LED light machine for inflammation - model#, directions etc.

[Guest]

I just received a PM about this, and thought I'd share it with everyone in case someone wants to pursue this. I think it is helping with lowering inflammation of my eyes. It was expensive (cost me $800.00), but I'm glad I have it.

(It was Dr. P. Rosenthal at the Boston Foundation for Site that originally ordered this on my behalf, but since he is no longer there, I'm not sure if others who have exhausted all mainstream options will have the chance to try this... hopefully by posting everything I know here, you may be able to discuss with your doctor and obtain one for yourself if you wish.)

The machine I have is made by MedX Electronics, INC, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5L 5Z9. The model number is MBM 1030

Here is how I was told to set it up:

Instructions for MEDXHome LED therapy

There are 4 components to the device: the unit, power adaptor, SLD cluster (LED), and programming key. You can refer to p. 3 of the MedXHome programming and operating guide to familiarize yourself with these components and see where they should be plugged in.

 There are also 4 different keys on the unit: select, stop/pause, back, and forward. You can refer to p. 7 of the MedXHome programming and operating guide to familiarize yourself with these. In summary, select allows you to select an option and move to the next page, stop/pause allows you to go back a page, and the back and forward buttons allow you to move WITHIN a page.

Protocols

*We will set up a single protocol to treat your eyelids.
*Below I’ve outlined how to set protocols with the device
*In the future we may decide to add another protocol.


Treatment, Protocol Dosage (J/cm2 ) Frequency (Hz) Duty Cycle (%)
Eyes Tx A, P1 4 3 80


Programming
-Attach the power cord to the device and plug it into an outlet. Plug in the programming key to the device and turn it on. (The programming key and the LED share the same socket). Refer to p. 3 of the MedXHome programming and operating guide if you are confused.
-The first menu you’ll see once you turn the device on reads Protocols and Options. Select protocols, press forward , and select custom.

Eyes (Tx A, P1)

1. Select treatment A and protocol P1
2. The next page you’ll see is Dosage. Press forward to increase the dosage to 4 J/cm2 . Then press select.
3. The next page you’ll see is Frequency. Press forward to increase the frequency to 3 Hz. Then press select.
4. The next page you’ll see is Duty Cycle. Press forward to increase it to 80%. Then PRESS SELECT to confirm. The next thing you’ll see is “saving.”

-You are now ready to begin treatment.
-Turn the device off and switch the programming key for the LED.
-Turn the device on. To treat the eyes: select treatment A and protocol 1.
-Whenever you select a protocol, make sure that the numbers are what they should be. If not, you need to reprogram the protocol.

Treatment
-Treat each CLOSED eyelid for 3.5 minutes every second day. (SAAG's note: originally they said 5 minutes, but my machine delivers the whole "dose" in only 3.5 minutes, so they said to go with that. Also, Dr. R. said that less can be more with this machine... he said he's noticed that up to a certain point, increasing the amount of treatment will lead to increased efficacy, but PAST a certain point, using the machine more actually leads to decreased efficacy... the trick is to find the "sweet spot"... hope I made sense here...)

Reminders
-Always shut the device off before you remove the LED and put in the programming key and vice versa. There is an exception that I will explain later under “trouble shooting.”

-After duty cycle, DO NOT FORGET TO PRESS SELECT!

-Recall: the stop/pause button allows you to move BACK a page whereas the back and forward buttons allow you to adjust the numbers WITHIN a page.

For example: say you set the dosage to a wrong number and press select, the next page you’ll see is frequency. To get back to the dosage page, you need to press stop/pause. The back button is useless in this scenario because it will not bring you back to the previous page (dosage). Instead it will only decrease the number on the page you are currently on (frequency).

-Whenever you select a protocol, make sure that the numbers are what they should be. If not, you need to reprogram the protocol.


Trouble Shooting

-What if you plug in the LED, turn on the device, and see a screen that tells you to shut off the unit and put in the programming key?

A. Shut off the device.
B. Take out the LED and plug in the programming key. Double check that the protocols are correctly set.
C. Take out the programming key WITHOUT shutting off the device.
D. Plug in the LED. You’ll see that the screen is stuck on the Protocols/Options menu.
E. Shut off the device and turn it back on.


So that's that. Hopefully this will help someone as I think it is helping me. Of course, it could all be a coincidence and I could be imagining this is helping haha... but whatever the case may be, if you've tried everything else, and the price of the machine isn't prohibitive for you, you may want to bring this up with your doctor. I don't have any references to studies for this either... so it may be a tough sell to your doctor (I'm not sure if laypeople can order these machines, or only doctors) - if anyone can find any studies on the use of LED light therapy for ocular inflammation, maybe post a link to it in this thread for anyone who comes across this in future?

Lastly, I've only ever used this machine exactly as prescribed since I don't want to blind myself or some such horror... maybe that's impossible, but I'm just paranoid lol

[bakunin]

Thanks SAAG for sharing it.

I have never heard about it.

Is that for inflammation in the eyelids or for ocular inflammation in general?

[farmgirl]

Do tell, exactly what is it supposed to treat, I am confuesd...F/G

[Guest]

Do tell, exactly what is it supposed to treat, I am confuesd...F/G

Inflammation... the theory is that the LED light treatments applied to closed lids can penetrate the lids and reduce ocular inflammation. Since inflammation of the ocular surface makes dry eye worse, reducing said inflammation can help.

Is that for inflammation in the eyelids or for ocular inflammation in general?

I'm totally guessing here, but I'm thinking that since the LED light can penetrate several millimeters of tissue, there is the potential, in theory, for it to not only help lid inflammation but ocular inflammation in general.

[Katewest]

How long have you been using it? Are the results gradual?

[Guest]

How long have you been using it? Are the results gradual?

I've been using it for almost a year now (started in Boston in Feb. 2012, got my home machine soon after I returned from Boston).

I can't answer whether or not the results were gradual for me or not since I was also trying naltrexone drops, and dextromethorphan cough syrup... with all 3 of those things, I'm not sure how much of the improvements were from what.

Dr. Rosenthal didn't mention that the LED machine effects tend to take a long time to kick in, so maybe it is a quicker acting thing. (in contrast, he specifically said the naltrexone drops often take as long as 8 weeks to kick in)

This next bit isn't worth much since it's only ONE patient, but there was a woman with Sjogren's who was in Boston at the same time as me, and she was having a flare up of redness in one of her eyes - Dr. Rosenthal started her on the LED machine and she was noticing improvements within a couple of days. Question is, was it due to something in the Boston air? some unknown factor? or the LED light machine? (She had taken early retirement, so it wasn't being away from work that did it).

Also, this isn't worth that much either since it could be all in my head haha.. BUT, when I've skipped the LED machine, it seems to me like my eyes don't do as well... when I re-add it, it seems that my eyes do better (but I haven't taken great care to evaluate this by being sure not to let any other factors affecting my eyes change... so take this with a grain of salt!)

[LaDiva]

my reiki therapist uses this on my eyes. Not sure it has helped, but not sure that it hasn't either. My eyes look whiter and seem better, but this could be caused by any number of things I guess.

[gichamp]

LED light machine for inflammation

Thanks so much for this thread and the detailed information on your experience. I have been looking for a LED device for home to help with Occular roscea (very red eyelids and dry eye), but I don't think my eye doctor would order for me since they seem to prefer the traditional restasis, lotemax, etc. Does anyone know of a home device that can be ordered directly? I think we need to be careful of the infrared or other LED colors such as blue which I don't think are safe to use directly on the eyes. So many machines seem to have red LED combined with the other colors or infrared. Thanks again for the great thread.

[Guest]

I think we need to be careful of the infrared or other LED colors such as blue which I don't think are safe to use directly on the eyes. So many machines seem to have red LED combined with the other colors or infrared. Thanks again for the great thread.

Yes, I was worried that people might go about this on their own, and accidentally use the wrong kind of machine and end up doing themselves harm... hence the model # and how mine was set up are included in my post.

I honestly don't know much about these things and what potential harm can be done if using the wrong kind of machine, wrong kind of LED light etc.... just kind of went with what Dr. Rosenthal suggested since I trust him

[farmgirl]

Did you actually go there to see him or was your contact long distance?

[Guest]

Did you actually go there to see him or was your contact long distance?

I went to the Boston Foundation for Sight for the PROSE lenses, and when I was unable to tolerate them nearly as well as most patients, they referred me to Dr. Rosenthal. And yes, I did see him in person I was in Boston for about 2 weeks in early 2012.

[farmgirl]

Do you need a Dr. to obtain one of these machines or are they available OTC?

[Guest]

Dr. Rosenthal ordered it for me and billed me for it via BFS. Not sure if he ordered it because he didn't want to risk me ordering the wrong machine, or if it's because the manufacturer won't sell them to laypeople...