1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

The Vagus nerve and inflammation

Posted by christi48 @christi48, Jan 25, 2023

Does anyone know about the Vagus nerve and its role in inflammation? I stumbled upon an article about it and did some research which indicates it might be helpful to stimulate the Vagus nerve to help the body deal with inflammation. If anyone knows more about this I would love to hear about it. If you want to know more you can Google it...

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pkalkstein | @pkalkstein | Jan 26, 2023

I know how to stimulate the vagus nerve to stop a cough by massaging behind my ears, but have not tried this:
https://www.chopra.com/articles/reducing-inflammation-starts-with-the-vagus-nerve
Has anyone tried this method, and is it helpful? It seems like a long-term thing so results are probably not apparent as we are reducing inflammation with a steroid.

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1 reply
Teri | @tsc | Jan 26, 2023
In reply to @pkalkstein "I know how to stimulate the vagus nerve to stop a cough by massaging behind my..." + (show)
@pkalkstein

I know how to stimulate the vagus nerve to stop a cough by massaging behind my ears, but have not tried this:
https://www.chopra.com/articles/reducing-inflammation-starts-with-the-vagus-nerve
Has anyone tried this method, and is it helpful? It seems like a long-term thing so results are probably not apparent as we are reducing inflammation with a steroid.

Jump to this post

Before I was diagnosed with PMR and GCA, in addition to most of the usual symptoms, I had about 29 gagging attacks over six months. They would occur at the same time everyday, with a funny feeling behind my navel, profuse sweating from a point on top of my head and a convulsive-like gagging reflex in a straight line down the front of my body with vomiting and diarrhea. Sometimes these attacks would put me down for the day. I started researching the vagus nerve and did all the exercises I could to reactivate it. There's a lot on YouTube, plus I bought the book, "Activate Your Vagus Nerve" Dr. Navaz Habib on Amazon.
The attacks stopped about a month before I was diagnosed and started taking prednisone. I just took a look at Dr. Habib's book, and there's a diagram of the vagus nerve on the cover. It shows it extending up both sides of the head, ending below the ears down the neck and into the shoiulders. I never realized it before, but those were the exact places I had neck/head pain, so severe I could not turn my head. That pain didn't stop until I took prednisone.

I've never seen a post about gagging attacks with PMR or GCA. They were a horrible symptom.

REPLY
1 reply
pkalkstein | @pkalkstein | Jan 26, 2023
In reply to @tsc "Before I was diagnosed with PMR and GCA, in addition to most of the usual symptoms,..." + (show)
@tsc

Before I was diagnosed with PMR and GCA, in addition to most of the usual symptoms, I had about 29 gagging attacks over six months. They would occur at the same time everyday, with a funny feeling behind my navel, profuse sweating from a point on top of my head and a convulsive-like gagging reflex in a straight line down the front of my body with vomiting and diarrhea. Sometimes these attacks would put me down for the day. I started researching the vagus nerve and did all the exercises I could to reactivate it. There's a lot on YouTube, plus I bought the book, "Activate Your Vagus Nerve" Dr. Navaz Habib on Amazon.
The attacks stopped about a month before I was diagnosed and started taking prednisone. I just took a look at Dr. Habib's book, and there's a diagram of the vagus nerve on the cover. It shows it extending up both sides of the head, ending below the ears down the neck and into the shoiulders. I never realized it before, but those were the exact places I had neck/head pain, so severe I could not turn my head. That pain didn't stop until I took prednisone.

I've never seen a post about gagging attacks with PMR or GCA. They were a horrible symptom.

Jump to this post

The vagus nerve seems to be central to controlling inflammation. Thanks for the reference, Teri. A YouTube with Dr. Habib is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNCgSysaHaA.
He mentions a prescription product that looks promising. I will speak to my doctor about it next month.

REPLY
1 reply
Teri | @tsc | Jan 27, 2023
In reply to @pkalkstein "The vagus nerve seems to be central to controlling inflammation. Thanks for the reference, Teri. A..." + (show)
@pkalkstein

The vagus nerve seems to be central to controlling inflammation. Thanks for the reference, Teri. A YouTube with Dr. Habib is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNCgSysaHaA.
He mentions a prescription product that looks promising. I will speak to my doctor about it next month.

Jump to this post

Hi @christi48, are you thinking that by stimulating your Vagus Nerve you can reduce the inflammation caused by the immune system in overdrive?
After religiously doing all the exercises to stimulate the vagus nerve Dr. Habib suggested, my gagging attacks stopped, but my inflammation markers were still off the charts.

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christi48 | @christi48 | Jan 27, 2023

I was thinking I wanted more information about the Vagus nerve and the role it plays in inflammation and if it could help with inflammation caused by PMR. Trying to learn everything I can...

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jan 29, 2023

@christi48 @tsc @pkalkstein, you may also be interested in this related disucssion:
- Vagus Nerve: What helped you? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/vagus-nerve-1/

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freeme | @freeme | May 25, 2023

I am recently diagnosed and have been using a pemf mat daily which is believed to engage the vagus nerve I believe the pemf mat is helping.

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