The past two years have been difficult. We’re all living with Covid, lockdown, work-from-home, and a range of social and emotional challenges. A growing number of people are using cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) to help them cope with depression, anxiety and insomnia.
Kelly Roman, the CEO of Fisher Wallace Laboratories, has read hundreds of emails from customers who’re using the Fisher Wallace Stimulator to help them cope. “We heard from so many people talking about the stress of being in lockdown, of trying to tutor their children at home while also doing their jobs from home. We heard from nurses working in hospitals that were overwhelmed with patients. They told us how much they appreciated this device they could use at their convenience, at home or at work.”
Another very common theme is that people use the Fisher Wallace Stimulator because they had conditions that were not helped by conventional treatments. “They were not able to find a drug therapy, or they found the side effects were too difficult for them to handle even if they saw some benefit from the drug.”
Josh Briley, PhD, FAIS, is the Science and Education Director for Alpha-Stim, another cranial electrotherapy stimulation device. He used to be a clinical psychologist with the Veterans Administration in a rural area, and saw veterans with severe anxiety, debilitating depression, and nightmares. “I recall one guy – when he got home after the group session, he would go into his woodshop and spend the night there. The first night he used Alpha-Stim, his wife called the next day and asked what I had done to her husband. He came home, started cooking dinner, and spent the evening with his family. The device had lowered his anxiety to the point where he could resume family life.” Over the next few months, Briley saw that positive effects persisted. Veterans reported fewer nightmares, better sleep, more social interactions. Briley ended up ordering over a thousand Alpha Stim devices for his veterans.
Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation
The Alpha-Stim and the Fisher Wallace Stimulator are handheld devices that let someone run a gentle electrical current through their brain for 20 minutes to an hour (a shorter time if they use a stronger current.) This current has the effect of “turning down the thermostat” on the fight or flee response. It rebalances the brain. Levels of serotonin increase and levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, go down.
“The device brings the nervous system back to balance. It calms down the part of the brain that is hyperactive, which you see often in chronic anxiety. It also wakes up the parts of the brain that are inhibited and underactive from depression,” says Briley. “There is a cumulative effect, so the more you use it, the longer the effects will last.”
About a dozen companies in the United States make these devices but Wallace Fisher and Electromedical Products International, Inc. (which makes the Alpha-Stim) are the two leaders.
Both devices are about the same size as a cell phone and run on standard batteries. The devices stimulate the brain with one milliampere or less of current, which is similar to the normal level of current flow within the brain. The Wallace Fisher stimulator uses a headband with two moistened pads that touch the skin near the forehead. The Alpha-Stim uses two ear clips with moistened pads touching the earlobes.
Both devices are cleared by the FDA to use cranial electrotherapy stimulation for anxiety, insomnia and depression. They require a prescription from a healthcare provider. (The devices are approved for sale over-the-counter in Europe and Canada.) Recent published studies have found that patients with depression, anxiety, and insomnia generally experience reduction or remission of symptoms within 2 to 4 weeks of daily use. There are no serious side effects, though less than 1% of patients may experience headache or dizziness. However, women who are pregnant or people with an implanted electrical device such as a pacemaker or defibrillator should not use these devices. Both have a 30-day money back guarantee.
In addition to the Alpha-Stim AID, there’s also the Alpha Stim-M, which uses microcurrent electrical therapy (MET) to reduce acute and chronic pain. It has two types of electrodes, Smart Probes and self-adhesive electrodes called the AS-Trodes, that are placed directly on the part of the body that’s experiencing pain. “It is very gentle. It balances the nerves. I’ve seen pain go from a level of 9 or 10 to a level of 2 in less than five minutes using the probes,” Briley says. In the past, when he sprained his ankle, he didn’t put ice on it. Instead he used the Alpha-Stim M. “In a matter of minutes the pain was gone and I could walk normally. When you balance the nervous system, your body is able to function well and heal itself.” He notes that Alpha-Stim is the only CES device which offers both CES and MET.
Devices Support Many Treatment Methods
Initial guidelines for the Alpha-Stim say it’s usually best to treat between once a day and twice a week. Some people experience reduced symptoms soon, while others experience an effect after two to three weeks. Some people use the device at bedtime and when awakened during the night, while others find they need to conduct the treatment at least 3 hours before going to bed. “Each person is is different,” Briley says. “I stress to providers that we’re not treating a diagnosis, we’re treating a person.”
The Alpha-Stim is designed so each user can adjust the level of electrical current, depending on how they respond to it. “We offer free clinical support through our 800 number,” he says. “Often we just need to tweak the way you’re using it and you’ll get much better results. If you work with us, we can ensure that you get the best possible results.”
Recently Fisher Wallace set up a crowdfunding campaign to support larger clinical trials and raised $4.7 million from their users and supporters. “During 2020-2021 we invested $2.5 million in rigorous clinical trials to fulfill FDA requirements,” Roman says. “We did three trials with a total of 800 patients, and the results are currently being prepared for journal publication. We’re excited about this. It will help open pathways to more general adoption, since the trial results will give practitioners the scientific foundation they need to prescribe with confidence.”
He adds, “one of the great advantages of this technology is it can be used in combination with so many other methods without any danger of a contraindication. It can be used in conjunction with medication, with acupuncture, or with cognitive behavioral therapy. It is a very flexible tool, and that’s important for practitioners to know.”
Briley agrees. “We’ve noticed that chiropractors, naturopaths and integrative health MDs tend to adopt these devices easily because they are an excellent alternative to pain medications and psychotropic medications,” he says. When he was a clinical psychologist at the VA, he used a combination of the Alpha-Stim and cognitive behavioral therapy with some patients, and it was very effective. “I recall patients with severe emotional symptom; I had them bring the device with them to session. Within three to five minutes after they turned it on, they were more relaxed and the tension in their voice faded. It was possible to work through difficult emotions and painful experiences that had been blocking them, and to explore other possible ways of dealing with those emotions and experiences. It made real progress possible.”
Resources:
Alpha-Stim
https://www.alpha-stim.com/alpha-stim-technology/faqs
https://www.alpha-stim.com/healthcare-professionals/treating-pain
Alpha-Stim has a 60-day practitioner loan program offering an opportunity to trial the device with patients.
Free phone support Monday – Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Central Time at 800-367-7246.
Alpha-Stim devices have a five-year warranty.
Fisher Wallace
https://www.fisherwallace.com/pages/how-it-works
https://www.fisherwallace.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions
https://www.fisherwallace.com/pages/free-shipping-and-tip-sheet Enter your email address on this page to receive a Tip Sheet with notes on ways to use the Fisher Wallace stimulator together with cognitive behavioral therapy.
Fisher Wallace devices have a one-year warranty which can be extended.
Research
For research studies on the effectiveness of both devices go to:
https://www.alpha-stim.com/healthcare-professionals/clinical-research
https://www.fisherwallace.com/pages/published-research
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