I always wanted to buy one of these biofeed back brainwave things. Unfortunately they are kind of expensive. Wanted to experiment with Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma brain waves stuff. I remember reading up about it ... when folks medicate apparently they change their brain wave patterns. Many folks apparently buy them to help them enter deep relaxation states. I do remember medical folks worried that units may have unexpected effects as they alter long-term brain patterns. Periodic breathing is suspected in mediation circles to have brain effects.

This got me wondering - what happens to one's brain waves during the slow breathing cycle. Is it putting the body in one or another of the brain mode patterns. Perhaps the brain mode could be related to blood pressure. Perhaps the session on resperate actually resetting brain wave control in some way. In which case bio-feed back might also work as well as slow breathing. Be another option to try. A medical experiment to try. Also raises the question whether the brain waves of folks with high blood pressure are in some way different from those with normal blood pressure.

So, my suggestion is -- can you integrate into the unit a brain wave option? Also perhaps a color LCD screen on the unit -- make it brighter and more interesting. Not sure impact on the cost, but if it was color .... it could have so more interesting features.

Anyone out there used one of those biofeed back units? Any info on it? experiences?

Hi ccc3. I just wanted to say that I think probably a lot of people with hbp have brain waves that are different, maybe a lot more active or reactive, than others. I think this particularly applies to those of us with white coat hyptertension and a history of panic attacks, where your whole body grossly overreacts to something relatively innocent but for the life of you your brain cannot talk your body out of that intense reaction.

I've read recently that people who have very stressful or traumatic experiences when they are children have permanently altered brain chemistry - for the entire remainder of their lives they are more sensitive to stress, more apt to panic about things, more worried, more vigilant. I guess it's the body's way of protecting itself to always be on the lookout for that "scary thing" again. The point of the article I read was that some docs are using Inderal (generic is propanolol, I think?, it's used as a bp drug and for stage fright) as a treatment for children (and adults) right after a traumatic event, it seems to prevent those "scary" memories from being imprinted in the brain and thus you don't "re-set" the brain to default to panic mode. It's a controversial treatment because some people think that it's our scary experiences, as well as our happy ones, that give us our personality, and that by preventing the "indelible imprinting" of the scary experiences, these docs are trying to adjust personality in a not-good way. As an adult who had a fair amount of family tragedy when I was a kid, I would far prefer to have been treated with Inderal after those experiences, and not have the legacy of the brain that defaults to panic at the slightest provocation (like when I see a bp cuff LOL). The Inderal does not interfere with the basic memory of the event, the people still remember the details of the car accident or whatever, it just prevents that sort of "deep imprinting" that apparently forges a new pathway which is a shortcut to intense fear in the brain. The whole thing is fascinating to me.

My DH has a Stress Eraser, he toyed with a bit after he got it as a present but I don't think he uses it much. I'm just beginning with the Resperate and after a month or so with that, I want to try the Stress Eraser and compare and contrast how they make me feel and if it has a bp effect.

Hi Diane. Keep me posted regarding how you like the Stress Eraser, if you use it. I have been trying the emWave Personal Stress Reliever. It does seem to relax me and can be used secretly (while Resperate can't). I am experiementing to see if the emWave can help me with white coat hypertension.

We've actually been in contact with these 2 companies in the past and have even had samples sent to our office. (we've sent them both samples of our RESPeRATE also, BTW) The Stresseraser is a nice looking device, however, i found it difficult to use and had a hard time keeping my finger in the clasp, which frustrated me. The emwave is similar to the stresseraser. It's the same concept. You place your finger in the groove, it measures your stress level and gives you some exercise to follow. I found this one to be complicated.
The RESPeRATE not only lowers HBP, but it also reduces stress levels by lowering sympathetic activity.
Breathe Easy!
Marguerite (IMG:http://forum.resperate.com/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

I've not used stresseraser or emwave, but have used a GSR device, galvanic skin response, to help relax. You make the tone go lower and lower showing your skin is drying out, a sign of relaxation. Trouble was that I didn't find it easy to use and not getting the desired result was quite stressful!

Anyone tried the kind of biofeedback which has a fingertip sensor measuring temperature? The idea is that you make it as warm as possible, cos that means there is more blood flowing to the extremities of your body and to do that your blood vessels must dilate, so lowering pressure. That, I think, is the theory. Never tried one.

Thanks for updates folks ... sounds like these things are difficult.

so many interesting posts!

I have a Stress Eraser, too, and I like it. Once you get those little hills and valleys regular, you are *relaxed*. Sure feels like a brain wave pattern change.

Diane, interesting about the Inderal. I feel exactly as you do. I have nasty doc-o-phobia. I can do to the *dentist* fine. But if I catch the smell of an md's office (and we all know that characteristic smell) I am done for. I feel the stress hormones flooding me (the ones that make you feel tight (and I don't mean in the good way), breathless (ditto) and wanting to run.

I don't think docs should be handing out bp meds to most of us, since what we need are very short-term tranquilizers.

Angel -- busy rewiring my brain; I'll get ahead of this yet!

I agree with Marguerite. I have a Stress Eraser and have been using for a year. But I get frustrated because if my finger move then the device stop working and you need to reset it. I like to use the Stress Eraser in bed when I wake up in the middle of the night. But using it in bed is a bit of a challenge since if you don't see the screen to guide you then you have to rely on the tone to exhale but there is no tone to start inhaling - kind of annoying. In retrospect I wish I had seen the ad on Resperate a year ago. Seems easier to use in bed.

Lately I've been using my resperate in conjunction with my biofeedback program which has finger sensors that plug into my usb port. The sensors measure the heartbeat and stress levels. Unfortunately, it doesn't measure the bp. This setup showed me some important things about breathing. If I take a deep breath, the needle goes up but shallow breaths keep my stress level the same or lowers it. If I get an itch on my face and scratch it, the levels go up. If I get a stressful thought in my head, the needle goes up. Well, at the end of my session my bp was 122/80. I'd sure like to see a bp monitor that gives continuous readings but can't find one but I believe adding finger sensors to the resperate with a variable digital readout of a persons stress level would definately be helpful for someone trying to lower their stress level of find the correct breating pattern. The only hitch is the person would have to keep their eyes open to see the readout. Anyway, this is what I've been doing.

Perhaps instead of a readout it could just produce a tone that would go higher in pitch with higher stress and lower in pitch with lower stress, then one could keep their eyes closed and like bio-feedback attempt to lower the pitch of the tone.

I'm not sure which method would work better, maybe a switch so the user could decide between the two.

A feature I would like to see added to the Resperate is a number of voice and tone options. While the male voice is quite soothing I would prefer a female voice. The mac Leopard software has a number of different voice options that permit users to personalize the voice options.

I would also like to see a tone option that would give a soft chime when you enter the therapeutic zone and a series of soft chimes when you are nearing the end of a session. There would be no voice with this option - just chimes.

Now, if the Resperate had USB port we could plug it into our computers and upgrade the software and download features like voice options. This would be really great.

David,
I've been reading your posts & you def know what you are talking about. Our newest model will hopefully have this feature where people can upgrade software or download different voices or tones. I will keep you all posted on any new upcoming news on the Resperate and Resperate Ultra.
Breathe Easy & keep the suggestions coming!
Marguerite (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)