that produce most of the heat. As much that I sweat and have to wash myself a bit after each PBM therapy.

After a few days I will increase the dosage. No positive efects so far.

 

[Johannes]

I think I got positive effects from the combination of red, near-infrared, blue and green light. It took six days to see the possible effects. I am able to eat more versatile again. I can even drink beer again. Also, my muscles tolerate more usage. But as before, I have cognitive problems. These changes are subtle but I can't give any other explanation than PBM since I haven't tried any new supplementation or medicines, except vitamin B12, which hasn't done this before. We'll see.

 

[Johannes]

Defenetly blue and green PBM together with red and NIR light help with my bowel. I still jave limitations in my diet but I can now eat almost as versatile as in summers. Human cells in bowel die after they have lived four days and other cells in bowel die after eleven days. I noticed the first positive effects in the fifth or sixth day. It is now 12 days since I started and the situation is even better. It should improve further after few geberations yet have renewed. Before, with sunlight, this has taken approximately five to six weeks. I am also not that tired anymore but I think it is because my bowel is not badly inflammated anymore. But i still can't tolerate more physical or brain activity than before in winters. Also, most of my depression is gone and I rarely feel angry or irritated anymore. But if I over do, I will get headache and irritability.

 

[Johannes]

I have to admit, these LEDs are not making me better except maybe my bowel. But there are other radiations coming from the sun. So, the next thing to try is an infrared light. I will get my new infrared light in a week. It was very cheap. It is a 250W heat lamp for bigs!

Then I will try UVA light. I have a solarium that I bought for that. It should be ready to be tested in a week or so, if I am well enough to fix it. And if that doesn't help, I will have my UVB therapy equipment ready somewhere in February. If these don't help, I think I have to move to equator

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I promised to tell you about the lady, who bought a full body Red and NIR light therapy lamp. She has started to use the lamp but she is in a phase where she can use it only a few minutes a day. So it may take a few months before she sees the benefits. I will report more later

Thank you for remembering and updating !!!!

Many of the red and NIR light equipment manufactorers advice their customers to use eye protection. Some studies say that eyes benefit from red and NIR light but that blue light is not good for them. I use my red and NIR light eyes open, 5 minutes twice a day.

I've read the same things, and have been confused about who's right on the issue of red/nir light and eye function .... cause, you know, only eyes we've got and hate to take risks.

Your post re that has helped me a lot ..... still inching towards which unit to buy .... am having more and more trouble right now with focus and cog, and energy seems to be flagging more quickly than usual, which is why I havent moved on this yet.

I hvae no idea why I stopped getting alerts on your thread here, but I finally found you on the What;s New page ....

Your comprehensive reporting and updates are invaluable, and I know that with cog issues, it's not that easy to do. I'm deeply in your debt for them, and thank you !!!!

 

[Johannes]

Thank you for remembering and updating !!!!

I forgot to do update on this. She wrote on Christmas that she is able to have 9 minutes PBM treatment a day. Forgot to ask if it had any influence. I bought a smaller red and NIR unit with 60 LEDs for my head. It has not helped so I am selling it.

I've read the same things, and have been confused about who's right on the issue of red/nir light and eye function .... cause, you know, only eyes we've got and hate to take risks.

I am nowadays protecting my eyes because of the blue light.

, our post re that has helped me a lot ..... still inching towards which unit to buy .... am having more and more trouble right now with focus and cog, and energy seems to be flagging more quickly than usual, which is why I havent moved on this yet.

I am happy about that! Sorry to hear about your cognitive problems.

I hvae no idea why I stopped getting alerts on your thread here, but I finally found you on the What;s New page ....

I also stopped having allerts for no reason. Then I checked my account. I found that I had no not asked email reminders...except that I had. I don't know what happened but now I have them again.

Your comprehensive reporting and updates are invaluable, and I know that with cog issues, it's not that easy to do. I'm deeply in your debt for them, and thank you !!!!

I understand. I am started to have them cognitive isssues too, again, since December.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I am nowadays protecting my eyes because of the blue light.

Blue light can be damaging to eyes and has a deleterious effect on a lot of things, including hormone levels.

But like you, I'd always read that red and nir were good for your eyes, until bloggers started posting the opposite, possibly confusing it with th effects that blue light can have.

Who knows ..... I only believe about a quarter of what I read in blogs, even less of what I read in anything connected to a shopping cart, and only slightly more of what's presented in research papers and scientific studies ....

Which is one of the reasons I appreciate your reporting on your experiences with red and nir light therapy. While I know that I may react differently (or not .... who can tell), I do know that you absolutely tell it like it is .... a rarity in this shabby little carnival boardwalk of a world .....

Sorry to hear about your cognitive problems.

They;ll pass, this is just a little bump in an otherwise slowly improving road, as I hope it is for you.

At least you know that when summer rolls around, you'll be able to once again stabilize in real sunlight .... woo-HOOOOOO !!!

 

[Johannes]

I started my UVA PBM therapy two days ago. I bought a used tanning bed. One minute first day, two minutes second. Since UVA is causing cancer I don't use it as much as people who want tanning. Just to try it for maybe a month or so. After that the UVA tubes will be changed to UVB tubes. UVB will not cause cancer. But it causes our body to synthesize vitamin D. I expect UVB to be the missing part of the sunshine, which could help me the most. But let's see.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I expect UVB to be the missing part of the sunshine, which could help me the most. But let's see.

Am really looking forward to your report on this ..... as I do all of your comprehensive and extremely thoughtful updates on your experiments w/PBM. Like encyclopaedic inputs on red/nir light therapy, and far more reliable than the info from all the sites that sell various forms of that ....

Thank you for this, @Johannes ..... invaluable !!!

 

[Johannes]

Am really looking forward to your report on this ..... as I do all of your comprehensive and extremely thoughtful updates on your experiments w/PBM. Like encyclopaedic inputs on red/nir light therapy, and far more reliable than the info from all the sites that sell various forms of that ....

Thank you for this, @Johannes ..... invaluable !!!

Thank you

I have to say that I am disappointed for the effects of red and nir light. The marketing speaches of equipment manufactorers are over optimistic. The studies concerning PBM are many times scientifically unrealiable. For example joovvy sent me misleading information concerning PBM amd CFS.

Funny thing: this tanning bed manufactorer claims in its user manual that UVB is beneficial in many ways and provides you lots of health benefit including vitamin D. This is BS in many ways! Just for example UVA has nothing to do with vitamin D synthesis!