This has been around a long time. I've been watching it alternating between wondering if its dangerous, effective or placebo. Here are some links
https://www.ncbi.nlm...pubmed/17452283 concerning safety
http://www.medscape....warticle/769494 for depression
http://www.learningd...-feedback/tdcs/
The last link claims:
"tDCS has been used to successfully treat depression and chronic pain. It has also been used to improve language and mathematical skills, increase attention span, develop problem solving skills, improve working memory, decrease impulse control, reduce food cravings, as well as enhance reasoning, learning and motor coordination."
tDCS is putting low level direct current through the head in an effort to stimulate and change brain function. I've heard about it for a while, got more interested and read about 100 reviews on amazon the great majority were very positive. They claim it makes you smarter, improves memory and other mental skills, improves mood and depression and helps with sleep. That last got my attention since I'm a hard head insomniac.
So I broke down and bought a unit, cost me $146 delivered from amazon. There are cheaper units out there. Today I gave it my first test and it definitely seems to do something. Not placebo in my opinion but 1 test is far from conclusive of course and placebo is still a possibility.
I used it at the lowest setting 0.5 ma, and the shortest session time of 20 minutes. You can of course stop at any time but its nice to have an auto shut off. I felt something, hard to say what but something. Afterward I noticed I felt sleepy which was surprising since I had used the spots for improving memory, not sleep. I thought it would be stimulating. The other effect was a queasy feeling in my stomach, low level nausea and after reading more I see a few percent report that. It seems to be fading, it has been about 3 hours.
After more reading I found that most people use it at night so it may be the sleepy feeling is common no matter what area you zap. I was expecting the opposite so my results seem to be the opposite of a placebo but still one trial will not be conclusive
They claim it can do wonderful things and there are various studies as well as many anecdotal reports. This is another one. Anybody else using it or have tried it? I'm not sure if my memory is any better, time will tell. Its supposed to offset brain fog which many of us report. What I like is that its not a drug but feels like a drug, can't be sure its safer than some drugs but after all this time no smoking gun has come forward about producing disease.
I will update my report from time to time, hope to hear from others. I would post the link but then its spam? Not sure about that but you can get the units many places. I recommend starting off very slowly.
Edit: I didn't know there were so many threads on this subject since I never see them in the brain health forum. They are kept out of there, thats why, and I haven't visited this forum in a long time.
Edited by adamh, 10 June 2017 - 12:31 AM.
